American Idol 6 News

Let's take a look at what went down behind the scenes of last night's final American Idol results show of the year...

The Grand Finale
Within minutes of his – and everyone's – hearing Ryan Seacrest announce Jordin Sparks as this year's American Idol, Blake Lewis was backstage, facing the press. "It's bittersweet right now," he said, "because it's over, and like three seconds before I got on the stage with Jordin at the end of the – it was just like, 'Oh, man, it's done. This is like the last moment I get to step on the American Idol stage, and the journey has truly been a blessing.' "

And just what was it Blake whispered in Jordin's era as Ryan's was breaking open the envelope? "I told her two things," said Blake. "I said, 'I love you, Jordin Sparks.' And I said, 'If it comes down to me singing this last song, will you do a duet with me?' "

Cutting a Rug
The American Idol Finale red carpet completely blanketed the Hollywood Walk of Fame – except for one particular star in the sidewalk: Ryan Seacrest's. A square hole was cut in the red carpet so everyone to see it. Everyone, that is, but Carrie Underwood, who was caught by surprise when she suddenly noticed the name – and then had to do a little hop, skip and a jump to avoid tripping on it.

Paula's Prediction
On the red carpet Paula Abdul rightly predicted Jordin Sparks would be victorious at the finale, but acknowledged that the female finalist had the upper hand when it came to the final song, "This Is My Now." "They shouldn't have given the same song to both male and female – it was more of a female song," Paula told People magazine. "What they've done the last few years is have songs written for the guys and songs written for the girls."

Mother Knows Best
Blake Lewis's mom agreed about her son's lineup for his final performance. "I liked the first two [songs] and the last one. I knew that he wasn't hot on it, and Jordin did a better job," she said. "[But] I love it when he does rock because I'm an old rocker, so that was cool. He does very little rock so I loved the Bon Jovi!"

The Roaring Crowd
A radiant and confident Jordin owned the carpet in her Badgley Mischka dress, shining above all else around her as she made her way past the media throng. For his arrival, Blake came in a sea of his top 12 Idols surrounding him like a human shield – while fans went crazy screaming his name. Also making their way into the foray: Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Hicks, Constantine, Mandisa and even more former Idols.

Teddy Bear Hug
Former Idol Ruben Studdard had nothing but good words for the two finalists. "I think they're both totally unique," said the Velvet Teddy Bear. "You know, Blake has that urban hip-hop flavor going for him. Jordin, you know, she's a cleancut young lady – very smooth."

Before the winner of American Idol is crowned tonight, let's go back stage at last night's performances. We thank People magazine for the report...

Blake's VIP Treatment
Thirty minutes before the show started, Blake Lewis, rockin' his performance gear, made an appearance in the FOX VIP room in the Kodak Theatre lobby. The room lit up as the finalist was escorted in, looking cool as ice despite having to get onstage and take on Jordin Sparks moments later. Blake, who was all smiles, greeted guests, shaking hands as he made his way around the room.

The Idols
Johnny the warm-up guy led the cheers and jeers at the Kodak Theatre Tuesday night. With the clock counting down to show time, he introduced the top 10 (minus two), sending the crowd into hysterics as Haley Scarnato, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Sligh, Sanjaya Malakar, Phil Stacey (wearing his black and white sailor suit), Gina Glocksen, Brandon Rogers, Stephanie Edwards and Chris Richardson made their way into the room.

And this group, who will hit the road for the American Idols Live tour this summer, couldn't have been a happier, more easy-going bunch.

They should be dancing
When it was time to introduce the judges, band leader Ricky Minor had a little surprise up his sleeve: When Simon Cowell came out wearing, rather than his signature tight tee, a discoed-out black suit with a white shirt unbuttoned down to his "cleavage" (as Ryan Seacrest would later joke), Minor and band played "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees, replacing the lyrics with "It's Simon Cowell, yeah."

But, of course, Simon and Randy Jackson were already in their seats, with no sign of Paula Abdul. No problem: Minor and crew had some lyrics for that as well, adding "where's Paula Abdul? Where's Paula Abdul?" And, finally, Ryan, who is always on cue and on time, got a little theme too as he made his way onto the stage: "What you doin' Seacrest, yeah? It's Ryan Seacrest, yeah!"

Ryan, Ryan
After Ryan introduced Simon Cowell as "Simon Cleavage" and said on live TV, "So the bitch is okay?" to Paula Abdul after she explained how she'd tripped over her female dog, it was revealed that Ryan's parents were in the house. "The Seacrest family is here," said Johnny the warm-up guy. "Big round of applause for Mom and Dad!" Aww ... Ryan smiled as he headed over to do his next monologue right next to his folks. But true to form, he didn't let their presence hold him back, continuing to make often risqué quips on and off screen.

TV Dads
Ricky Schroder was in the audience with his wife Andrea, daughter Cambrie and sons Holden and Luke, as was Heroes' Greg Grunberg, with his wife Elizabeth and their sons Jack, Sam and Ben. During one commercial break, Schroder, holding his daughter's hand, went up to shake hands with and chat with the judges.

Chris Daughtry Comes 'Home'
Fans have heard the song "Home" all season each time one of the finalists was given their walking papers, but tonight, to the crowd's delight, former Idol Chris Daughtry gave a live performance of the song that even the judges had to stand up for. Audience members, including Denise Richards and Marlee Matlin, cheered and gave Daughtry and his band a standing ovation.

On Tuesday night's performance show, Jordin Sparks got all choked up while singing "This Is My Now," the song she will record if she wins American Idol.

The touching song was written by Seattle songwriters Scott Krippayne and Jeff Peabody, the winners of American Idol's first-ever songwriting competition.

According to FOX, Scott is a professional songwriter and Jeff is a full-time pastor. The writing team won the competition after 25,000 submissions and more than 500,000 votes.

For winning the contest, they earned a publishing deal with 19 Entertainment.

Blake Lewis seems like a really nice guy. And we have no doubt he'll succeed in the music business.

But viewers and critics around the country are in agreement, after last night's three performances, regarding who should be crowned American Idol: Jordin Sparks. Here's what many had to say after the show last night:

Simon Cowell (to Jordin): You just wiped the floor with Blake.

USA Today: Jordin Sparks can handle a saccharine ballad with ease, and even threw in a little extra artificial sweetener by sobbing a bit to finish it up — but not before she had soared through the chorus and hit a crowd-pleasing glory note toward the end.

TV Guide: Jordin's slated for the big win. That's my story and I'm sticking with it! Jordin is my pick. After all, it is a singing competition.

People magazine (regarding the final song:) [Jordin] just stood there, opened her mouth and out came beautiful music colored with emotion. She somehow infused the song with radiance and strength.

People magazine was backstage at American Idol last night. Here's what too place:

She Works Hard
Jordin Sparks sang Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For the Money," but what she really did was work hard for the judges' attention. Throughout most of her performance Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson talked amongst themselves.

She's Back
British invasion week took place early on in the competition, but singer Lulu made her return to the studio on Tuesday night – this time, as a fan and not a mentor. "I was in town on business and Nigel Lythgoe told me to stop by for the show if I wanted," she said. "And of course, I wanted to. I'm a fan." Who does she think will make it through to the finals?

"Well, I predicted early on that it would be Blake and Jordin in the finals."

Party of Two
Actor Scott Wolf and his wife, Kelley Limp attended the show for the first time ever. The former Party of Five star, who's in Los Angeles starring in the Neil LaBute play Fat Pig, says he and Kelley watch Idol every night. "Melinda Dolittle is by far the best vocalist," he said. "She could be one of the great ones of our time."

Pucker Up
LaKisha Jones has praised Simon for being a good kisser with soft lips. So it's no wonder a grandmother from Grand Rapids, Mich., asked during a commercial break if she could see for herself. Simon enthusiastically obliged with not one, but two smooches (sorry LaKisha)!

Name Dropping
Randy is a well-established music producer and he never misses a opportunity to remind you of it. Last night was no exception. He chose the Whitney Houston song "I Believe in You and Me" for Melinda. When she was informed of Randy's choice via a faxed letter that read "I've worked with her before" (meaning Houston), Simon and Paula cracked up and playfully whacked Randy on the back, as if to say, "We know you're big in the industry, Dawg!"

Sign Me Up
Outstanding signage for the night? "Simon, Can I Be Your Puppet?" and "I Love My Agent For Getting Me These Tickets."

Band of Brothers
It's not often that the Idol contestants remain on the stage during a commercial break. But after Blake Lewis performed an impressive version of Robin Thicke's "When I Get You Alone," the Seattle native took his time as he shook hands and hugged bandleader Ricky Minor. He then walked through the band section to shake hands and hug the musicians and the backup singers, thanking them for making his final performance at the CBS studio a memorable one.

Next week the finalists will perform at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Thanks again to TV Guide's American Idol experts for providing the following insight. Let's get right to it...

TVGuide.com: Did you see this weekend's Saturday Night Live? They did a bit with Bill Hader as Ryan, forever toying with the singers' emotions, and Maya Rudolph portraying Melinda as having no visible neck.
Rosanna Tavarez: [Gasps] That's so horrible!
Kimberly Caldwell: Oh, no! I'm sure that hurt her feelings.

TVGuide.com: When I spoke to LaKisha Jones last week, she said she definitely felt the burden being the front-runner, that everyone was expecting her to serve up some "I Am Telling You"-type showstopper every time, regardless of the genre.
Kimberly: I totally agree. She came out so strong, and everybody thought that that was how she would be every week, that she's the girl to beat, but you can't be perfect every single week. She lost a bit of her spark and her charisma, and others passed her up in the competition.
Rosanna: It's hard when people expect excellence from you. But at the same time, it's one thing if you have a bad week. If you continue to have bad weeks, people can't reconcile the difference.

TVGuide.com: I can't understand why the judges are now harping on Blake Lewis for "always" beatboxing, when he in fact went most of the competition without doing it at all.
Kimberly: Exactly. I thought that it was really smart of him to not overdo it in the beginning, and to not overdo it throughout the competition. He's been singing, and technically his voice is not up to par with Melinda, but at the same time Melinda can't beatbox.
Rosanna: Maybe his thinking was, "If I make it far enough, I'll use it as like one of my weapons," but... one song after another of [emulates beatboxing] is a little of an assault to the ears. It's interesting, but only for the occasional song, not consecutively.

TVGuide.com: Why do you think "Bee Gees week" was so tricky for the singers?
Rosanna: Because Bee Gees songs are made for the Bee Gees to sing. Really. They write their songs for their voices, for Barry Gibb's falsetto. So everyone, if they're going to sing it in full voice, which is the better option, they have to lower the key, and now the song doesn't sound the way it used to. It gets lost in translation.

TVGuide.com: How much harder is it during this leg to have to do two or more songs? Is it, like, ridiculously harder?
Rosanna: I think it is ridiculously harder.
Kimberly: Yeah, for sure. For the one song, you've got the CD player on and you've got that song pumping into your brain in between commercial shoots and photo shoots and doing press. But now you have two, so your head is scattered, and you might give a little more love to one song than another.... It's stressful. It's just so much pressure, because the show is so big.

TVGuide.com: Is Jordin Sparks freakishly tall, or is Ryan Seacrest... just not freakishly tall?
Kimberly: I think there's a little bit of both going on there.
Rosanna: I think Jordin is starting to discover the world of six-inch heels. [Laughs] Just kidding!
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The three remaining American Idol contestants took to the streets Friday... of their rapturous hometowns. Local loyalists showed all day just who they thought should win FOX's wildly popular singing contest, which will feature some of the scenes next week.

Back before she was a finalist, Melinda Doolittle was a Belmont University mascot in Tennessee. She wore a hot, sweaty bear costume and jumped around in the name of school spirit.

The tables were turned on Doolittle in a big way when she returned Friday to her alma mater. Hundreds waved signs and shouted encouragement to her: "We love you, Melinda." "You're going to win, Melinda." "Doolittle's Da Bomb." "Melinda for President."

The school even named a street after her, unveiling a black iron post with a blue sign that read: "Melinda Doolittle Way."

Doolittle, who arrived waving from the back of a white convertible Mustang, looked - all too characteristically, as judge Simon Cowell has scolded her - surprised and overwhelmed.

"If I talk too much I'll cry," she said. "You have no idea how much this means to me. ... This is probably one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced."

Doolittle said she was glad to be home, even if just for an afternoon. "I just got some sweet tea, so I'm happy. Now I need some candied yams and greens and I'll be great."

Doolittle, a professional backup singer in Nashville before she became an American Idol contestant, has a rich, powerful voice that she put to work on two songs Friday. But even stars have off moments, and Doolittle's came during her first number when her microphone kept cutting off. The problem was corrected, and she recovered nicely for the second song.

Ironically, her mother, Marguerite Doolittle, said her daughter was tone deaf until about the sixth grade. She couldn't carry a tune to save her life.

"God really dropped a voice into her in the seventh grade," her mother said. "It's been so exciting watching this, because it was not there before. It's like seeing a miracle, really."

The scene was just as raucous in Seattle, where Blake Lewis, 25, played a free concert before more than a thousand fans at Westlake Park. He was joined onstage by Seattle's own Sir Mix-A-Lot, who sang his hit "Baby Got Back" over what many in the crowd came to see: Lewis' beat-boxing.

"Every time you watch American Idol, you see people that can sing, and that's it," Mix-A-Lot said to wild applause. "This cat got real talent. ... He's the new king of Sea-town, baby."

Lewis' homecoming plans included a parade in his suburban hometown of Bothell and a performance of the national anthem at the Mariners-Yankees game Friday night. He looked out on the crowd in the warm midday sunshine and said: "I'm speechless. Thank you guys for all the support."

Many in the crowd, populated largely by truant teenage girls, screamed and waved signs that read "Blaker Girls" or "We (heart) Blake."

Blaire Ginnever, a 14-year-old eighth-grader, said she was skipping her lunch period and Spanish class at Villa Academy in Seattle.

"Blake es muy bueno," she said.

Ginnever's mom, Marilyn, was also in the crowd, and said she didn't mind that her daughter was missing school.

"It's the end of the year, and this is big for Seattle," she said. "We follow the show. It's kind of a family event, and rooting for a hometown boy makes it special."

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Dean Banowetz is the American Idol hairstylist.

He gave Glamour an article recently. Here's an excerpt of it:

How much time do you have to do each person’s hair per episode?
About 30 minutes. You’d think once the contestants get booted, we’d have more time for the rest, but it’s always like there are more things to do.

Got any shortcuts for readers?
My biggest thing is, do not skip a proper blow-dry with a round brush, because then you don’t have to curl it and you don’t have to flat-iron it. When in doubt, hair accessories like wraps and headbands are genius. I hate to use her as an example, but when Paris was in court, she had a ponytail and a headband on. It honestly doesn’t get any more simple than that. Anytime a celebrity goes to court, they are clean and simple, which I just think is hysterical.

Which eliminated contestant (I wouldn’t want to sway the current vote!) have you really loved doing?
Sanjaya was the most fun for me because he’d let me do crazy things to his hair. He’d say, “I wanna do a Mohawk,” and I’d say, “Ponyhawks are new and fresh; Mohawks blow.” I always said it was a 50/50 style: 50 percent will love it, 50 percent will absolutely hate it but 100 percent of these people will always remember it.

Was there ever a contestant who didn’t want you to change his or her hair at all?
Well, I had many discussions with Chris Richardson about growing his hair out. But he didn’t feel comfortable with it, so he would shave it himself. He still looks great. And when it’s time for him to change, he’ll change. I also told Chris Sligh, the one with the really curly hair, “I would love to straighten your hair,” but he was like, “No, I don’t feel comfortable,” and that was cool.

So, how do you get everyone’s hair so healthy- and shiny-looking?
My go-to product is the K-PAK system. There’s a conditioner and a reconstructor, which makes hair strong. I use them all the time, and if I could, I’d use it on my dog. It depends on your needs, but once a week is good.

What did you think of that whole controversy when you mentioned on a radio show that Haley was reusing Katharine McPhee’s extensions?
It’s so not a big deal! You wash them and you sanitize them and you move on. Extensions are expensive; I have probably like $40,000 in extensions. I’ve also used some of the extensions I’ve used on Leeza [Gibbons] on Kellie Pickler.

What would Ryan look like if you didn’t do his hair?
He has this wavy texture right in the front of his hair, and it stresses him out. I’ve done his hair for seven and a half years, so he’s not really used to doing his own hair. When he does try to do his own hair, it makes him crazy. He has his natural color right now, and everybody’s like, “Where are the highlights?” and I’m like, “We don’t have time.”

Do you do Simon’s hair too? Why does he part it down the center like that?
I’ve had so many hair interventions with that man it’s not even worth it anymore. Simon’s a handsome guy. I always say this is his Donald Trump. Simon’s so known for his hair, and his tight T-shirts. It’s recognition, and I get all of that. He has this whole blow-dry thing that he does himself. I’ve just done the same haircut every two weeks for the past six seasons. Every single time I do his hair, I always mess with him, and I’m like, “Something new today?” and he’s like, “Absolutely not!” Simon doesn’t feel comfortable changing, and who am I to change him? I mean, it’s gotten him this far.

American Idol may be able to tell their contestants what they can and can't sing, but they can't censor Pink!

Pink's pre-taped performance of her song "Who Knew" is scheduled to air tonight on Idol (after being bumped from the Idol Gives Back charity episode), but TMZ has learned that the pop star was originally set to sing her current racy hit, "U + Ur Hand."

Reportedly, when the American Idol powers-that-be realized the song made references to self-love, they asked Pink to alter the lyrics to make them more appropriate for the "family-friendly" show.

Well-placed sources tell TMZ that Pink wasn't willing to compromise her artistic integrity and agreed to sing her last single, "Who Knew," instead.

If Idol really wanted to protect audiences, there's only one person they should have censored - Sanjaya Malakar.

Calls to reps for P!nk and "Idol" were not immediately returned.

Thanks to USA Today for this summary of last night's performances. A certain staff member of American Idol Worship celebrated a birthday, preventing us from recapping the show as usual ...

1. Jordin Sparks, To Love Somebody: Best song, best version, very impressive control and strength, the easy standout.

2. Jordin, Woman in Love: Quite a ways behind No. 1, and only slightly ahead of the next two, but it gets the edge because it had an appealing melodic quality to it.

3. LaKisha Jones, Run to Me: Not one of my favorite Bee Gees songs, but LaKisha uncovered some nice nuances. Too bad it was a little stagy near the end.

4. Melinda Doolittle, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart: A bit sluggish but an impressive, if slightly messy, workout at the end. Close race for 3 and 4.

5. LaKisha, Stayin' Alive: Not a good version, but give her a bit of credit for daring to rearrange it a bit, and it's still an enjoyable song (except when Hollywood stars lip-synch to it).

6. Melinda, Love You Inside Out: Possibly her most lackluster performance all year. Barely ahead of No. 7.

7. Blake Lewis, You Should Be Dancing: Anything but singing. I didn't mind the beatboxing, but the falsetto was weak and there was none of the crazed dancefloor jitters that saturate the original version.

8. Blake, This Is Where I Came In: If you knew the song, you'd be even less impressed than the judges, who didn't know it, were. Thoroughly weak.