Courtesy of mjsbigblog. Chris and Carrie benefited from the “Idol” appearance. Taylor, despite the airtime on the finale, couldn’t get his CD back in the top 200. Ruben’s sales, off the chart, were also flat.

6 DAUGHTRY 74,218 up 45%

total 2,601,220

8 CARRIE UNDERWOOD 51,443 up 10%

total 5,532,746

29 ELLIOTT YAMIN 19,900 down 22%

total 236,940

61 BUCKY COVINGTON 10,429 down 14%

total 141,498

85 FANTASIA 8,109 up 3%

total 388,586

109 PICKLER*KELLIE 6,670 down 5%

total 539,793

158 KATHARINE MCPHEE 4,492 up 6%

total 330,316

This could be an interesting diversion: Paula Abdul’s “Hey Paula” reality show launches June 28 on Bravo. Here’s the press release:

“HEY PAULA” KICKS OFF BRAVO’S NEW THURSDAY NIGHT OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING WITH BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES, THURSDAY, JUNE 28 AT 10PM

NEW YORK, NY - May 31, 2007 - Behind the songs, behind the dance, the spotlight, and far away from Simon Cowell, there’s the real woman behind the headlines - pop icon Paula Abdul. Kicking off Bravo’s third night of original programming on Thursday, June 28, with back-to-back episodes from 10-10:30PM ET/PT and 10:30-11PM, the 30-minute docu-drama series “Hey Paula” provides an unfiltered, real-life look at the “American Idol” judge, entrepreneur, choreographer and multi-platinum artist, giving insight and context to Abdul’s much-reported on professional and personal life. “Hey Paula” will air regularly every Thursday, from 10-10:30PM ET/PT.

“Hey Paula” paints a three-dimensional portrait of Abdul and her “Crazy Cool” world - from the stressed celebrity and tough business woman to the comedic prankster. Viewers will see Abdul up close 24/7 as she battles insomnia during the much-talked-about “American Idol” satellite media tour interviews; bumps heads with QVC execs; develops her own fragrance and plays practical jokes on her assistants. Through it all, Abdul has a knack for being able to laugh along the way. On her singing career, she quips, “Last time I had a hit record, Bill and Hillary were having sex…that’s a long time ago.” And Abdul jokes about Cowell with a QVC security guard, “If someone comes that has dark hair, that looks like Beavis and Butthead haircut and has a tight shirt…and he has a British accent, do not let him in.”

Additionally, the seven-episode series features the posse of people essential in keeping the Abdul empire running smoothly. The “Hey Paula” players include Daniel, her hairstylist and BFF, who always promises a good time; Jeff, her longtime (and now former) publicist of seven years, who protects her like a sister; Kylie, her full-time wardrobe assistant, who keeps Abdul looking her best; and Abdul’s kids…her four Chihuahuas - Bessie Moo, Chomps, Thumbelina and Tulip.

In the first episode of “Hey Paula,” a whirlwind 48 hours lies ahead for the star and “Team Abdul.” As Abdul gets red-carpet ready for the Grammys, her Chihuahua “Chomps” chomps down on a loaned million dollar antique ring, much to the chagrin of the overprotective jewelry rep, and a call from the Bratz filmmakers creates additional drama. Immediately after the awards, Abdul changes out of her Valentino gown in the car, while making a mad dash to catch a red eye, and nearly misses the flight. But the day’s not over and there’s no time to rest for an exhausted Abdul. Landing in Philly, she heads over to QVC to see her jewelry designs, only to find they’re not what she envisioned. If it’s not up to par, Abdul’s not putting her name behind it. With just a few hours before the live QVC show, she voices her concerns. Will the changes to Abdul’s jewelry line be made in time? Just an average day in the life of Paula Abdul.

Abdul’s off to NYC in the second installment of “Hey Paula” for a jam-packed week filled with events, meetings and press. Abdul and her publicist Jeff begin the trip at the annual dinner for the Young Menswear Association Fashion Scholarship Fund for Parson School of Design, where she’s presented with the Fashion Icon Award by Tim Gunn - a true honor, since Abdul’s graced the worst dressed list more than once. But by the time she gets to her hotel, it’s 4am. With just two hours of sleep, Abdul attempts to grab some shuteye after a meeting with her perfume manufacturers, but ends up losing a battle with insomnia, and continues to miss night after night of sleep. A full week of meetings later, with no zzz’s, combined with catching the flu, Abdul must get through a series of satellite interviews to promote “American Idol.” And this is when she makes headlines once again.

ABDUL BIO: An award-winning, multi-talented artist, Abdul has enjoyed success and acclaim both in front of and behind the camera. As a recording artist, she notched worldwide album sales exceeding 30 million units, two No. 1 Albums, six No. 1 Singles, a Grammy Award, seven MTV Awards, two Emmy Awards, two People’s Choice Awards and two Kid’s Choice Awards. Currently, she is one of three celebrity hosts on America’s No. 1 television program, “American Idol,” now in its sixth season on FOX. Abdul recently turned her talents to jewelry design and in April 2006 introduced the Paula Abdul Jewelry Collection on QVC to record-breaking sales and public acclaim.

Behind the camera, Abdul is recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s most gifted and accomplished choreographers, active in film, television, video, stage and live tours. Her motion picture choreography credits include the Academy Award®-winning “American Beauty,” the Academy Award®-winning “Jerry Maguire,” Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” John Landis’ “Coming To America.” Among her other notable choreographic achievements are her Emmy Award-winning contributions to “The Tracey Ullman Show;” an Emmy nomination for choreographing the Academy Awards®; and her own performance as an artist opening “The American Music Awards.” She has choreographed music videos for such artists as Janet Jackson (a collaboration that yielded two MTV Video Awards); Aretha Franklin; George Michael; Luther Vandross; INXS; Heart; and Prince. Abdul fulfilled a personal dream when she danced alongside her idol Gene Kelly in an award-winning commercial for Diet Coke. Abdul received her big career break as a Los Angeles Laker Girl, and she continues to honor her roots by running dance and cheerleading camps, competitions and scholarship programs throughout the country.

Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, entertainment and pop culture with original programming, acclaimed drama series, movies, comedy and music specials, and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 84 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process, and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed original programming includes the Emmy-nominated “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List,” 12-time Emmy-nominated “Inside the Actors Studio,” “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” “Top Chef,” “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, “Queer Eye,” and the four-time Emmy-nominated hit competition series, “Project Runway.”

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit www.bravotv.com.

Kat McPhee was noticeably absent at last week’s “Idol” finale. Us Magazine tries to surmise why but fails.. Kellie, Elliott and Daughtry got airtime, along with Taylor, but not Kat.

And Taylor Hicks may have a girlfriend! Here’s the evidence..

And here’s a fairly lame story interviewing Paula Abdul, who does admit she’s on a ton of painkillers to deal with her reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), a chronic neurological disorder that causes severe pain..

Just for amusement’s sake, I will now reveal what my top 12 was in order of elimination just prior to the start of the top 12 performance show. (Idol publicity helpfully sent me a chart with “X” stickers to block out the person whenever they get eliminated.)

ABOVE: This is a blurry shot of what they handed me. I started with Haley and went around counter-clockwise.

As you may be able to see, my predictive powers were pretty bad.

Rank, my prediction (actual elimination)

12- Haley Scarnato (9th) — I still can’t believe she stuck around as long as she did. I predicted she’d be gone every week during the semifinals and got burned.

11- Sanjaya (7th) — ‘nuf said here!

10- Brandon Rogers (12th) — Dullness did not pay off for the poor backup singer.

9- Phil Stacey (5th/6th) — He escaped (barely) elimination several times, then improved.

8- Gina Glocksen (9th) — I got this one about right.

7- Stephanie Edwards (11th) — Too many R&B singers in the mix doomed her.

6- Chris Richardson (5th/6th) — I was close on this one.

5- Jordin Sparks (winner!) — I didn’t start predicting her victory til about the time Gina was elminated. Clearly, I underestimated her at this stage.

4- Chris Sligh (10th) — I over-estimated his abilities at this point but he clearly started crapping out when the top 12 started. If his goal, as he said, was to make it on tour by hitting the top 10, he did achieve that.

3- LaKisha Jones (4th) — I was close on this one.

2- Blake Lewis (2nd) — Bingo! We all knew he was the “best” of the male singers and even at that early stage, I logically figured he’d be the last man standing.

1- Melinda Doolittle (3rd) — While always consistently good, I guess we ultimately felt as viewers that she didn’t have the star quality to make it all the way. Oh, well…

Remember Jim Verraros? If you watched the first few episodes of season one of “American Idol,” he made a big impression. He dedicated his audition of “When I Fall in Love” to his parents and sang the song with sign language. He showed tons of personality, even videotaping himself during the Hollywood rounds and “Idol” used it extensively. He surprised a lot of people by making the top 10, but clearly, airtime helped him out. He was voted out second in July 2002. Refresh your memory and re-live his journey here.

Since then, he became the first “Idol” to come out of the closet and embrace his sexual orientation. (R.J. Helton came out last year.) He had a couple of dance club hits and landed a major role in an indie gay comedy flick called “Eating Out” in 2005. The DVD became a surprise hit, selling more than 50,000 copies.

And now he’s promoting the sequel to “Eating Out” called “Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds,” which hits stores Tuesday, May 29. Amazon info is here.

Here’s the trailer to the sequel “Eating Out 2”.

I spoke with him recently and he’s was open and just plain nice. He had no guard up at all.

“It’s tough to find decent projects” as an openly gay male actor, he said. He was glad to see “Eating Out” become a cult hit given that it’s a “fun, lighthearted campy comedy.” Many gay-themed films tend to be dramatic and serious, he noted.

Here’s the advertised description of the film:

In the first Eating Out, Kyle (Jim Verraros) convinced his straight roommate to pretend to be gay in order to get the girl. Now, with the help of Gwen (Emily Brooke Hands) and Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan), Kyle pretends to be heterosexual in order to land Troy (Marco Dapper), the new guy (and nude model) who’s turning the heads of both men and women. He soon finds himself joining the campus ex-gay support group and nabbing a girlfriend (Tiffany)! Kyle’s ex-boyfriend Marc (Brett Chukerman) is horrified at the plan and decides to pursue the confused Troy with his own tactic — being his “out” gay self. Who will win Troy first?

Jim said he’s close to R.J. Helton, fellow season one contestant who used to live in Cumming and now resides in San Francisco. “He and I were always close on tour,” he said. “Throughout the show, I was one of the first people he opened up to about his sexuality. I didn’t say anything. I respected his wishes.” And when Helton told a satellite radio show last fall, he called Verraros afterwards and said he felt great. “It’s nice not to worry about it anymore,” he said.

As for Clay Aiken not saying anything about his sexuality, Verraros (who does not know him) pondered, “I wonder who’s telling him to be quiet. Someone is telling him not to say anything.”

He said he watched “Idol Rewind” on syndication this past season and “cringed” at his blonde hair. “I was dorky with glasses,” he said. But overall, “it was the time of my life” doing the “Idol” tour, he said. When he slipped and fell at Philips Arena in 2002 (yes, I was there), he said “I had to be a good sport. I was more bruised emotionally. It went down as one of the more embarrassing moments.”

That first season compared to now, “they have so much more money to spend on the show. Relatively speaking, we were eating Nutri-Grain bars. They’re eating lobster thermdor.” But he has no regrets: “We were a part of history.”

Thanks to the success of “Eating Out,” he says he now gets more recognized for the film than for “Idol.” He’s also doing a movie musical, with filming in Brazil.

He attends gay pride and gay-related events all the time. Earlier this year, he attended a Vegas event for Paula Abdul, where he met Paris Bennett, Lisa Tucker, Anthony Fedorov and Mandisa, who was accused of being anti-gay, based on an ambiguous comment she made on the show. “I was very aware of the comment [which she said to me was about her own lifestyle of eating too much, not gays]. I was very reluctant to talk to her. She knew my story. I was hoping those things said about her were untrue. She ended up being one of my favorite people. She’s so sweet. She’d never be disrepectful to anybody. I have nothing but good things to say about her.”

I interviewed him about three weeks ago, when they had reached the final four. He said he was “underwhelmed” by this year’s contestants. Blake, for instance: “Take away his beatboxing and what do you have? He’s alright. He’s fun. He’s interesting, I guess. We don’t see enough personality from these kids. We’re waiting for somebody to blow me away.” His pick at the time was (correctly) Jordin. “She’s young. She has the most potential. She’s adorable and sweet. She has that thing about her. She’s teh one I’m rooting for.”

As for Sanjaya and his ambiguous sexual orientation, Jim notes that he’s only 17. “He needs to deal with it on his own time.”

For those of you who loved that song “This Is My Now,” it’s now available on iTunes, at least a studio version recorded by Jordin. Yes, all three of you! Go get it now!

And oddly, they have packaged five-song “EPs” for Blake and Jordin. Cost: $3.99.

Songs available from Sparks are “I Who Have Nothing,” “A Broken Wing,” “To Love Somebody,” “Wishing On A Star,” and “This Is My Now.”

Lewis’ songs are “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “Time Of the Season,” “I Need To Know,” “Love Song,” “This Love,” “You Should Be Dancing,” and “When The Stars Go Blue.”

USA Today’s Idol Chatter notes that Elliott Yamin’s appearance on “Idol” more than doubled in sales and saw his ranking jump from 67 to 20. With sales of 25,000, he’s up to 217K.

Daughtry: No. 10, 51K, 2.53 mil total

Carrie: No. 11 47K, 5.48 mil total

Bucky No. 56, 12K, 131K total

Fantasia, 91, 7,900, 380K total

Kellie, 100, 7,100, 533K total

Kat 186, 4,200, 326K total

Taylor, off chart, 2,000, 679K

Kimberley Locke, 1,300, 8,500 total

Ruben, 900, 226K

Clay, 500, 511K

Kelly C., 7,100, 5.7 mil

(No word on Paris’ album)

Top downloads: Home, No. 4, Never Again at No. 7, Before He Cheats at No. 12, Carrie’s I’ll Wait For you at no. 22, Wait For You at 26.

On Tuesday’s show, Blake deferred to Jordin on the coin toss and let her perform second, the driver’s seat spot. Based on his very sincere comments about picking Jordin to win early on last week, I think most folks sensed he didn’t even want to win.

Well, he admitted as such on the media press conference Friday. (I’m sure the “Idol” producers can’t be too thrilled he said that.)

Here are his thoughts:

“In a sense, I’m kind of glad I didn’t win just for like contractual reasons,” the “Idol” runner-up told reporters on Friday. “I think if you’re first you might have to come back for like three years or something… I honestly didn’t care one bit of winning or losing because I called myself a winner by getting into the top 10.”

And he of course didn’t particularly like the winning song “This is My Now.” (I mean, who did?)

” ‘This is My Now’ is definitely not my style, a song I would never sing if I didn’t have to. It fit (Jordin) like perfectly. And I honestly think they should have had two songs that were tailored to both of us, but I’m so happy with being second place.”

I facetiously asked him about why his redneck comedy character Johnny Walker Blue, who got a few seconds of airplay early on in “Idol,” hadn’t returned. “There hasn’t been a lot of opportunities for Jimmy Walker Blue. That’s just another part of me, character acting spots. I do a lot of character work and voiceovers. I’m very into improv comedy and just comedy on the whole… I feed off performing live. I can feed off the energy. [He then described some British host character he does who I think he called Charles Siegfreid. Jimmy Walker Blue was “a hick who listens to Kid Rock 24 hours a day.”] I grew up on Robin Williams and Jim Carrey movies.”

Do you do celebrity impresionation? “Not really. I was more into impressions in junior high and high school. I beacme more a musician. Just recently in the last two years, I got more into characters.” Then he promoted his friends who do something called Moist Cupcake at this Web site which features some of Blake’s characters. I haven’t had a chance to see it. He says he gets “to be a goof” with them.

Did he sell out? Definitely not. I represented myself. I stayed true to myself throughout this entire process. I love the term selling out. I never had a huge fan base [before ‘Idol’] I don’t think you can sell out til you have a fan base, then going off in a direction you normally wouldn’t do and sacrificing your integrity as an artist. As soon as you hear me singing a song like ‘This is My Now,’ then you can say that. [But wait— he did sing that song!]

Songs he couldn’t get cleared That happened the entire time I was on the show. I didn’t get to sing some songs that made me the musician I am today. I wanted to sing some U2. I got Maroon 5 at the last minute. I finally near the end got to sing Thicke [as in Robin Thicke] and Maroon 5.

Jordin, despite her voice going hoarse from non-stop media interviews, was ever chipper and so unaffected by this so far. We can only hope she stays that way through the fame machine we’re all going to churn her through.

Anyway, I was on the MARTA train coming in when the Jordin conference. As expected, nothing terribly revelatory. Her earliest memory of being inspired to sing was seeing Mariah Carey on TV but she can’t recall how old she was. Her celebrity crush off the top of her head? Brad Pitt. Singing with Gladys Knight was “amazing.” (She only used that word like six times this time around.)

I came up in line just as I was pulling up to Little Five Points and asked her two quick questions— one about what songs she wanted to sing on tour. (She didn’t know yet.) And if Blake tried to teach her beat boxing. “He tried,” she said. “I’m really horrible at it.”

Funniest comment came after a reporter asked her what her biggest moment was besides winning “American Idol.” Get this: it was getting her braces off! Wow—that’s a major dropoff in significance, eh? :)

Yes, it’s all over but the press conferences. I’ll be listening in on the Jordin and Blake mass media phoner this morning after both have done umpteenth interviews already. I’m sure they’ve honed their canned answers to the same 15 questions. I’ll have to think up something really original for both to catch them off guard…

On Leno, Jordin repeated her story about talking to Blake before Ryan annoucned she won. “I was standing there and Blake was holding my hand. He whispered to me, “I love you girl. Knock’em dead. If I forget the words, will you sing with me? I said, ‘Yah, as long as you sing with me if I forget’em!’ So we were kind of easing each other’s nerves. He calmed me down. I said, ‘Everything will be fine no matter what happens.’ “

Other comments (so I won’t have to repeat them again later Friday):

Singing vs. talking “It turned out singing is really easy. Talking is a different story. You just bleehh. You mumble.”

As the youngest singer as winner: “I’ve been watching the show since it started. I voted for Kelly. I loved Ruben and Clay. Fantasia. Carrie and Bo. Taylor and Katherine. I was watching it since I was little.” (No mention of Justin or Diana!)

Her ambitions as a pre-teen: “I remember telling my mom, ‘I want to be on that stage. I want to sing there.’ “

Being more famous than her NFL dad: “Geez. that’s kind of weird to say. He used to sign autographs and I used to watch him. He watched me do it and said, ‘You’re more famous than me.’ “

Boyfriend? “No.” Looking? “I don’t know. I’m not really looking.”

Will move to California? “I’d like to have a condo here. That’s so weird for me to say.”

Next? “Go on the tour. Come and see us… we’ll get material for the album I’m putting out. It’s crazy for me to say that.”

Anyway, tmz.com loves digging through the muck, including the feud between Clive Davis and Kelly Clarkson. They note that Clive barely gave her the time of day while pimping Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks, along with Daughtry and Carrie.

And the ratings were down about 20% for Tuesday night’s show once the results were in: 25.2 million. The final on Wednesday drew 30.9 million (including the 9 minutes past 10 numbers), down from 36.3 million a year ago. That’s a 15% drop, folks. Among 18-49, it was a sharper 19% drop. I predicted 30 million in yesterday’s blog so I was close!

And Kellie Pickler’s dad was arrested again. Clyde is reportedly accused of pilfering old, abandoned and disabled vehicles and then turning them around and selling them to scrap yards — basically running a “chop shop.

I’m watching “So You Think You Can Dance,” New York auditions, and it’s mildly entertaining. There is some dreadful dancing but as Nigel said when I was at the Atlanta auditions, dancers aren’t as mouthy as the “Idol” singers when they get rejected. I still can’t stand Mary’s screechy laugh. Every time I hear it, I have this need to imitate it and I end up sounding like the Wicked Witch of the West. The highlight: goofball Jamal, who was just plain hilarious. “You sir are a star!” Nigel told him. Technique wise, he’s a mess but man, he’s fun to watch!

The Atlanta auditions are in a week at Fox Theatre. I’ll probably blog about that one.

My third season blogging about “Idol” and I’m exhausted. Of course, it may have to do more with the fact I had to blog about the “Lost” finale last night after “Idol.” (If you’re a fan and haven’t seen it yet, you won’t be disappointed!). Check out Channel Serf for the “Lost” roundup

And I just wanted to again thank the blawgpound this year. Since the beginning of 2007, this blog has gotten more than 1.2 million page views. The regulars have grown in numbers (and stature, too!) and have made this blog an even richer experience than last year. I’m going to miss some names but the MVB (Most Valuable Blogger) is again Mike S. You provide us insight and humor and even a lyric or two. Plus, you’re nice enough to read through the bulletin boards and glean rumors I’m too lazy to suss out. I’m also glad we got to meet at Taylor Hicks’ concert, however briefly!

Deirdre has been my rock in terms of helping me out when I couldn’t be in front of the TV. And she even gave me a good quote in my “American I-Dull” print story last week!

At the risk of sounding like one of those award winners at the podium thanking their dog walker and masseuse, I have to say it was wonderful to see most of last year’s regulars like Yo Daddy, Carla, Vin-Rose, linnykat, Shay and Jex come on back. But here are others who also deserve kudos: CHOCL8T, Mitch, Kimmy, KPH, IdolVR, Diane1234, flat screen, Shaun, RC, MsAngela, Luvstoread and yes, the provocative Negativo. Again, I’m sorry if I missed a name or two but without you all, I wouldn’t be where I am and this blog wouldn’t be such a great place to hang out. (And for the 99% of you who simply lurk, thank you, too, for pumping up the page views!).

I do want to say I do not plan to shut down during the seven months when the show isn’t on. I hope to update you on past Idol finalists, the judges, Ryan, the auditions for season seven, the Idols Live tour and anything else that crosses my path. Heck, I’ll even check out CBS’s “Pirate Master” and blog about that if it’s worth my time. Aaargh!!!!

The summer reality shows I do plan to watch regularly are “Hell’s Kitchen” (my favorite), “Last Comic Standing,” “America’s Got Talent,” “American Inventor” and “So You Think You Can Dance.” “Top Chef” and “Design Star” will also start up again this summer. I am not a “Big Brother” fan, but I do plan to at least catch some of the “The Next Big Thing,” the celebrity impersonator show.

Jordin wins! Jordin wins! After 74 million votes, Jordin wins!

Anyway, the lack of anticipation was overwhelming! Everyone knew this one was coming.

She’ll be a great winner, the youngest winner, the first non-Southern winner. “Thank you so much for everything!” she said. She even gets to sing that lousy coronation song again, “This Is My Now.” Zzzz…

I watched most of the first hour at the health club. A Gwen Stefani concert bit that got cut from “Idol Gives Back” was especially lame. But Kelly Clarkson looked and sounded good doing “Never Again.” The duet between Blake & Jordin (“I Saw Him/Her Standing There” showed the vocal differential between the two and it was kind of weird given that he’s a 25 year old and she’s only 17. Not a lot of chemistry there. Other quick observations from hour one: Smokey Robinson, who was especially awful during “Celebrity Duets,” only did slightly better this time around. And how much work has he had? The men acquitted themselves well. It was nice to see Chris Sligh and Brandon Rogers again.

I especially enjoyed Gladys Knight giving a shout out to our state with LaKisha and Melinda on “Midnight Train to Georgia.” That’s our new Dreamgirls dream team! And who’s dress showed the most leg? Hmmm… take your guess!

Blake brought back 1987 courtesy of Doug E. Fresh, one of the early supporters of beat boxing. It was mildly amusing, a throwback that brings back the really early days of hip hop. This is the most beat boxing we’ve probably ever seen on primetime broadcast TV (and will probably ever again.)

And bless the man Tony Bennett. He can still bring it!

On a commercial break, I noticed VH1 was smartly playing “From Justin to Kelly.” I watched Kelly place whipped cream on Justin. I shuddered and changed the channel.

And Zitzman should have won most original vocal presentation! It was also a little painful that the Big Bird gal from Atlanta Margaret Fowler (who apparently takes cues from her last name) got so much airtime. They should have given her the award and that was that.

At least the best couple was Bush Baby and Jonathan. Again, their bit went on too long, too. The idea of these awards seemed fresher last year and now feel a bit forced.

Carrie Underwood opted to sing “I’ll Stand By You” again instead of her latest single. Like she really needs the promotion!

Among the celebs in the audience: Teri Hatcher, Jeff Foxworthy, a much thinner Jennifer Hudson, David Hasselhoff (of course!) and Jerry Springer. Clive Davis finally shows up, too, and he gives props to Chris Daughtry as the biggest-selling artist of the year. Egads! He won’t shut up! But it’s not like Ryan is going to be able to stop him. He bestows Carrie with a six-time platinum album and she gives her umpteenth thank you.

Another random observation: I love how Constantine Maroulis gazed lovingly into the camera after one commercial break while Ryan was talking.

The African Children’s Choir returned, which was delightful.

Then talk about a change in tone: comparing him to Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, “Idol” welcomes Sanjaya, who gets his own duet with Joe Perry of Aerosmith. (The rumor about Steve Perry was, I guess, half right.) Oh, boy. He’s back singing “You Really Got Me” but no faux-hawk in sight, thank God. How will this affect Perry’s reputation? Ouch! And of course, crying girl is back, too. I do love the fact Sanjaya was getting visibly winded toward the end. Time to hit the treadmill, dude!

And is it even possible that Green Day would ever show up on “Idol,” say, in 2003?

I wonder why they didn’t do more duets with the contestants this year? Why not bring Chris Sligh out with Green Day?

Taylor is now singing is second single “Heaven Knows,” which is actually far better than his first one. Even though he has sold only one quarter the albums of Daughtry, he’s still fun to watch. He hasn’t been on the Billboard Top 200 in a couple of months. This might get him back.

Jordin, in a minor surprise, joins Ruben Studdard in a duet. The song “You’re All I Need” showed that Jordin’s lower register is a little weak but Ruben is great as always. It’s a better duet than Jordin and Blake!

Brad Garrett, who can thank “Idol” for helping save “Til Death,” sits in a judge’s seat as Bette Midler pops up for no particular reason. She sounds really bad, easily the worst of the night. Blech! And this song “Wind Beneath My Wings” is almost as bad as any of those “Idol” coronation songs.

It’s now 9:50 p.m. I presume that was the last commercial break. And we’re getting a Beatles medley starting with Kelly Clarkson and Joe Perry on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Cool beans! Taylor follows with “A Day in a Life.” It is the 40th anniversary of the release of that album, which is probably why the publishers cleared it. (It was the very first CD I purchased in 1987, too.) Carrie does a lovely version of “She’s Leaving Home.” Ruben goes really high to start with “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Then the final 12 do “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

And ugh.. a commercial break. And we get the results well after 10 p.m. I think that Clive Davis speech didn’t help matters. Or Margaret “Big Bird” Fowler reading her awful poem.

Yes, it’s the last day and we are so excited! Well, not really. But season six is almost over. Check out my “Idol Chatter” video at www.cnn.com/showbiz if you want to watch me and Steve Almasy gab about the show last night. I wasn’t on my A game. I’ll have to rock it tomorrow, the last one!

At least three previous winners will show up tonight: Carrie, Kelly and Taylor. I figure Fantasia is doing Broadway but where’s Ruben? And the ever-reliable Star Mag reports Green Day, Tony Bennett and Gladys Knight will perform tonight.

Jordin is a monstrous favorite now to win, according to gambling911.com. Odds of her winning are 1-to-40. In other words, you bet $40, you win a whopping $1 (or $41— your intial bet plus $1) on bookmaker.com. If you bet $1 on Blake, you could win $17. We’re not endorsing gambling. This information is for entertainment purposes only. Really!

Early ratings numbers from last night indicate 24 to 25 million viewers, down from more than 31 million for the final two performance show a year ago. That’s no surprise. I anticipate the finale will draw around 30 million, down from 36 million or so a year ago.

Is Sanjaya actually an art-school project?. Here’s the video.

Sanjaya might be dueting with Journey’s former lead man Steve Perry, according to this story.

According to Extra, Simon says he’ll be done after 10 seasons, but the story is confusing. He is signed on for three more seasons, which would mean nine. But the quotes imply he’d be done after 10, which means 2011. Either way, losing Simon would mean losing a major part of what makes the show appealing. If the show is dying by 2010, his decision may be a moot point. I suspect the show, which lost some of its mojo this year, will be like “Survivor,” a major player, yes, but no longer the dominant cultural force it is today.

Also, at least one-half of the songwriting team that wrote the execrable “This Is My Now” (or as we should call it, “This is My Ow, Stop Singing This Song!”) has some experience in the Christian music field, according [to this story.

Here are their comments in the Los Angeles Times.

“This is just surreal,” said Scott Krippayne, 36, the singer-songwriter who penned “This Is My Now” with New Day Church pastor Jeff Peabody. “We believed in the song, but you just never know. We wanted to write something that encapsulates the season.”

Added Peabody, 40, who wrote the lyrics: “I would describe the song as encouraging for people who might be discouraged. Hopefully it gives them the incentive to carry on.

Iain Tirie, head of the U.S. arm of Fuller’s 19 Entertainment, said more than 500,000 votes were cast on the “American Idol” website May 2-8 for the contest’s top 20 songs, which had been culled by company executives from the uploaded submissions. Said Tirie, “Our goal was twofold: to elevate the songwriter craft and to let America choose the winning song.”

The Braves beat up on the Mets tonight, making my little dalliance away from “Idol” worthwhile. (I ended up watching the final performance show at 10:40 p.m. on my DVR.)

Overall, there weren’t any surprises but both Blake and Jordin did about as well as you’d expect. The coronation song, if you want to hear the version the songwriters did, is here. Voters picked the song by Seattle residents Scott Krippayne and Jeff Peabody over 19 other finalists. Why it won is beyond me. It’s really not any better than other winner songs in the recent past, though it isn’t quite as bad as the one I hated the most, “Inside Your Heaven” poor Carrie was saddled with in 2005.

Although you could argue the song was geared to Jordin and helped her out, I doubt many of those 20 songs would have benefited Blake. He’s not a schmaltz master and it seems the songs the “Idol” producers picked fit that mold. No 311-style tunes in the mix.

My gut is this will be Jordin’s to lose. She should take home the crown, “Idol’s” youngest winner to date. Yahoo has noted based on searches that she has broader, deeper support in general. And you have to think more of Melinda’s fans will vote for Jordin over Blake. Dialidol.com, which measures phone call volume and busy signals, actually has Jordin in a major landslide. Go Jordin!

The season, as the show noted, could be dubbed the revenge of Seattle. Last summer, the judges ripped the city for the low quality of its singers so ironically, both Blake (Bothell, Wash.) and Jordin (who flew in from Glendale, Ariz.) tried out there. And the winners of the songwriting contest were also from Seattle! Oh, and Sanjaya, too. Don’t forget him!

And Paula managed to show up without a bandage and only a slightly enlarged schnozz after tripping over her female dog. Ryan, in an unusually penchant attempt at humor during the familiy hour, said, “The bitch is fine.”

Blake won the coin toss but inexplicably gave Jordin the choice. She naturally said no to going first because it’s obvious the advantage is to go last. Alas, Blake went first and I think did have the best performanace of the night. But as Simon said, Jordin was more consistent and didn’t botch any tunes tonight.

1- Blake (First performance and his favorite past song: “You Give Love a Bad Name”) - His beat-box take on this Bon Jovi classic is still fun the second time around. It was a smart pick and great way to start the night. He gets a monstrous ovation. Randy: “I give you a 10 out of 10 on the beatboxing. The singing for me was just alright.” Paula: “You did far superior than we were at CBS.[The studio, that is.]” Simon: “You’re the best singer in the competiton but you’re the best performer. Somewhere in the middle, I thought the performance was great, the energy amazing. It hought the singing was a bit flat int he middle. I thought you were shouting. But you know what. I don’t think it matters. It was your best performance three weeks ago.”

2- Jordin (Fourth song performed, a favorite she has sung before, Martina McBride’s “Broken Wing”) - She really embraces this songs and lets it soar. It’s a smart favorite pick because it highlights her ability to start small, then go big with that final note. Randy: “I loved you from day one. I still believe you’re the most talented 17 year old I’ve ever seen. You can blow. That was flawless. Better than the original!” Paula: “You are in great great vocal voice tonight. Really really great. You’re soaring.” (Stop stealing my words, Paula.) Simon: “Now that was good.”

3- Jordin (Second performance of the night and her choice of a song she hadn’t sung before: Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter”): Given the fact she did so well with “Heartbreaker” early on, this one is actually a smart pick. It’s fairly upbeat and shows an edge she can channel. I decided to listen to it first without looking at her. It’s not quite as clean as Aguilera but still very good. I’ve re-played it watching her and she looks wonderful. I love her hair and her dress. She knows she can’t move well on stage so she sticks to the mike. She does have some breath control issues but overall, a great first performance. Randy: “This is a very interesting choice. I feel like we have the great entertainer against the great singer. Your voice was stellar. You sounded amazing.” Randy: “I knew this was going to be one of the best finales. You two opening the night proved it. Awesome.” Simon: “I think on a positive note, it’s great you chose a younger song because you’re only 17. I thought the vocals were a bit shrieky in the middle. I’m going to call round one to Blake.”

4- Jordin (Sixth song performed, the original song, “This Is My Now”) - This song is obviously better suited to Jordin. She didn’t jump around like Blake because she’d look absurd doing so. Even she can’t quite take this song and bring it home but it’s not her fault. She even gets to hit the big note. And the genuinely teary thing she did at the end cemented the victory for her, I think. She is truly genuine. That’s what makes the difference. Randy: “You were the best singer tonight.” Randy: “You have a lot to be proud of.” Simon: “Last week, I didn’t think you weren’t good enough to make the finals. I want to publicly say, I was wrong. It is a singing competition. You just wiped the floor with Blake on that song.”

5- Blake (Third song performed, a song he hasn’t sung before, Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved”): He has decided to pick the same group he sang last week, a song that is tougher than “This Love.” He doesn’t have the high-end range that Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine possesses so the chorus doesn’t quite work. It’s relatively dull for Blake. At least he didn’t beat box on a mid-tempo ballad. Randy: “Great song and a very nice vocal. I love it when you sing naturally and pure. Very nice.” Paula: “You really got into the ease of the song.” Simon: “It was good. It was safe. It wasn’t as good as the first performance. I wouldn’t have chosen that song in the final because it doesn’t have much of an impact.” (I agree with Simon.)

6-Blake (Fifth song performed, the orignal song, “This Is My Now”) - This song was not really made for Blake. It’s packed with so much sap, I’m surprised Blake could move his mouth. He did about as well as he could given his own limitations and the song itself. Randy: “This is not the type of song that suits your voice but you did alright.” Paula: “Even if it’s not the genre of song you enjoy, you were in great voice [Is that grammatically correct, Paula?].” Simon: “I thought it was all a little odd. How did you feel? All the jumping around in the middle. It’s not a bad song. Just not the type of song you’d normally sing. We have to judge you on the first two performances. I always said, there was talent in Seattle and I was right. [Sure…!]

Let the jokes begin!

Paula Abdul over the weekend, trying to get out of the way of her chihuahua, fell and broke her nose. The story is here

“I took a nasty fall … trying not to hurt my dog. I bruised myself on my arm … my chest, my waist all the way down to my hip. All from my little chubby Tulip,” Abdul said.

She will be on the show tonight, presumably with an unsightly bandage on her nose. Simon will surely be making fun of her big time.

I will talk more about the upcoming finale later today but I wanted to post this talk with Mandisa I made a few days back before the week gets away from me.

I interviewed her twice last year and she actually remembered me this time around. Obviously, she hasn’t been interviewed by nearly as many people as some of the other contestants but it’s flattering. She’s genuinely sweet and down to earth.

She has a new book to promote, a quickie autobiography called “Idoleyes: My New Perspective on Faith, Fat & Fame.” She finished it before her CD, “True Beauty,” which comes out in late July.

You can also buy her single “Only the World” here. Or check it out here

She’s got plenty of Atlanta ties. She has a father who lives here, a step mom, a step sister and a brother, plus her college roommate. And Star 94 helped pave her way to “Idol” stardom.

“It’s really been a whirlwind,” she said. “After [the Idols Live] tour, I got a record deal [EMI], I got a book publishing deal [Tyndale] and I got a modeling contract. [Ashley Stewart]. We wrote the book in a month [she co-wrote it with Angela Hunt].”

She writes regularly on her blog, which shows she has skills in that department.. She even writes about “Idol.” She agrees her year was special. “Several people in our year could have won in previous years,” she said. “There was so much talent and it was so diverse. I’m so proud of them.”

As for her own travails on the show, “my faith went through so much from the beginning to the end.”

Mandisa got caught up in Simon’s nasty comments out of her earshot (about “Idol” needing a bigger stage with her around) to his heartfelt apology. Later, she said before she sang Mary Mary’s “Shackles,” “Your addiction, lifestyle, or situation may be big, but God is bigger.” Many gays thought she was referencing them in terms of “lifestyle.” She later said she was referencing her own battle with food addiction but did say she wouldn’t attend gay events.

“People thought I hated them,” she told me. One gay publication reporter, she recalled, “was literally yelling at me over the phone. ‘Mame. I don’t hate you at all. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. That’s not in my heart. To this day, I have met so many gay people I’m great friends with and are fond of. I felt misunderstood.”

Her weight, in the meantime, “continues to be the biggest struggle of my life. Some days, I’m great. Some days, I’m not.” She admits to a major sweet tooth but now tries to eat more fish, vegetables, protein and eggs and less carbs. She exercises now and just wants to be healthy, not necessarily a size 2.

She said “Idol” overall has made America more comfortable with larger people e.g. Kimberley Locke, Ruben Studdard, her. This year, LaKisha’s weight was barely a blip on the radar. “I think society is changing,” she said, and becoming more accepting of larger women.

She’s buds with Melinda, doing studio work together and plans to be at the “Idol” finale. “She called me on the way to her audition in Memphis,” Mandisa said. ” ‘I will turn the car around if you don’t recommend it,’ she said. I said, ‘Go for it! You don’t have to win to have great success. I know her voice. I know she had a great chance to win it all. She’s a consummate professional.”

Her thoughts on Jordin: “She can take it all.”

And Blake: “More than anybody else, he is contemporary. He will sell so many albums.”

Sanjaya? “He’s going to be a superstar. I think he goes down as the most memarable person on ‘American Idol.’ ” At the same time, “I fell for him. He was the butt of so many jokes. I had a lto of my fans praying for him the week he was eliminated. I knew he was going through so much.”

She’s been contacted for “Celebrity Fit Club” but when Kimberley Locke said yes, they decided to hold off on Mandisa. “I was a little thankful she was on it this season,” given the abuse she’s taken from Dustin “Screech” Diamond.

A few weeks back, the publicist for Kat and Taylor sent me a couple of autographed CDs to give away. I said I’d do a giveaway, but I decided to wait til finale week to do it.

The idea is very simple. Email me by noon Thursday at rho@ajc.com addressing the following topic: what this blog has meant to you this season in 150 words or less. I know, I know, that’s incredibly hokey. But I will judge the winners based on wit, style and (of course) good grammar. I will post the winners’ essays and I will give the top person first choice.

I will use your regular handle online and won’t reveal your real name, but I will need your name and address to send you the prize.

I have a few “Idol” trinkets I will also give away so runners up will also get something, too.

This is all a thank you to all of you who have made this blog such a success. With only one exception, it’s been an incredibly free-spirited yet civil community. I love that you all will go completely off topic, be it about NASCAR, “America’s Next Top Model” or your own personal issues. And I also want to thank the 99% of you who merely lurk. The blog since the beginning of the year has garnered nearly 1.2 million page views and that’s a testament to the power of “American Idol” as a connective tissue in a world that has become so splintered in so many ways. We have been by far the No. 1 blog at ajc.com/accessatlanta.com.

I will repeat the following info next week after the season is over, but I may as well say it upfront as well for newbies: I plan to keep this blog alive from June through December as I have the past two seasons unless otherwise told. That means coverage of the 70 “Idol” alums, the “Idols live” tour, the auditions for season seven and possibly the other “Idol”-affiliated reality shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The Search for the Next Great American Band.”

Simon, in a press conference Friday (which I wasn’t part of), said he can’t pick who will win. He called Blake a “brilliant entertainer” but so-so in the vocal department while Jordin is a “great singer” who has yet to give him a “wow” performance.

He said he’s disappoitned Melinda didn’t make the final two but acknowledged her age may have turned off the teen voters. (That begs the question about Taylor, but anyway…)

And in retrospect, he felt the whole Sanjaya phenomenon was “hysterical.”

Here’s the story.

CREDIT: Sheryl Nields

Here’s the EW cover story about Kelly Clarkson.

The story confirms the tensions between Kelly and the label. “In a time when record labels are under increased economic pressures, they get nervous when a big-selling artist like Kelly wants to take risks and evolve,” said Clarkson’s manager Jeff Kwatinetz. “The pressure they put on this woman to compromise herself and do another version of the same record, I’ve never witnessed in my career. (Kwatinetz also handles Snoop Dogg, Mandy Moore and Chris Cornell.)

CREDIT: Entertainment Weekly cover. She looks great here!

Clive Davis wouldn’t talk but emailed EW with a generic note saying “we fully expecct that Kelly will have a long-term, powerful career for many years to come.”

She didn’t use any of the producers from her huge second CD. She co-wrote or wrote everything herself, much of it very dark. “Everybody wants to come out with the same thing and put beats on it. That’s not where I am right now,” she said.

The label was concerned about it being “too negative.” “I’m like, ‘Well, I’m sorry I’ve inconvenienced you with my life.’ No, it doesn’t say, ‘I’m happy, I’m with a boy and having so much fun.’ But it’s reality. I know its not going to do what ‘Breakaway’ did, cause it’s not as mainstream. I get that. Some of the songs are not what 10-year-olds are probably going to listen to. But we all go through situations for certain reasons, and I think we should share that. This record is more intense, it’s more raw, it’s more emotional. But it’s not that different. It’s not Metallica. Even if it does tank — who cares? It’s one album! Out of a whole career of albums I’m going to have, you’re worried about one? I’m not worried about it! And I’m obviously not going to want to put out s—-. I obviously don’t want to fail. I’m not an idiot. Like ‘Nebraska’ from Bruce Springsteen - that’s one of my favorite records, and it’s not the most well-known. But it’s an artist’s record.”

And she’s annoyed that folks don’t give her full credit that she wrote “Because of You” and co-wrote “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Walk Away.” “People can’t fathom that someone who is vocally talented could have some kind of writing ability.”

As noted a couple days ago, “Never Again” has stalled on the charts just shy of the top 20 after just three weeks. Clearly, the top 40 crowd isn’t jumping up and down for it. It’s kind of Evanescence-heavy, kind of dark, not as pop sounding. We’ll see how the CD itself sounds come next month. I think the release date is June 26.

It’s now nearly five hours after tickets went on sale for the “Idols Live!” tour in Gwinnett on Sept. 12 and I just checked Ticketmaster: there are still plenty of seats available on the floor. That doesn’t surprise me. I suspect this will be a lot like season three, when ticket sales were slow across the board because there wasn’t a lot of passion for the crew that year. That was, in fact, the only year “Idol” didn’t sell out here in Atlanta.

I would be personally shocked if the tour sells out the arena this year. Of course there are more than three months for “Idol” to sell more tickets but I suspect a lot of freebie radio giveaways are going to be in order to fill the place.

Here’s the EW cover story about Kelly Clarkson