Idol Gives Back - Final Edition

From the Charlotte auditions that aired on January 23, 2013, the same auditions that Nicki shut down and threatened to shoot Mariah, there was the last auditioner of the day:

Like last week there was another former contestant from last season who reappeared. While the producers showed footage of her being cut in Vegas by Jagger Lite, apparently Sole Survivor forgot all about her. He thought the audition was the best of the season so far and agreed with Nicki that there would be something wrong if she didn't make it to the last round. Yes, even though he was one of those who cut this same contestant last season before the live shows.

Nicki was also impressed by this contestant, saying to her, and I quote, "I want to skin you and eat you." So I've been thinking of a new nickname for the nickname chick and I think I'll try "Jaws." It originally came to me from thinking about how Idol jumped the shark by hiring her, but this sentence alone sealed the deal, at least until she says something even more worthy of a nickname.

That contestant was Candice Glover, your new American Idol.

Candice became the first chick winner of Idol since Jordin Sparks 6 years ago. Ironically, that was also the last year that I correctly predicted the winner. It is also the first time that the contestant that was my personal favorite going into the live shows actually won. I don't know if this means that I'm becoming more in tune with the musical tastes of the average Idol voter, or if they and I are all just getting old.

The finale was the usual bloated affair. The dudes had to sing with Frankie Valli while the chicks sang with Aretha Franklin. No offense to Frankie Valli but he's no Aretha Franklin. There was a video bit about a "conspiracy" to get all the dudes eliminated first that was actually funny in spots, especially Janelle changing Lazaro's key on "Close To You." The problem with Lazaro is that he probably thought Janelle really did that. The big payoff was revealing that it was Jordin Sparks who was the mastermind of the conspiracy, once again demonstrating that Nigel doesn't have a sense of humor. If he did then he would have been in the video instead of Jordin. Now that would have drawn a reaction.

There was a video tribute to Sole Survivor that featured dogs and some clips, but that was it. J-Lo was in the house but didn't acknowledge Randy's presence, and no other former judges showed up to pat the dawg on the back. However, like I said last night, I can't think of a better tribute to Randy's time on the show than for the winner to be the best singer in the competition since, as he so often said in between his dawgs, YOs and #inittowinits, Idol is a singing competition.

And so concludes another season of American Idol. I still have one more post to go, the season case summary that in years past has had more hits to than any other posts and features my fearless predictions of the future careers of the finalists. The jury is still out on whether or not I will recap Season 13. I do have 7 months to consider it so we shall see.

Yes, I too can feel the anticipation out there...LOL