I decided not to do "technical" reviews for the final sing-off on "American Idol." If the last two had ended up being Melinda and Jordin, it might have been worthwhile, but what would the point be with Jordin and Blake? Clearly, it's an apples and oranges comparison between those two. Blake is hip and cool, Jordin is fresh-faced and naturally gifted. It seemed to me as if the final was a total handover to Jordin, since the wretched winner of the "Idol" songwriting contest was a sappy ballad that Blake completely mailed in and Jordin nailed.

On the whole, the last show was a total letdown. Blake didn't surprise anyone by reprising his "You Give Love a Bad Name," which was cool but not that different from the first time he performed it, and Jordin's "Broken Wing" was so dull I fast-forwarded through it. For Blake's second song he did another Maroon 5 tune, and although his performance of "She Will Be Loved" might have been his best pure vocal on the season, Blake wasn't going to win based on the quality of his vocals and it wasn't new or exciting enough to overcome Jordin's huge advantage on the dire "This Is My Now."

Jordin will win in a landslide, and I suppose she deserves it. Blake was much more fun to watch during the finale, since he seemed to be really loose and completely enjoying himself on stage as opposed to the stiff, quivering-lipped Sparks. Blake probably didn't want to win if he knew what was good for him. Perhaps the most revealing scene in the whole final was the flashback to Blake winning the coin flip and deferring to Jordin on the choice to go either first or second in the finale. That was kind of sweet, right?

Not a great end to a lukewarm season. I expect that the two finalists will be the sixth-season castmembers to go on to the most commercial success; in that sense, at least, the voters got it right. Jordin's future is entirely in the hands of whichever producers/handlers wind up with her; she has talent but little to no common sense, so her time in the limelight could be short-lived. She's pretty by "American Idol" standards but she inherited a bit of a linebacker's build from her father and it will be interesting to see how she fares in the deep end of the pop talent pool. Blake on the other hand ought to be a lock for at least one or two radio hits. His beatboxing and his interest in creating his own arrangements and beats will attract a higher level of production talent to his camp.

So, it's been fun. I still mean to go through the whole competition and pick the songs I would have done, for a fun little postseason exercise, but for now I'm glad the whole thing is over. "Idol" is the #1 show in the country for a reason, but for a serious audiophile listening to all of this lowest-common-denominator pop tripe week after week grinds you down a bit. I can't believe that garbage "This Is My Now" song won the songwriting contest; I whistle cleverer melodies while relieving myself. Stil, though, I enjoyed myself way more than I ever thought I would when I first committed to watch this season, and I'm glad I made it all the way through to the end. I'll be back next year!