Tonight's results' show crowned Taylor Hicks the winner of season five. Going into last night's finale, I thought that the competition was Katharine's to lose. Unfortunately for her, Taylor came on strong last night.

 

No real outrage. No matter which one would have won, they'll both have nice music careers.

 

Season 4's final two-hour spectacular was really good with surprise guests and performances from the last twelve finalists. This year they did it even bigger with more performances and special guests.

My favorite guests on the final were Prince (who sounded the best he has for a long time), and Clay Aiken (the guy who got me to watch Idol in the first place.) I like Clay's new look. He resembles an East Asian pop star.

 

Congratulations to Taylor Hicks.

 

I will end with a reprint of my predictions from the beginning of the "Big Stage" round:

Hello and welcome to my third attempt at handicapping a winner of American Idol. Let's see how I do this year!  (Sorry to Elliott for misspelling his name so many times!)

Chris Daughtry 2-1: Not since Fantasia have I seen such an obvious pick to win the competition. The only obstacle that Chris may face would be stumbling in subsequent theme weeks, but that's doubtful.

 

Kevin Covais 120-1: His cute act will wear out before the contest is over, and "votefortheworst.com" can only carry this guy so far.

 

Bucky Covington 80-1: I like Bucky because he's awfully unique. He'll probably last 3-4 weeks on the big stage.

 

Taylor Hicks 30-1: Taylor has "Top Six" written all over his face.He'll make it that far, but he'll undoubtedly hit the wall halfway through the competition. (I predict 1-2 mildly successful record albums from this guy.)

 

Elliot (sic.) Yamin 30-1: Elliot has the potential to surprise everyone. He'll stay on for a long time if he can provide some really good performances.

 

Ace Young 40-1: About two weeks ago, I thought that Ace would be the favorite of the competition. I now see that he has limitations. He'll last a while. Lots of fans will turn on him.

 

Paris Bennett 15-1: Very similar to Ace inasmuch as that she seemed very promising at the beginning. Paris' act is wearing a bit thin on me however. I'd bet that she'll be in the top six, but I doubt that she'll last much longer than that.

 

Lisa Tucker 10-1: Compared to other contestants, I think that Lisa has "staying power." She's talented and cute. It's possible that she'll be in the top-three.

 

Melissa McGhee 125-1: Even though Melissa is my personal favorite, I realize that she'll hit the wall quite early. See: Amy Adams and Julia DaMato.

 

Katharine McPhee 15-1: I see her playing the "Diana DeGarmo Role" this time out. She'd be a good second-place to Chris.

 

Kellie Pickler 30-1: She'll last because she's lovable. She won't win, but she'll be famous for the rest of her life.

 

Mandisa 50-1: Mandisa is super-talented, but she is probably not marketable enough to make it much farther. I'd guess that she'll be the fourth eliminated.