As predicted, Mt. Prospect, Illinois paint salesman Lee DeWyze emerged victorious at the Nokia theater in Hollywood, thus capping the unusual 9th season of American Idol.  An incredibly emotional Lee somehow managed to pull it together enough to reprise his coronation song "Beautiful Day", which can now be purchased in the iTunes store.

The other big story of the night was the departure of everyone's favorite Brit, Simon Cowell.  Tributes for the acerbic judge rolled in from Ricky Gervais, Dane Cook, 7 out of 8 former Idol winners (where were you, David Cook?), and last but not least, a fantastic looking, clear-eyed Paula Abdul.  Seeing Simon and Paula reunited was surprisingly emotional, and although Mr. Cowell noted that the show will go on, the whole thing actually made it feel like the show itself was coming to an end.

During the open auditions for Season 9 of American Idol that were held last summer in Chicago, Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox met while waiting in line and became friends.  Little did they know that many months later, they'd be the last two standing at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles...and deservedly so.  But now that the dust from last night's battle has settled, one mystery still remains: who is the winner?  That question has three different answers, so let's take a look at each one.

The Crystal vs. Lee finale that we've been picturing for quite some time was announced last night as Casey James was shown the door.  The 27 year-old native of Cool, Texas handled his elimination with class and charm, delivering a sweet version of his swan song "Daughters" with that cute little girl sitting in his lap.  Casey is widely regarded as the most accomplished guitar player that has appeared on any season of "Idol", but I think it's safe to say that as a singer, he felt grateful and lucky to have made it as far as he did in the competition.  And if things don't work out for him in the music business, there's most certainly a lucrative shampoo commercial in his future.

Lots of tears were shed on last night's episode, but not over Casey's exit.  The footage shown of the contestants' hometown returns provided the opportunity for us to witness more emotion from Lee DeWyze than we've seen all season, which will probably only strengthen his position as the frontrunner.  Likewise, Crystal cried during her talk with Ryan, as watching the scenes of Crystal Bowersox Day being celebrated while being handed a key to her city proved to be overwhelming.  For me, the most inspirational thing about American Idol continues to be its power to take ordinary, hard-working (sometimes struggling) people like Lee and Crystal and turn them into stars that otherwise might never have been.

Here are a few other thoughts and observations from last night's show:

All three can play the guitar (Casey is arguably the best).  All three can sing well (Crystal probably has the strongest voice).  And all three seem like nice people (Lee likely comes across as the most humble).  So, who is America ready to crown as our next American Idol?  The show itself appears ready to anoint Lee DeWyze, based on the overblown star treatment he was given for the night's closing number.  But was he the best of the evening?  Let's take a closer look at each contestant's performances in the order that they appeared:

Early on in last night's show, Casey James was the first singer named to the Final Three, which effectively killed all suspense surrounding the mystery of who would be eliminated.  Michael Lynche, the 26 year-old husband and father, received the lowest number of votes and is now preparing to see his puppy once again and breathe in the salt-filled, high-humidity air of St. Petersburg, Florida.  Big Mike was never one of my favorite performers, although he certainly made for an entertaining personality who extended his stay far beyond 9th place, where he would have finished had it not been for the Judges' Save.

Personally, I feel like America got it right and I'm entirely satisfied with this year's Final Three.  And if the upcoming "Hometown Return" episode is as gripping as the ones from seasons past, we're all in for quite the emotional ride.  I only need to see a brief glimpse of Elliott Yamin's mother crying during his "hero's parade" from Season 5 and I get all choked up.

Here are a few other thoughts and observations from last night's results show: 

Before the show started last night, I was afraid that this season of American Idol had become so boring that not even a guest appearance from Betty White herself held the power to rejuvenate this group.  Luckily, all it took were a couple of phenomenally sung duets to get me excited about our Final Four again.  Also, I thought Jamie Foxx was an exceptional guest mentor, as all of his advice was geared around the concept of moving each of them from the realm of "contestant" to "artist" (worked great for some, not so much for others).

So let's take a look at how the six performances of "Songs from the Cinema" stacked up:

Although I predicted that Casey James was going to be eliminated last night, the poll on this blog knew otherwise as Aaron Kelly's mere 5% of the votes correctly indicated his demise.  The 17 year-old from Pennsylvania grew in confidence as the season progressed and regularly showed improvement, thanks in part to a great attitude and an eagerness to learn from the judges' critiques (take note, Crystal). Personally, I think the kid has a rock solid voice and I would be thrilled to see a Nashville record label snatch him up and make a great country album with him.  If Season 5's Bucky Covington can have hits at that format, then I see nothing stopping Aaron.

Big Mike found himself in the Bottom 2 once again last night, which was a bit of a surprise considering Casey James's poor performance on Tuesday.  The two of them are obviously the contestants most at risk, as neither Lee DeWyze nor Crystal Bowersox have ever found themselves in jeopardy this season.  Next week's Songs of the Cinema with guest mentor Jamie Foxx promises to be interesting, although I do have a vague fear that the theme is actually another Really Slow Songs in disguise.

Here are a few other random thoughts and observations from last night's results show:

The remaining five "Idol" hopefuls took on the songbook of Ol' Blue Eyes, and by the end of the evening they had me feeling like The Chairman of the Bored.  Not that it was entirely the fault of the contestants, who were once again saddled with performing material that was written more than half a century ago.  It might have been nice to hear Aaron Kelly put a country spin on his selection or listen to Big Mike turn his choice into a modern R&B number, but instead they were encouraged to deliver faithful covers by guest mentor Harry Connick, Jr., who has made a very successful career out of playing music in the classic Sinatra style.  For me, the entire event turned out to be far too predictable, especially in light of the fact that in last Thursday's blog I guessed that Casey James would probably struggle with the theme, and that Big Mike would likely sing well while wearing a fedora.

So, let's review the individual performances: