Tonight's finale had sixteen yr-old, bubbly blonde, Diana Degarmo from Snellville (no offence but this is such a corny-sounding town name!) pitted against nineteen-yr old single mommy, Fantasia Barrino. The tension was at an all time high for die-hard AI fans and AI-watchers alike... Nonetheless, I wasnt really as thrilled as I should be prior to watching the show; in actuality, I was even slightly disappointed by this season's finale somehow. Perhaps I feel cheated that out of the six songs performed tonight, half of them had been sung before during previous AI3 shows. Moreover, I think there was something amiss with the sound system; both singers sounded more echo-ey than per normal. Oh well...
Diana Degarmo
I Believe - This song, which had been penned especially by AI-alum Tamyra Gray for the show, was pretty good at the beginning but I felt that Diana botched up the last few high notes; they sounded kinda rough! If it hadnt been for this last bit, it would have been almost perfect...
No More Tears - Sung originally during Disco week, this energetic number did manage to redeem Diana's earlier performance. Like I've mentioned before, Diana is very good with these uptempo-hollering kind of songs; it has almost become a modus operandi for her~ :p
Don't Cry Out Loud - Diana reprised this song from last week's show with disastrous results!!! I almost pity her though; this could have been her winning number if it hadnt been for the uneven delivery near the end. Tough luck...
Fantasia Barrino
All My Life - Fantasia kicked-start her portion of the night with this peculiar rendition, with dubious results. I never liked the original by KC & Jojo and I must admit that I hate it even more now. However, Fantasia's charismatic presence did manage to buffer the agonizing pain of hearing this song, albeit to a certain extent... ;p
Summertime - This was Fantasia's showstopper from movie week but I think I wasn't as enchanted as I was the first time when I heard this piece being performed. Nevertheless, it was still a brilliant rendition, only lacking the exquisite novelty of the aforesaid orginal
I Believe - I think she executed this song with more conviction than Diana ever could! Fantasia's vocals sounded abit raw in some of the high parts but on the whole, she was able to bring the performance to an amazingly emotional crescendo. Mediocre and cliched lyrics aside, Fantasia succeeded in making me believe that she was idol-worthy!
At a glance...
It's quite impossible to predict at this point, who'd eventually be crowned the next American Idol. Diana Degarmo obviously has the massive tween vote whereas Fantasia's edgier personality holds more appeal for older & more matured audiences. Whatever the case, I think it doesnt really matter who wins at all; both will inevitably be signed on by record labels before this year comes to an end. It's more interesting to speculate on which of these two young singers would make a more significant dent on the Billboard charts with their debut singles... ;)
