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That was probably the best version of this finale that we could hope for. Both contestants showed what they are really about as artists - both the strengths and the weaknesses. They each chose their best performances to reprise. Simon Fuller chose good songs for both of them. And although I felt they both stumbled a little bit on the original song, they still showed who they are.

ADAM - round 1 - Finally, after a whole season, Adam found the right balance between restraint and theatricality. Yes, it was flamboyant, but Adam is flamboyant. He sang it well and the entire conception and design of the performance was well executed. Is it really to my taste? No. But that doesn't mean it wasn't great.

KRIS - round 1 - I actually liked Kris on this song better the first time he did it. There was more of a surprise element to it then and a greater sense of immediacy. The intimacy of his version worked better with a small keyboard and I thought Kris got lost a bit behind the grand piano. Still, his first take on this song was my second favorite performance of the entire season, and this slightly lesser version was still way up there.

ADAM - round 2 - At first, I thought this was a bad choice for Adam. He is not a blues man. Adam is all about technique and intellect over raw emotion. That's not the blues. This time, though, I thought that he gave a great facsimile of the passion that blues requires. I still don't necessarily believe his emotion - he seems to indicate it rather than be enveloped by it - but I applaud the effort. Yes, he went off on the shrieks more than I like towards the end, but a blues song allows for that, and it also allows for the sound to be evocative rather than necessarily beautiful. For that reason, I thought it was a good choice.

KRIS - round 2 - I also thought that this was a good choice for Kris. What is so great about Marvin Gaye's version of this song is that even though the subject matter is heavy, the tone of the song is very light and upbeat. Kris has that natural jauntiness, but the meaning of the words, delivered sincerely gave him added weight. On some of his earlier performances (notably Michael Jackson week), I thought that Kris was TOO light and wispy. He rode the line with this, but never crossed over to the wrong side. My biggest complaint was that it wasn't very original. It was karaoke, but GOOD karaoke.

ADAM - round 3 - This was actually probably one of Adam's worst performances from a technical standpoint. He certainly had more off-key notes here than in any other song he's sung. Worse, though, the song showed the unpleasant timbre of his voice to full effect. In a word, he sounded strident. Still, it was far from a train wreck and he pulled off the song and made it work to a degree that I couldn't really tell if it was a bad song.

KRIS - round 3 - I agree with the judges that the key was wrong for Kris at the beginning, but once he got to the high notes, he could reach them. The problem is that the song called for Kris to scream and he's not a screamer. Belting's just not his thing. He also came off exhausted, and I have a feeling that he would have sung this song much better if it had been his first song of the night rather than his last. I'm also guessing that the recorded version sounds much better. He has come a long way in terms of performance, but I don't think that he will ever be the kind of artist who stands alone on stage manhandling the mic stand and belting out big notes. He's a more nuanced singer.


1. KRIS - Round 1
2. ADAM - Round 1
3. ADAM - Round 2
4. KRIS - Round 2
5. ADAM - round 3
6. KRIS - round 3 (although these last two were almost too close to call)


Really, this final show didn't show us anything we didn't already know. The audience is left with a choice between two polar opposites in terms of musical and performance style. Do they like flamboyance or understatement? Do they like stirringly nuanced vocals or flashy displays of range and control? My choice would be for Kris because that's my taste, but that is not to say that what Adam does isn't extremely impressive. Good show!