Top 3

Is it just me or did the whole show play out like they didn't rehearse beforehand? Not the songs so much (those were fine), but rather the awkward banter and stilted interviews. Either they lacked practice or Ryan didn't take his usual dose of uppers tonight.

I do love to see how much more confident they all seem after getting out in the world for hometown visits to see and feel the energy of crowds of fans (even if they did make them all stand in front of an AT&T cell phone store--how lame is that?). I can't think of many locations less anti-climactic than that. Even a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place would've been more exciting.

Casey - "Okay, It's All Right To Me"
That song was in a bad key for him or maybe he was just slightly enough off to make it a bit uncomfortable. It got better throughout and he is not unpleasant to watch, but while good, it was not stellar. And what really bugged me (rather than distracted me, as does his appearance as Zach Braff with a blond wig) is that the poor guy didn't have his guitar pick ready and the band counted it out before he said to. Hello? He's the lead man, duh. And the judges pretty much agree he's salad. Or something.

Crystal - "Come To My Window"
Crystal showed up in gang-banger pants and I thought for sure this was going to be a brilliant song choice (not because of the pants, but because I thought the song style would suit her). And I was mistaken (not about the pants -- they were gang banger, but about the song . . . geez, keep up). It was good, but not as amazing as I expected (again, the song, not the pants).

Lee - "Simple Man"
Now, in Lee's case, I thought it was a GREAT song for him and I was right. It was FABULOUS and the best of the three. And I said that before the judges did, so neener neener.

Casey - "Daughters"
Casey's visit to the AT&T store where he gets a text on his AT&T phone tells us that Randy and Kara chose "Daughters" by John Mayer for him. I thought that was an excellent choice (plus, I love that song and pretty much any song by John Mayer) and I also wondered if they were going to pair up Ellen and Simon for a song choice (they didn't) or let Ellen choose her own (they did). I thought that wouldn't work well, but was proven wrong. But I digress. Back to Casey and the horrible product placement, I mean the song. He sang it without his trademark nervous smiling, so that's good. He had a short, great guitar solo. He did better than the first song he sang. And, predictably, Simon criticized the other judges' choice. He always does. ALWAYS.

Crystal - "Maybe, I'm amazed"
Wow. Go Ellen. She did really, really well with that. Wow. She didn't change the lyrics (from "man" to "woman" and "woman" to "man") and I'm glad - I always find it more weird and distracting when they do that. So, wow. That girl can really sing. She did it guitarless and all vulnerable (and in boots instead of gang banger pants this time) and it was FABULOUS! Girl's got soul. Soul indeed.

Lee - "Hallelujah"
We were going to stop after Crystal, and eat the Orange Rolls I worked on all day (seriously--I made the dough, refrigerated it for 6 hours, kneaded it again, let it rise for 3 hours, divided it and rolled it out, spread orange filling all over it, cut into triangles, rolled and shaped them, let them rise again, baked, glazed . . . so so worth it, though -- who's coming for breakfast tomorrow?), but I couldn't wait. I had to hear the song choice. And then once I did, I had to hear the song. Lee moved me to tears. He moved me. He really is the heart of the show. I felt like I was watching him have a slightly out-of-body-experience (in a good way) and he looked positively drained (again, in a good way) when he was done. I. Absolutely. Loved. It. I predicted as far back as the Top 7 that Lee would win it all. I stand by that prediction.

Going back to his hometown again: Casey
Finale: Lee and Crystal
Winning it all (perhaps in front of an AT&T sign): Lee