jlh | Well, that was the season

I did this from the tivo on a 45-minute delay so I could skip the random crap. Go me!

So odd to have the show start without Ryan saying "uhhhhMERicn Idol!" But I have a schmoopy love for "I Made It Through the Rain" so I'm okay with that. Everyone looks lovely in white, too.

The judge montages were awesome, but of course it was Simon's that I loved. "More than a handful" indeed, Ryan, and you should know …

How could I have forgotten how awesome Paris is? I love Al Jarreau so that was just, I mean, oh my god. Seriously, this is never leaving my TIVO.

Okay, Chris and Live are like, a separated at birth moment and you know he was like, "this was worth every single second of bullshit I had to endure on this stage."

I love how Ryan keeps calling us "friends." It's so old school radio. *ff's through dumb Pickler bullshit*

Meatloaf looks really good, doesn't he? This is a great pairing because she looks just like the girls he always sings with, and she's so fucking melodramatic, and she looks awesome. Nothing but net.

The only fun part about that golden idol bit was Ryan's silly sponsor pantomime. *ff's through more dumb Pickler bullshit*

Aww, the boys. Love the scream for Chris. Whatever with the Taylor entrance. Still love the Elliott and the Ace.

OMG, Elliott's mom. If she hadn't won that silly golden idol I would have been really pissy. And such a nice lead-in for Elliott playing Bono for Mary J.

Go Carrie Underwood. I saw her on the Heart "Decades" concert belting out Alone with Ann Wilson and she was pretty awesome. *ffs through another award*

I really wish Toni Braxton had something better to do with her life than sing In the Ghetto with Taylor. That appearance was just sad.

Rock on the girls. Kat's entrance was a lot better than Taylor's, though I wish we could do without the Shania. I'm loving that Mandisa just took that shit over.

*ffs through more awards, slows down to see that Clay now looks like Crispin Glover in a Charlie's Angels movie, hears the sound of a million Clyan fangirls shrieking*

Okay. I love Burt Bachrach. I have the box set, y'all. I'm pro anyone who can get Taylor to drop his fucking bullshit. I love the red dresses on the ladies. And they gave everyone the perfect song, even Kevin who had the perfect song for the stupid way they package him (make him go away now). I could write an entire entry about this part of the evening, especially Dionne Warwick.

Why was Prince there if he wasn't singing with anyone? I wonder if they couldn't find someone to sing with Kellie?

I really don't like the Dirty Dancing song. I get why they did it but I just don't like this song.

So the funny thing is, I started watching this show at 8:45 and ff'ing through the bullshit and the commercials got me caught up right when they announced Taylor as the winner. However, his singing his crappy Idol single (not his fault) got cut off by my TIVO. I watched it live, but it isn't on my TIVO drive in perpetuity, and that's really okay with me. Taylor had done such a nice job being normal all night that I was beginning to feel like I'd been a little hard on him …

… and then, at the end of his song, he's thanking people and he screams out, "Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!" Thank you, Taylor, for in your last moments on the #1 show in television reminding me exactly why I hated you.

Next week I'll write goodbye fic, and then that's the end of the Rymon until January. For those of you feeling bereft, I point you to So You Think You Can Dance, which starts tomorrow night. I got addicted last summer; it really is a great show.