SO LONG DANNY GOKEY (FANTASIA'S PREDICTION) AMERICAN IDOL FINALE IS HERE!

It’s a Kris Allen/Adam Lambert showdown instead of the long-expected Danny-Adam combo.

Kris and his incredible “Heartless” helped oust Danny Gokey, who I expected early on to win. A bit of a surprise but given how strong Kris has been lately, not THAT much of a surprise. And people in our unscientific poll felt Danny SHOULD go home. (Perhaps that Aerosmith scream last week did him in.)

We can quickly handicap a Kris/Adam showdown. As noted in the past blog entry, I think Danny’s fans will more likely gravitate toward Kris, making him the favorite. Who woulda thunk it? Kris was not a favorite going into the top 36 and even as we entered the top 10, he was a dark horse. But he kept surprising us with interesting takes on songs and great musicality, even if his personality has not been sparkling. He can win this.

Why did Danny go home?

He had the huge back story going in, the likable personality, the great voice, the good looks. He had it all going in. He was an early favorite once we got to the top 36. And at the top 12 point, most people had him as the winner. But oddly, Kris and Adam both ended up exceeding him.