American Idol: Live Results Show #12

(S06E39) Last season's third place finisher Elliot Yamin showed up to perform on tonight's American Idol. He sounded truly grateful and sincere as he gave words of encouragement to the Final 3 contestants.

And he served as a fitting reminder that finishing third on American Idol isn't such a bad thing. Someone has to go home tonight -- but it's not an ending for that finalist. It's really only the beginning of a career.

This time next year, I fully expect tonight's third place finisher to be on this same stage singing and promoting a CD and upcoming tour.

I just didn't expect the results to go the way they did tonight. And I never thought that this year's third place finisher would be...

MELINDA DOOLITTLE?!?!

Wow, what a shock. I couldn't believe it when Ryan told her it was the "end of the road." Ever since Sanjaya went home, most of the eliminations have been fairly predictable. But I really thought that Melinda was heading to the finale -- especially after last night. Simon thought so too. And so did most of our commenters.

According to the poll on last night's recap, an overwhelming majority (64%) of you thought that Blake was going to get the FEWEST votes. Melinda seemed to be super-safe. Which only tells me one thing: Blaker Girls aren't the ones reading my recap or taking part in online polls. They're too busy voting for their guy, Blake.

So it's JORDIN SPARKS vs. BLAKE LEWIS in the finale.

The odds makers were right. They did predict a Jordin/Blake finale. Will they also be right about Jordin winning this year's American Idol title? Yesterday, I thought Jordin was a sure thing, but now I just don't know. Will Jordin pick up Melinda's votes? Just how committed are Blake's fans? Could a beatboxer actually win this thing?

I guess we'll find out next week during the two-part season finale.

While I was truly sad to see Melinda go, I thought it was classy of Ryan to refer to her as "one of our best singers ever." And of course the judges had nothing but nice things to say about Melinda. Randy: "You were the most consistent all season, so be proud." Paula: "You have already made it." And Simon actually took time to congratulate the other two, but commiserated with Melinda, whom he called "one heck of a singer."

I'm pretty sure this is not the last we've seen or heard of Melinda Doolittle.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tonight's show started with an intro by Homer Simpson instead of Ryan Seacrest. I was sure this meant we were going to be in for another promo for The Simpsons Movie. It did not.
  

• THE TRIPS HOME -- Each finalist went home last week and were bestowed with many honors (parades, interviews, streets named after them). It looked like a pretty intense and grueling schedule for each of them, but they seemed to enjoy the attention and accolades. Up until now they've been kept in a bubble, so I'm sure it was overwhelming to see how much of an impact they've had back home. I really liked the "Seattle Rocks -- Simon Was Wrong" sign that Blake's fans brought to the celebration.
  

• ELLIOTT YAMIN -- He was sporting lots and lots of curls, and showing off those brand new sparkly teeth. He was also wearing a sweater vest. Have sweater vests come back into style? He sang "Wait for You" and sounded better than most of the other "legendary" mentors who have performed this year. And the judges gave him comments just for the heck of it. Randy said, "it was hot...welcome home." Paula was speechless, she was "so proud of him" she couldn't stand it. Simon said, "not great, I'm kidding, it was great."

• ELLIOT'S ADVICE -- He told the finalists "you've come so far...and this is only the beginning of great things to come." Elliot also thanked everyone. No, really, EVERYONE. Which prompted Ryan to ask if he wanted to thank Coca Cola or Ford. Elliot thanked Porsche, which caused Ryan to quip, "That's a no-no on this show."

• MAROON 5 -- They sang "Makes Me Wonder" and I'm sort of surprised the Idol producers let them sing a song with the lyrics: "And it really makes me wonder If I ever gave a f**k about you." Sure they didn't actually say the f-word, but still, it's not the most appropriate song for a "family show." Luckily, my kids were too bored by the results show to watch. However, I imagine other 10-year-old kids might want to download the song tomorrow, and their parents are going to be in for quite a shock.
  

• FORD COMMERCIAL -- Tonight's video featured the song "Everybody Wants You" and showed Blake, Melinda, and Jordin as children singing in their rooms. Okay, it wasn't really them as children. But there were three really cute kids who were perfectly cast as their younger counterparts.
  

OTHER TIDBITS:

• Tickets for The Idols Live Tour go on sale the weekend of May 19th.

• American Idol is looking for the best undiscovered band.

• Was that Jackie Collins in the audience?

• Blake's father is awesome. Too bad Ryan kicked him off the stage.

• Melinda is really, really gone. Bummer.
  

Next Tuesday: Season Finale Part 1 (8-9 PM ET)

Next Wednesday: Season Finale Part 2 (8-10 PM ET)