Crystal Bowersox: “Up to the Mountain”

One of the most lackluster seasons of “American Idol” is almost at the finish line. Last night, the final two contestants, Crystal Bowersox and Lee Dewyze, took the stage one last time and asked American viewers for their votes. The winner will be announced tomorrow night at the very end of a two-hour finale that is sure to be packed full of cheese, special guests and product placements. If there’s anyone still watching, the big question is, who will walk away with the title of American Idol?

Full disclosure: I stopped watching about four weeks ago. I just couldn’t stand it anymore – Tim Urban stinking up the stage, Ellen Degeneres refusing to say anything negative about any of the performers; Simon Cowell mentally checking out since Hollywood week; Ryan Seacrest acting even more obnoxious than ever, and 12 mostly mediocre contestants who seemed to crumple under the pressure of performing on live TV every week. But if you forced me to pick a winner, I’d have to give it to “MamaSox,” who has performed consistently all season. Lee is a nice kid and all, but to quote Randy Jackson, he’s pitchy, dawg.

Both Crystal and Lee had to perform three songs each – one they chose, one the show’s producer’s chose for them, and the song that will become their first single should they become the Idol. Weirdly, both contestants will be doing covers of other artists’ songs as their single instead of an original song. Looks like judge/songwriter Kara DioGuardi didn’t get another chance to write something horrible this year. Anyway, Lee chose U2’s “Beautiful Day” as his single, and let me tell you, he is no Bono. His version was flat, and his performance was snooze inducing. The violin players playing behind him were more interesting to watch then he was. Sorry, Lee fans. That kid is a dud and I’ve seen singers in local bars with more charisma. Crystal performed “Up to the Mountain,” a lovely acoustic number originally recorded by Patty Griffin. Not only was she good, but she proved an important point: if you’re going to cover a song, it’s better to choose a more obscure one that isn’t so strongly identified with its original singer.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that Crystal is the superior singer and performer. But hey, I’m still getting over Adam Lambert’s loss to plain vanilla cookie Kris Allen last year. So, what say you, viewers? Who will win?

Lee Dewyze sings “Beautiful Day”