Voice over performance

America has spoken. Jordin Sparks is the newest and youngest ever, American Idol. It's depressing how I can't summon up more enthusiasm for the season finale, but ever since Melinda Doolittle got eliminated, it's like I just don't quite care who wins. No offense to the young Ms. Sparks - she did sing better than Blake last night but I do think that both Melinda and Blake are far more talented than she is.

Melinda is the consummate artiste. She's everything you look for in a seasoned veteran of the stage and then some. Give her any genre, and she'll pull it off with aplomb for you. Even when she thought she couldn't handle rock, she did and sounded like a young Tina Turner doing it. She has the grace and the poise and yet still be humble after achieving so much through American Idol.

Blake is a performer and arranger extraordinaire. Some of you may not like his beatboxing and what he does to classic songs, but he's fresh and original with a unique sense of what's cool and what's not. Like Jamiroquai, his is a sound that has to be liked and cannot be acquired. Unfortunately for him, the finale song, This Is My Now, was out of his comfort zone and there was little he could do about it.

Jordin has a powerful voice. At seventeen, she displays a maturity and understanding of the song better than other teenagers. But I've always found her performances to lack a certain oomph and the "chill factor" (when it's so good that I get a wee bit of shivers and goosebumps). But admittedly, she did a better job with the finale song, This Is My Now, than Blake.

Am I happy about the outcome? *shrugs* I can't really tell.

But I look forward to seeing the careers of Melinda and Blake in the future. They should go far.