NEW YORK - The two "American Idol" finalists took their last turns on stage Tuesday night and crystallized the choice facing viewer voters: the most talented singer or the better entertainer.
Blake Lewis, the stylist, and Jordin Sparks, the voice, each performed three songs in front of adoring legions of fans at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., opened the show with a reprisal of his infectious interpretation of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name." The crowd was delirious but the judges were less impressed by Lewis' voice than his performance as a whole.
"Blake, you're not the best singer in this competition. But you're the best entertainer I think we've had," Simon Cowell said.
Sparks then crooned Christina Aguilera's "Fighter." Cowell was happy the 17-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., chose a song that suited her age, even, he noted, if "the vocals were actually a bit shriek-y."
Round one, the tough judge decided, went to Lewis.
In this photo made available by Fox,
Jordin Sparks performs on the set of
Associated Press
But Lewis ditched his beatboxing and other performing flourishes in the second act for a straightforward cover of the Maroon 5 hit "She Will Be Loved." He pleased judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but Cowell thought he'd played it too safe.
All the judges swooned, however, over Sparks' soulful take on Martina McBride's "Broken Wing."
"Now, THAT was good," Cowell said.
Round two to Sparks.
In their final turn, both performed "This Is My Now," the tune picked by viewers in an online "American Idol" songwriting contest introduced this season.
It was clear during Lewis' performance that the feel-good ballad - sample lyric: "As I look around, I can't believe the love I see" - was not his style.
"I thought it was all a little odd. ... It's just not a song that you would normally sing," said Cowell, who suggested that Lewis should be judged on his earlier performances.
Then Sparks took the stage, and owned the song. She teared up as she delivered the last line, "This is my now." Classic.
"You were the best singer tonight. You deserve it all, baby!" Jackson gushed.
"You just wiped the floor with Blake," added Cowell, who then told Sparks he was wrong for thinking she wasn't good enough to win the Fox talent show.
"I would say the best individual performance of the night was Blake on the first song," Cowell said. "But, based on overall singing - Jordin."
Round three, clearly, was Sparks'.
Whether viewers will validate the split decision will be learned Wednesday night with the crowning of the new American Idol.
Earlier on Tuesday, Cowell told the Associated Press he thought the two remaining contestants were the most evenly matched finalists yet and that either could end up the winner.
The tipping point, Cowell shrewdly predicted, could come down to the new online-contest song.
Cowell added that his thoughts Tuesday night - and likely those of many viewers - would be with arguably the best "American Idol" contestant yet to miss out on the finale, Melinda Doolittle.
"I can understand why they (Sparks and Lewis) both made it. But I would have happily swapped either of them for Melinda, to be honest with you," Cowell said.
Despite her artful performances, the one-time backup singer from Brentwood, Tenn., didn't get the fan support she needed to make it to the top.
"The fact is she was up against two much, much younger singers and, guessing that most of our voters were younger, my feeling was that she was going to miss out (based) on her personality, not her singing," Cowell said.
"I'm pleased for the two of them," he said of Sparks and Lewis. "They're nice kids. But I would have liked to have seen one of them up against the big singer."
Source : EastValleyTribune
Miss Japan, Riyo Mori, became the new Miss Universe late Monday at a gala held at the National Auditorium as Miss India Puja Gupta finished among the top 10 beautiful women in the contest, informs AP.
250,000 dollars - from Miss Universe 2006, Puerto Rican Zuleyka Rivera.
Ojeda Cuen.
Lindsay Lohan's closest friends are hopeful that the actress' current rehab spell will bring a stop to her suicidal tendencies following a series of wacky recent incidents.
