2 % Reduced Idol

Oh, I am bummed this morning.  I was bummed last night.  How long will this inner bummage linger?  Much like the Reduced Fat Milk in my fridge, the disappointment will expire at some point in the near future.  Still.  Two-percent separated Lee D. and Mamasox.  Two percent, people. That's not much, but it was enough to hand the crown to the most unassuming, not-quite-there-yet Idol winner ever.  I blame Simon for this twisty outcome.

Simon, the king of snark, phoned it in this season.  He'd already checked out.  In the beginning, he annointed Crystal, then he went all Henry VIII on her, as if she'd betrayed him with a shortage of big notes.  He  lopped off her head and moved on to Lee, a nice menschy paint salesman who, no question, showed the most growth of anyone this season.  Lee improved by degrees, slowly building confidence, as the judges kept egging him on, telling him to act like he deserved to be there.  He got the message.  He sent his tortured aura to the curb and started to have some fun.  Crystal arrived fully-formed and itunes-ready, the most original Idol gal to ever grace the Nokia.  And now I'm left to ponder what sort of dental work awaits her.  Will she follow Elliot Yamin's lead and fill in the gaps, or stay true to herself, a la Popeye:  "I yam what I yam."  I'll close with one more prediction, hoping this one will be more accurate than others I've made:  Crystal will make her mark with an album full of gorgeous vocals.  Airplay will be an issue.  She won't get gobs of it.  She'll perform.  She'll be on Letterman and Leno and Ellen.  She'll be fine.  She'll be around for a long, long time, on her own terms.