Finale! The New American Idol: Jordin Sparks!

I wrote my headline before the show started: Finale! The New American Idol: Jordin Sparks! If I have to change it, I'll be very surprised, but not unhappy at all.

Now on to a star-studded show!

The judges all look spiffy, and Simon Cleavage is clinging to his fashion statement.

The 'I'll Never Dance With Another' duet is a collaborative challenge for Jordin and Blake, but they carry it off.

Gwen Stefani's performance is wonderful, of course.

Kelly Clarkson was 'shouting' a little...LOL!...but showed them how it's done.

The Golden Idols?! Is this new? Ah - just another version of "those who sucked". What a farce! But it was pretty funny when Margaret 'Big Bird' Fowler smothered Ryan with a full-body pressed kiss.

The Top 6 Guys performed some great harmony! Smokey Robinson joining them was a lovely treat! Now that's some good production! Excellent!

Blake's beatboxing duet with Doug E Fresh was just hott, but his mic could have used some more volume. Still, he clearly has a huge future.

The Top 6 Girls and Gladys Knight production wasn't quite as hott as the guys, but they made it work!

Tony Bennett's performance was surprisingly powerful! Incredible how much passion he can still muster at his age.

They had to replay the whole 'monkey boy' fiasco? Gag me with a backhoe. I guess they think that giving them an award will somehow make up for it. It was, however, very nice to see that the guy was able to evolve to the point of being able to forgive and thank Simon for making him famous.

Melinda and company was awesome. I'll say again that a finale between Jordin and Melinda would have been the contest to hear.

Carrie Underwood was stunning, singing 'I'll Stand By You'. What a treasure AI bestowed on the world in discovering her. Her energy is a pure blessing to all who hear her.

Clive Davis' review of the AI achievements to date was pretty impressive, and Carrie Underwood's sales of 6 million albums, along with her other awards, is truly a testament to AI.

The African Children's Choir was a breath of pure joy.

The tribute to Sanjaya would have been almost funny if he hadn't done such a good job hanging with Joe Perry of Aerosmith. He performed smartly, as usual. Of course the girl who cries hysterically was featured prominently in the audience.

John Lennon's 'Working Class Hero' was surprisingly potent and relevant to our times, and very well done.

Taylor Hicks brought the house down with his bad self, and I loved the harmonica!

Ruben Studdard and Jordin Sparks' duet was wonderful!

Overall, this has been one heckuva finale show! Can it get any better!?

Yes! Bette Midler, one of my very favorite stars, sings 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. She seems a little off tonight. I think she may act better than she sings at this point of her life, but I love this woman's spirit!

The 'Seargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' tribute was a hoot. Taylor Hicks singing 'I Read The News Today' was trippy. Carrie Underwood was more than competent, as usual. Ruben Studdard had fun with 'Lucy In The Sky'. The Top 12 definitely 'Get By With A Little Help' from their friends.

The big moment has to be next, with 2 minutes left in the show...and that's before the commercials. My computer registers 9pm halfway through the commercials. I guess Fox News will have to wait...

74 million votes don't lie. Randy names Jordin, Paula waffles, Simon gives it to Jordin. Jordin's facial expressions and body language say she already knows. And sure enough...but then the awesomeness of it starts to sink in, and she starts to fall apart. Can she pull it together enough to sing the schlocky contest winning song? Yeah, she gets it together by the bridge and owns it!

But then she almost loses it again...that's gotta be rough! Talk about a moment of emotional honesty!

Hail Jordin! Long live the Idol!