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Crystal Bowersox on Lee DeWyze as American Idol: We Both Win

Crystal Bowersox said she knew she wasn’t going to win long before Ryan Seacrest announced Lee DeWyze as the winner of American Idol 2010. For Bowersox, however, there really is no loser on American Idol this season.

Crystal Bowersox on 'American Idol' (FOX)

“I knew Lee was going to win,” Crystal Bowersox said backstage during a press conference after the American Idol finale. “People seem surprised by that. But I had a feeling. I couldn’t be happier for him. He deserves every minute of this.”

Bowersox said she didn’t feel nervous going into the American Idol finale. “Before the show… I had this strange sense of peace and calm. I’ve been that way through the whole season,” Bowersox said. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m just mellow. I was ready and willing… for the outcome.”

As for losing out to Lee DeWyze, Bowersox doesn’t feel bad about it. “We both win. It’s not win or lose; it’s winner and non-winner,” Bowersox said. “Both of us are going to have very successful careers, and we’re going to be friends for a long time.”

Even though she came in second on American Idol, Crystal Bowersox feels she has learned many valuable things from the journey of being on the show. “I can walk in heels — downstairs, nonetheless,” Bowersox joked. “I’ve learned a lot about myself and I’ve learned a lot about the business… My life is never going to be the same, and I’m ready for all of it.”

Next up for Bowersox? Going home to “hug my baby boy and get back to living.” She’ll also be heading out soon on the American Idol Live Tour and starting work on her album.

>> Previously:Â Lee DeWyze Wins American Idol 2010: Voters Wrong Again

Lee DeWyze Wins American Idol 2010: Voters Wrong Again

On American Idol last night, Lee DeWyze beat out heavily favored contestant Crystal Bowersox in an upset win to take home the top prize, leaving many to wonder WTF happened. The evening was full of surprises both sweet and sour. Bret Michaels‘ American Idol appearance, for example, was thrillingly unexpected and we loved every minute of it. On the other hand, watching the wrong contestant win American Idol yet again was not so much fun.

After re-watching Monday night’s American Idol performances by Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze, we still cannot fathom how voters chose DeWyze as the winner. Going back through the season and watching performances from both singers throughout the show, we are dumbfounded how anyone could compare the two and pick DeWyze over Mama Sox.

We aren’t bashing on DeWyze here, that’s not the point. Although we do think the guy has serious vocal control issues and epic pitch problems. No, the point is that it seems obvious to us Crystal Bowersox is so much more naturally gifted as a musician and singer than DeWyze. Head to head, song to song, Crystal Bowersox beat out Lee DeWyze every single night on American Idol with the possible exception of one – the night DeWyze sang “Hallelujah”.

So why did Lee DeWyze win and Crystal Bowersox fail to capture the voters? Why did we end up with a Kris Allen topping Adam Lambert scenario yet again?

Well, let’s face it, whether we like it or not, a girl with dreadlocks and lip piercings is still too ‘out there’ for a decently large swath of Middle America. Just like Adam Lambert was way too gay for them even before he was officially out. Then of course we have to factor in the ‘tween girl’ vote – because they are always going to vote for whoever the cutest boy left is. Even if he isn’t all that cute.

We also have the Vote for the Worst people who are intentionally voting for the least talented contestant. They actually do make a small difference; we’ve seen their work succeed too often to ignore their tiny power block. Lastly, there are those people out there who honestly didn’t want Crystal Bowersox to win because she – for a while – didn’t seem to want to win. We get cranky about people not appreciating the ‘gift’ of our rabid fanness.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter all that much if Crystal Bowersox lost or Lee DeWyze won. It may even prove to be the best result.Â Bowersox may squeak by as the runner-up with a bit less rigid control on her image and her music. Which seems to have worked out pretty well for Adam Lambert. She will, of course, easily land a record deal of her own and tons of offers to do all kinds of cool thingsÂ once she is done with the American Idol Live Tour.Â Some folks may have even voted against Bowersox just so she wouldn’t be weighed down with the stricter restrictions of being the Idol winner.

Without the American Idol title though, Lee DeWyze might have ended up fading away into distant memory even faster than we think he will anyway. Everyone in my house said it nearly at the same time when the winner was announced: DeWyze needs it, Mama Sox doesn’t.

So for now, at least, Lee DeWyze can enjoy his American Idol winner status. And Crystal Bowersox can get back to doing what she does best – making amazing music and singing the hell out of it. We know which album we’ll be buying when it hits the shelves…

>> Previously:Â American Idol Last Night: The Final Performances

American Idol Last Night: The Final Performances

American Idol this season has often been lackluster, boring and sometimes downright painful to watch. Hands down, we think it is one of the worst seasons ever. Fully half of the contestants probably should have never stepped on the Idol stage. Too many of them lingered far too long after proving they had no business singing outside of a karaoke bar. We aren’t even going to talk about how lousy the ‘theme’ selections were from the producers this year.

In the end, however, we did at least manage to keep the best of the bunch for the American Idol finale. Oh, and Lee DeWyze wasn’t that bad either. While frankly we never felt DeWyze could measure up against Crystal Bowersox‘s powerhouse voice, he at least gave it everything he had last night. Head to head against Mama Sox, however, DeWyze just couldn’t compete.

For the first song, Lee DeWyze pulled out Simon & Garfunkel‘s “The Boxer”. While it wasn’t a terrible song choice, it lacked the power and passion that propelled him to possible winner status in his recent “Hallelujah” performance.

Crystal Bowersox wisely bowed to Janis Joplin for her first song choice, reprising one of her best performances of the season with “Me and Bobby McGee”. Personally, we felt this performance was even better than the first time around. It may have been a bit less ‘wow’ to listen to, but it was pure Bowersox – simple, genuine and packing a serious punch.

We don’t know what American Idol producer Simon Fuller was thinking when he picked R.E.M.‘s “Everybody Hurts” for DeWyze’s second song. He struggled for the notes and clearly lacked the vocal prowess to make the song anything but a sad shadow of the original. Then again, we firmly believe that no one but Michael Stipe should ever sing that song.

While we wouldn’t have chosen Alannah Myles‘ “Black Velvet” for Crystal Bowersox’s second performance either, we still loved it – despite a few shaky moments. Mostly we think those slightly sketchy notes were due more to the heels and tight dress Bowersox was tottering around in than any inherent flaw in her vocals.

If anyone had any doubts about who should take home the American Idol winner title this season, it should have been put to rest with the last two performances of the night. Lee DeWyze unfortunately took on Bono’s “Beautiful Day” – a song that he should probably never even sing in the shower. You never want to cringe during a performance on the American Idol finale and we did during this song, several times.

For Crystal Bowersox, however, the final song was that cathartic moment of awe we were waiting for all night long. Bowersox sang Patty Griffin‘s “Up to the Mountain” and we wanted nothing more than to climb up there to that mountain with her every step of the way. When a song literally brings a hint of tears to your eyes in the final notes, you know you’ve just been witness to greatness.

Tonight the final two will take to the American Idol stage to face the voters. Will it be Adam Lambert falling to Kris Allen all over again? Or will America choose the right American Idol winner this time?

>> Previously:Â Who Will Win American Idol 2010? Our Pick

Who Will Win American Idol 2010? Our Pick

On American Idol last night, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze took to the stage one last time to battle for America’s votes. Who will win American Idol 2010? Well, after last night’s performances, it seems obvious to us who should win, but we still aren’t quite sure if America will agree with us.

Lee DeWyze, Ryan Seacrest and Crystal Bowersox on 'American Idol' (FOX)

Let’s just face it; Crystal Bowersox blew it out last night on American Idol. Lee DeWyze obviously put his heart into a valiant try, but in a head-to-head comparison, he just couldn’t touch Mama Sox. While Lee DeWyze was painfully struggling to keep on pitch, Crystal Bowersox was bringing the house down around his ears with some of her best songs of the season.

Both Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell have publicly predicted a win for Lee DeWyze. We never believe them when they predict a winner though. Sometimes it seems genuine and sometimes it feels like game play to get people to vote for the person they didn’t pick out of spite for the judges.

Throughout the season and last night especially, Crystal Bowersox proved herself to be more than just another American Idol contestant. We would have bought her albums just after hearing her audition. Based on last night’s performances alone, we are now rabid lifelong fans. We will even partake of the American Idol Live Tour – just for Mama Sox.Â We can’t even imagine how Bowersox could lose.

Then again, we were completely shocked when voters handed the American Idol winner title to that other guy last season. You know, the one that wasn’t Adam Lambert. We’d like to solidly predict Crystal Bowersox as the American Idol winner for 2010, she certainly deserves it. But in a Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake world, you just never know what kind of craziness the voters will unleash.

>> Previously:Â American Idol Last Night: The Final Performances

American Idol Finale: Crystal Bowersox Versus Lee DeWyze

Who will win the American Idol finale? If judge Simon Cowell has a choice, it will be ‘most improved’ contestant Lee DeWyze. But we’re still rooting for longtime fan favorite Crystal Bowersox. Tonight we’ll see the final performances and then it will be up to America to decide this season’s American Idol winner at last.

We have been behind Crystal Bowersox to win American Idol this season right from the beginning. Her sultry, soulful voice and powerhouse pipes made her an obvious favorite early on. We also loved that she wasn’t the typicalÂ generic Idol contestant. The hippie girl with the dreadlocks and Janis Joplin vibe connected with us instantly. It was clear Crystal Bowersox wasn’t just another singer, she was an artist in her own right and a force to be reckoned with.

Lee DeWyze, on the other hand, didn’t impress us much in the beginning. In fact, we pretty much ignored him through most of the season on American Idol. His song choices weren’t great, his personality came across a bit flat and he struggled with his vocals during a number of performances. In recent weeks, however, DeWyze seems to have finally come into his own. His recent performance of “Hallelujah” was a show-stopper and even made us rewind for another listen – despite our initial disgust in having to listen to that song on Idol AGAIN. DeWyze’s duet with Bowersox on “Falling Slowly” from Once was also a triumph for both singers.

With Simon Cowell leaving American Idol at the end of the season, this could well be the beginning of the end of Idol forever. Unless they manage to find an amazing replacement for Cowell (and revamp the show to be more interesting again and have better contestants!), we doubt the show will make it more than one more season at the most.

Whoever wins the American Idol finale may well be one of the last Idols ever. While we hope it is Mama Sox who takes home the top prize, it will be up to the public at large to decide who may be one of the last to ever carry the American Idol winner title.

Just have to see your favorite contestants on the American Idols Live Tour? Get your tickets here at StubHub.com!

>> Previously:Â Simon Cowellâ€™s American Idol Winner Pick: Lee DeWyze

Simon Cowell’s American Idol Winner Pick: Lee DeWyze

American Idol judge Simon Cowell has announced his pick for the American Idol winner this season: Lee DeWyze. While Cowell said he previously thought Crystal Bowersox had nailed down the American Idol winner spot, he is now betting on DeWyze.

“If you’d asked me five or six weeks ago, 100 percent I would have said Crystal,” Cowell said in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show. “But now I’ve changed my mind. I think Lee is going to win.”

Crystal Bowersox has been considered by many since the start of the season to be the frontrunner for the American Idol winner title. In recent weeks, however, some have questioned her desire to win the show and deal with all the media attention she’ll be forced to endure if she ends up on top.

In addition, Bowersox has seemed to fade a bit on American Idol on the show over the past few weeks, while Lee DeWyze has been giving some of his best performances of the season. Obviously, DeWyze’s serious improvement during the latter part of the season has certainly changed Cowell’s mind about the winner. We can’t help but wonder if the American public is feeling the same.

The two American Idol finalists will battle it out Tuesday night for the last time. Both contestants will sing three songs each during the live finale. We are still rooting for Crystal Bowersox as our favorite to win, but at this point we think it’s anyone’s guess who will end up the winner.

>> Previously:Â American Idol: Lee Dewyze Hallelujah a Heavenly Gift?

American Idol Final Three Song Choices: What We Think

This week on American Idol, Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze and Casey James will duke it out to see who can make it into the finale. Each of the contestants will choose one song to perform and sing once choice from the judges. On Friday, the judges announced their picks for the American Idol hopefuls.

While we are fond of Ellen DeGeneres‘ choice of Paul McCartney‘s “Maybe I’m Amazed” for Crystal Bowersox, we were hoping for something that was just a bit more powerfully evocative. Nevertheless, we fully expect Bowersox to blast this one out of the house. The song has a strong middle section that should allow Bowersox to show off those amazing pipes nicely.

Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson chose John Mayer‘s “Daughters” for Casey James. While James will probably do reasonably well with the song, it’s hardly much of a challenging choice. It certainly doesn’t scream ‘winner’ to us anyway. And if he does manage to screw it up, James will look like a total idiot.

The song choice we disliked most was Simon Cowell‘s pick for Lee DeWyze. “Hallelujah” may not be the most overdone song on American Idol, but it certainly is close. We’ve heard it so often that any rendition of it on Idol would probably bore us to death. Plus it’s already been performed by a finalist on Idol this season! For us to even care, DeWyze will have to do vocal gymnastics to make this song shine in a way no one else has before. Frankly, we don’t think he’ll succeed.

We hope the contestants themselves will do much better with their song choices for American Idol this week than the judges did!

>> Previously:Â American Idol Last Night: Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox Duet Rocks!