Paula Abdul’s return to American Idol for the finale of the season–and Simon Cowell’s last show–was supposed to be a heartfelt send-off for the long-time judge. But things quickly turned odd as Abdul started her own brand of comedy.

Paula, Paula, Paula. Last night, during your goodbye speech to Simon Cowell, you showed the world why season 9 of American Idol has been so lacking. Why the series this season hasn’t boasted the same spark and awe of years past. Simply, it’s because your mere absence has sucked the joy out of the entire show.

And if you think I’m joking, you’d be wrong. I have been yearning for Paula’s infectious presence all season long — Idol is not Idol without a good dose of battiness. So what better way to celebrate her appearance on the show last night than to revive The Poetry of Paula Abdul one last time? After the jump, read Paula’s final Idol-centric poetic masterpiece, which she performed on last night’s finale. Really, it’s like reading Walt Whitman reincarnated!

Look Simon, my darling Simon…

Simon, I’ll get to you
in a minute.
Thank you everyone. Thank you so much.
It’s fantastic being here tonight.
I really miss everyone. Hello judges!
Randy.
You look charming tonight. It’s great seeing you.
Hi Ellen.
I love you.
Wanna dance?
Kara, you look beautiful tonight.
Where’s Ryan?
Ryan,
wherever you are? You’re so –
you’re so cute, and I want my lip gloss
back!
And Simon.
That’s all I’ve got.
Goodnight, everybody.
Okay. Who are we
kidding?
Let’s face it: The only reason they wanted me back here
tonight
was so I could tell all of you the
real reason
why I left.
But I don’t think that’s what
tonight
is all about, is it?
Although
I will tell you this:
There’s a baby backstage with Simon’s haircut, and
sweetheart,
it’s your turn to feed him.
Look
Simon,
my darling
Simon,
I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years.
Hot cheerleaders,
big movie stars,
world-famous recording artists.
Even a
cartoon cat.
But if I’m being truly honest,
none of them holds
a candle
to you,
my friend.
Our relationship on the show,
and I call it a partnership, really,
Simon,
I do call it a partnership,
even though I know you’d like think of it as more of a
teacher-student thing,
right?
No,
it’s a partnership.
But it’s brought me
immeasurable joy.
I’ve loved all
the fun
we’ve had together.
I’ve loved all
the laughter
we’ve shared together.
No,
American Idol is not going to be
the same
without you.
But as only I can tell you,
it will
go
on.

Critics may have said that this season of “American Idol” has pulled in the lowest numbers since it debuted in 2002, but judging from the fanfare of this Season 9 finale—from the hometown crowds, the illustrious guest stars and the millions of votes—the talent show seems to have finished strong nonetheless.

The American Idol Winner for 2010 is Lee DeWyze, in what will be an upset to some it seemed likely. A service called dial idol had already made the prediction hours before. We were still treated to a great night of performances. Alice Cooper performed with the top 12. Cooper really? I can’t take your hardcore image seriously anymore, especially after that Monk appearance. The Bee Gees Performed “How Deep is your Love”.

After 12,000 aspirants, the toughest two contenders finally reach the end of the line. With less than 2% separating the finalists, the “Idol” voters had to choose from Lee DeWyze, the “paint salesman from Illinois,” and Crytal Bowersox, the “single mom from Ohio” as their latest pop idol. Supporters in Toledo, Ohio rooting for Bowersox and in Mt Prospect, Illinois for DeWyze came out in full force.

It was a night of great things. Ricky Gervais did a short bit about Simon Cowell. As did comedian Dane Cook who sang a song about his insults. All of this of courses a farewell to Cowell who leaves this season. There were so many great bands and performers out last night I would have to spend a long time listing it all out. I hope you were able to catch it last night. It was a countless start studded night. It reunited with some of the winners of the show as well as some of the past contestants. How great was the Janet Jackson performance?

So what did you guys think? Did the right person win? How do you think Lee will fare in the big wide world? Were you entertained by any of the duets? Were you mortified by any of the duets? Were you happy to see Paula? Did you tear up when all the former winners and other contestants came out? How much will you miss Simon? How many of you experienced the dreaded black screen at 8? And how mad are you about it?

The journey to find the next Idol has now reached to its end and fans are getting very excited over ‘who will win American Idol’ this year. But as a matter of fact, the search for ‘Who will win American Idol’ won’t take you anywhere else except those websites that have made some predictions regarding the final results of the show. So, it’s better for you guys to hold your nerves until 10 p.m. tonight to know the actual results.

Tonight’s episode of American Idol will be very special for all the fans aw well as for the two finalists, as only one among the Top 2 will be able to live his dream of wearing the ‘Idol Crown’.

The two finalists Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox performed really well in the final round of the show. Bowersox remained dominant till the end and truly rocked the stage with bluesy 1989 rock number ‘Black Velvet’.

Lee performed ‘Hallelujah’ last night. Although for some moments it felt so that Lee wasn’t that good with his notes during his final performance, yet his fans might be of the view that Lee had been a consistently good performer though out the series.

Both of them performed as per expectations, but according to rules, only one will be nominated as the winner and that‘s what makes tonight’s episode a ‘must watch’ for all those who are dying to know that ‘who will win the American idol 2010’.

Meanwhile, American Idol’s most notorious judge Simon Cowell is set to leave by the end of the season . At the season finale, he gave his last critique .

“I want to leave ‘Idol’ this year bigger and better than it was in the past,” Says Simon.

Over this season we’ve seen a lot of good people go, Casey and Big Mike being two of the best . It was the toughest year in American Idol, with harsh shocking eliminations week after week. Now it’s down to two, let us see who gets to become this years music sensation.

Lee DeWyze tops the Idol Meter today, as you might expect: After all, Lee got the prime closing spot for his Hallelujah and was the only Idol to trend on Twitter in a big way. However, writes Ken Barnes, between Hallelujah’s choir and all the lighting bells and whistles, “the season’s manipulation stepped over the line from obvious to crassly heavy-handed.”

Casey James, not surprisingly, comes in a distant third. “At a certain stage, some strong candidates almost seem to give up,” Ken writes. “We saw a bit of it in Siobhan, and earlier, notably, in Jason Castro. Casey’s two tepid performances and laid-back demeanor gave off that vibe.”

With one week left, the “American Idol” producers made their choice, loud and clear: This is Lee DeWyze’s competition to win. What else could explain his Jerry Bruckheimer-sized closing performance from last night? It was Judges’ Pick night (along with picks from the contestants), and Simon Cowell put a softball on a T for the former paint salesman. But giving Lee “Hallelujah” (which, by the way, could use an extended “Idol” respite) wasn’t enough: Let’s add strings! No, no, we need horns, too! Ah, f–k it, he needs a gospel choir, too! The audience, along with the judges, were bludgeoned to submission by Lee’s Play-Like-a-Champion-Today rendition. Afterward, with tears in his eyes, Lee realized he was put in pole position to win this thing. His stuttering, post-performance interview with Ryan Seacrest affirmed the shock.

So do Crystal Bowersox or Casey James have any shot to sweep in and steal Lee’s anointment? Probably not, but Crystal is the only one with a chance. (Casey admitted, after two limp performance which included snoozefest “Daughters” by John Mayer, he was “just happy to be here.”) Crystal sang well last night, but offered nothing new, and even worse, became an afterthought after Lee’s performances. Crystal’s problem is a combination of stale delivery (each performance, from week one until now, seems interchangeable) and predictability. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when she chose Melissa Etheridge’s “Come To My Window.” Big surprise!

Last night was a painful reminder that “American Idol” and its viewers weed out the interesting, idiosyncratic singers (Siobhan Magnus, Michael Lynche, and even Lilly Scott and Alex Lambert), and stick to the painfully plain. Are you excited for Crystal’s debut album? It will most likely sound like a B-version of Melissa Etheridge (who just released a new album, Fearless Love). How about a Lee DeWyze record? It’ll be as if Hinder went soft.

Judge Simon Cowell called it “a little bit of a let down,” while Ellen DeGeneres compared Urban to soup du jour, “sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t.”

“American Idol” gave back on Wednesday night by taking Tim Urban away.

Oddly enough, “Better Days” was not one of Tim’s worst performances—it would have made more sense for him to have gone home after his reggae version of the Rolling Stones, or when he botched One Republic’s “Apologize.” But if you line up Crystal, Lee, Casey, Siobhan, Mike, Aaron and Tim, he’s certainly the weakest of the seven. The only miracle is that he made it this far!

If we were Tim Urban, we’d be feeling pretty good right now. Tim wasn’t even supposed to be in the top 24, let alone the top 7. And speaking of inspirational week, Tim’s ability to smile through what was at times very harsh criticism and come back fighting the next week really did inspire us.

More surprising than Tim’s departure was Casey James landing in the bottom three. True, the judges weren’t feeling his performance of “Don’t Stop” on Tuesday night, but we thought Big Mike or Siobhan would be more likely to be sitting in that chair. Perhaps the Crystal vs. Casey finale we predicted last night will wind up to be Crystal vs. Lee (much to our dismay—you know how we feel about Lee).

As for Aaron, we actually thought he’d be slightly more likely than Tim to go home Wednesday night based on Tuesday’s performances. But no one was surprised to see him in the bottom three.

Prior to learning Urban’s fate, the viewers were showered with a sporadic list of scheduled celebrity appearances and musical performances.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama opened up the show with a recorded speech about helping others. Bill and Melinda Gates later tagged on to this notion and encouraged viewers to donate whatever they could.

Among the celebrity appearances, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Jim Carrey and Victoria Beckham were the most notable. However, the night also included a random appearance from Octomom, the American woman who came to international attention when she gave birth to octuplets in Januaray 2009.

Queen Latifah was Ryan Seacrest’s co-host and introduced all the musical acts that performed in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The Black Eyed Peas performed their latest hit, “Rock That Body,” Joss Stone sang a soulful ballad with English guitar icon Jeff Beck on “I’ll Put a Spell on You” and Elton John ended the night with his chart topping favorite, “Your Song.”

Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens were sent home, with the former being (sadly) a no-brainer and the latter a mild surprise at best. Neither looked shocked to be going. Garcia was the calmest, happiest exit interview that I can remember, and Stevens had a grumpy expression from the moment Ryan Seacrest sent Tim Urban to safety and left her alone with Michael Lynche on center stage.

Of course, even one week after Lynche was the lowest vote-getter and needed the judges’ save to survive, he wasn’t actually among the bottom three this time around. He was only there because Ryan apparently enjoys picking on people much bigger than he is, like Simon Cowell and some of the teenage girls who squeal in the mosh pit for Urban every week. Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Lynche has already used you as a barbell once this season. Pick on someone smaller than you instead, like … Aaron Kelly, I guess.

But in fairness to Ryan, he may have been desperate to add some spice to a week that was strangely bland, given the unpredictability of a double elimination week. He certainly didn’t have much to work with, as “Idol” tried to stretch about 10 minutes worth of content into a 60-minute show with predictable results.

Katie Stevens said that she met amazing people and had amazing experience with them which she can’t forget for ever. She says, it was her best performance.

She sang ‘Baby What You Want Me to Do’ on Tuesday, which was appreciated by three judges among four. As part of her farewell, she presented an emotional-touch song ‘Let it Be’ with tears in her eyes.

Her mother accompanied her farewell through a taped package. She said that there aren’t any words to express how proud they are. Also, the host, Ryan Seacrest expressed his view that everyone in the show will be missing her and he added, “She made the room cry”.

However, she will be still part of the ‘American Idol Live’ tour this summer, as she made Top 10 in the show three weeks ago. Its known fact that America knows her name, voice in order to assure that she has got a bright music career.

Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season and another Brit wants to replace him. Steve Lillywhite is a New York-based, Grammy-winning music producer who has worked with U2, The Talking Heads, Morrissey and The Rolling Stones. Lillywhite tells us about his campaign, Howard Stern and why he won’t be dressing like Simon.

Steve Lillywhite said, “I’m a very personable guy, I can make people laugh and I’m self-effacing, but I can back it up with factual evidence. I really believe I can help the show because if I hear one more judge say, “That’s a bit pitch-y again”, it’s ridiculous. There’s more to it than that. This current crop of boys, are you telling me out of the thousands of people who auditioned that these 12 are the best? Something went wrong in the process and Simon Cowell knows this, his body language says they’ve screwed up.

But as of late, acerbic talent judge Simon Cowell has got a “spring in his step” thanks to his new fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy, Britain’s Got Talent hosts Ant and Dec said Friday.

Dec once told, “His grin is even bigger than normal. There’s a twinkle in his eye, a spring in his step, he’s loved up isn’t he?”

“He is, and good for him. We got introduced and she seems a lovely girl,” Ant added.

But the duo said his romance with Mezhgan hasn’t made him any softer on the talent show hopefuls.

“He’s still horrible to most of the contestants. I mean, he hasn’t softened in anyway,” Dec said.

Hussainy reportedly confirmed the engagement to RadarOnline.com and suggested it won’t be long before she’ll walk down the aisle.

Joe McElderry started singing when he was 14 is tipped to win the X-Factor by bookmakers.

Mentored by Cheryl Cole, Joe, 18, the Geordie lad has had some very impressive performances, his version of “Don’t let the sun go down on me” and “Sorry seems to be the hardest word” both by Elton John, earned him a standing ovations from all four judges.

Stacey Solomon, from Essex, is also being heavily backed by fans.

Mentored by Dannii Minogue, Stacey, the mother-of-one is within touching distance of winning the coveted X Factor crown. Stacey isn’t known for her dancing skills and is hoping that her singing will be enough. The public love her bubbly personally.

Olly Murs is the outsider to win the competition; he has admitted “He wanted to win it”

Mentored by Simon Cowell, Olly was a 25 year old office worker from Essex; he is employed to give advice on energy. Somehow I don’t think he will need that job anymore. He is looking forward to releasing his first song.

This weekend the last three singers standing will be battling it out for the biggest prize in pop and the chance to release their very own bid to top the charts, fame and fortune will come to them all. It has also been revealed that one of the three finalists will be voted off the show by the public on Saturday.