American Idol 12 Season Finale

The American Idol season 12 finale was filled with a night of performances and then some. Thought the age of the Internet spoiled many of the names, it was still great to see stars former and current participating in some way, shape, or form along with the other Idol finalists to make for a fun filled night... filler until we went on the learn who the winner was. For the first time since season six, we were bound to have our first female winner, because the men were just an under-performing bunch (though according to them, the women sabotaged them, hahaha...), though Candice Glover and Kree Harrison were the two right selections for the finale, despite the fact that some may argue that Angie Miller could have filled in the slot instead of Kree, but that's debatable.

As for the performances that made up the finale, we should start with the men, who were "sabotaged" throughout the season. They took part in a Four Seasons medley with "Let's Hang On," "Walk Like A Man," and "Who Loves You" before being joined by Frankie Valli, who led off performances of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and "Grease (the opening song)," showing that he did a fine job for somebody 79 years young. While he sounded older, he still has the execution from his younger days and the guys did a fine job backing him up. Speaking of stars that are aging well, Aretha Franklin showed that she still has plenty of energy, which performances such as "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman," "I Ain't Never (Loved A Man, The Way That I Loved You)," "Respect," and "Think," being backed up by the female finalists. Other performances included The Band Perry singing with Janelle Arthur, Adam Lambert AND Jessie J singing with Angie Miller, Amber Holcomb with Emile Sande, and Kree Harrison with Keith Urban, Travis Barker, and Randy Jackson.

One of the more surprising performances included that of Psy performing his new hit, "Gentleman." The surprise comes in two ways. One, I could hardly believe that he would be interested in coming on to American Idol and two, I held a high belief that "Gangnam Style" was a one-hit wonder and one-hit video. However, it seems as if people like him have longer than fifteen minutes to make an impression and Korean pop music, also known as K-POP, is quite popular. I hold the belief that "Gentleman" is what I believed it would be, "Gangnam Style" with different words and different dance moves. I am not a fan of Psy, even from his Idol performance.

Other big celebrities that sung on their own were Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez with Pitbull.

For the grand finale, it was... Candice Glover... who won the twelfth season of American Idol, the first female winner since Jordin Sparks. Candice remained the consistent favorite as the season progressed and the judges favorite by a mile. Along with being the judges favorite, she was also America's favorite which seemed evident from how the votes came in. Looking back a week when she went home to South Carolina, we could see that she was clearly a celebrity in her hometown. On the contrast, Angie went home to empty streets in Massachusetts and into a coffee house where only her friends were happy to see her. It's true that the champions are produced by the south and Candice is no exception. Candice had three of the most stellar performances, one of which, "I Who Have Nothing," which has become a mainstay on the show, put her over the top for the evening. Kree Harrison, who took runner-up for the night, should have a good career and should adapt well to the radio.

American Idol also said goodbye to its last original judge, Randy Jackson. Known for his use of the word "dawg" and later for deeming that people were "in it to win it" is walking away after twelve seasons. Whether it was entirely his own decision, we are not sure, but he will be missed. Someone that will not be missed is Nicki Minaj, who is leaving the show after one season. While she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, her comments were often immature and inappropriate, and she holds no influential stance in the process besides the fact she has attracted listeners who are into hip-hop music. I will not miss the Pink Pill commercials, either. As the pink pill says, "bye-bye, boo-boo!" I originally heard that all of the judges would be leaving, but now there is mention that Keith Urban will be staying on the show, but we'll just have to see. Nigel Lythgoe is also slated to leave, staying with So You Think You Can Dance and that's that.

American Idol 13 is already setting up, so we'll just have to see what's bound to happen. Though first, I have my eye on the concert with the top ten AND Aubrey Cleland, who was chosen as the eleventh person to take part.