Lee: (clearly stunned, tears in his eyes) This is the happiest I've ever been. No words to describe it. Crystal, I love you.
They hug. She's happy for him, crying.
Lee sings "Beautiful Day" again. Confetti and fireworks rain down on the stage.
Regardless of who you wanted to win (or if you cared) this is one of Idol's best winning moments.
The show, the season, and Simon's tenure as judge ends at 10:06 EST.
THANKS JONNY! GONNA MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!
And I have to say my absolute favorite PING of yours was of the Queen after that dolt that lives at 1600 Pennsylvania gave her the iPod. I swear I laughed until I cried! (OK, I am laughing just thinking about it!)
Thank you for another great year!
Thank you, Jonny, for a wonderful thread and a wonderful season! I will really miss it, and Idol. I know it wasn’t the greatest of seasons, but tonight was worth it all. This would have been a great finale to Idol forever. Maybe it should be.
I am thrilled that Lee won. I voted for him because he was so happy to be on Idol, happy to learn from the judges, took a lot of notes, worked, improved, came out of his shell. He has a great-sounding voice. I am sure Rod Stewart misses a note or two and no one cares.
Arguably, Bowersox was the better singer. But she did not even attempt to make her self likable by the audience, and she really, really wasn’t.
My prediction: Casey will do even better than the two of them, though I’d like to see Lee keep performing his whole life. (And as we see by tonight’s show, performing your entire life is not a stretch! Several people were released from nursing homes to be there tonight.)