We learn that Walker has already been taken on by Bobby Bones in a group of singers that he has in a comedy performance of some sort. I have also no doubts at all that Demitrius and Uché will find fame on Broadway and in broader entertainment respectively. Someone has to snap up Riley who will make them a fortune, Wade and Laci probably already have people offering them a deal - and there'll be a tour too for the Top 10, I expect.
So let's see what happens with these three.
Lionel Ritchie kicks things off by showing that he's still got it with a smart and quite energetic rendition of Dancing On The Ceiling.
Laine
He does a Marc Broussard number called Home. It's Bayou stuff again which he seems very much at home with. This guy does not make any mistakes. Each performance is him, not a copy. Very good and a great start.Madison
Shallow by Lady Gaga. She's worked hard with this one and is so much better than last week's efforts. Well done. A tough song but she made it through.Alejandro
An original number called Millennial Love.Ding an original in the Final is a risk, surely! But there's no stopping this chap. He probably doesn't really care as long as he gets to do his stuff. This is actually a lovely number and has to be a hit very soon, hopefully here in the UK as well as there.
Laine has a huge party in Louisiana and the Governor says it's a day to have Hardy Party. This is a lot of voters - I wonder whether what I thought earlier about Laine actually leading the voting is, in fact, the case?
He sings Jambalaya, a great classic and cheerful number that he cannot really go wrong with. It is very natural and I hope that it isn't too easy-going that people forget to vote for him! He has real star quality which, for TV appearance and show managers, Madison and Alejandro don't have.
Madison sings Learn How To Fly. She is still missing notes unfortunately. This is quite weak at the start - every time she's doing this. As the only girl left she might get the the last two as the male vote gets split but she really wouldn't deserve that on her singing today so far.
Alejandro sings another original called Tonight I think. It's a nice number but not quite as obviously vote catching as the Laine number. There is also such a difference in the 'Home-coming' and you can see that, for this guy, the studio is more his 'home' than anywhere else.
It really should be Alejandro and Laine as the final two.
Carrie Underwood is here now and puts on a good show,although she is looking older and less energetic now. She puts on a great professional performance of a new single but it's not the greatest of tracks. Her writers are getting lazy now because almost everything she does tends to be released and make money. She can do much better than this. Someone sack her writers.
The first vote confirms that it is, indeed, Laine v Alejandro. Good.
Alejandro performs another original track. This one is called 10 Years and wow, this is impressive as he plays with a full orchestra backing him which, I presume, he has also arranged himself. Marvellous talent. Whatever happens, he is the real talent in this Season.
Adam Lambert now comes on stage and sings his new single New Eyes. Someone has to sack his writers too as he is too good for this. This fellow is fabulous and is someone you can totally trust to perform. His notes are perfect but he also has style and is just very, very smart and professional without losing emotion on the way.
Next he does Bohemian Rhapsody and is joined by Demitrius who is very much in his element here. A nice coupling and all credit to the producers for that idea!
Some duo called Dan & Shay do a dated number. It's OK but I have no idea who they are. Madison joins in and does a good job but that makes me wonder what is going on? Only a short while before she was a potential winner and now she's doing one of the 'also-ran' acts. Surely there must have been some rehearsal and was she tipped off in advance? Must have been. Maybe there was that much difference that it was obvious she would be third.
Luke Bryan's turn now and he gives us a jolly Country number. Then the lovely Laci joins in and really does seem to be enjoying herself now the pressure's off. Every Breath You Take is very cool for her and Luke together.
Laine is on now with John Pardi. It's Country style with Night Shift and Dirt On My Boots and you can see how smart this guy is as this must add the massive Country vote to his side o top of the Rock 'n Roll and Bayou votes already bagged. He could win for all the wrong reasons.
Katy P completes the judges' performances on the night with an extraordinarily good Unconditionally in which Jeremiah appears from the background and is fantastically good. That was the performance of the night, actually.
Weezer are now on stage - how many more acts are we going to get? Wade joins in for Africa and Walker helps out with Take On Me and Everybody Wants to Rule The World. Wade sort of hangs around and looks happy.
Alyssa joins someone called Kane Brown. They look good together.
Shay joins Andra Day for Rise Up.
Uché joins Kool & The Gang and has a great time. There is a star, for sure. He looks more at home on the stage than almost everyone else! Great stuff.
All a bit frantic as we get this end-to-end with no ad breaks!
For the final numbers Laine does Bring It On Home To Me which has a not-so-hidden message and, once again, will pull in some fans of Sam Cooke. It is an excellent choice and he sings it really well. He is the star, for sure. He could be the surprise winner of this thing.
Alejandro does a fourth original numberII I don't know the name of this one but I am amazed he's done this. No matter how brilliant they may be, people simply won't 'know' them and that is bound to affect the voting intent a bit. Yes, he is the winner in terms of artistry and sheer talent but it could well be Laine as the 'Idol' this year. Alejandro's song is actually a bit rushed, or seems so to me. I'm really not sure that's going to be enough.
Ryan Seacrest takes the stage at last. Dim the lights . . .
The winner is . . .
Laine Hardy!
Flame is his new single. That deserves to do very well and I very much hope that someone gets him over here. I hope too that we get an Alejandro album here soon. I'll buy that.
