The winner was actually David Cook in a stunning upset to puppy dog David Archuleta. It was pretty much a toss-up anyway, but here at popslant  we thought Archuleta had it locked, even though Cook is by far the more engaging performer.

By choosing Cook, America shows it has some semblance of dignity after passing over the most talented of all, curvy diva Carly Smithson. Smithson showed once again that she was the best singer in the competition during her performances on Wednesday night's show. Her version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" a few weeks back, was the best performance of the season. Ironically, that was the performance that got her cut from the show. Maybe American pop culture has a problem with Christianity? Or maybe some just don't want to be reminded....

The final show was a taste of what fans are going to get on the summer tour. All top 10 performers were there, some we've missed, such as Smithson and the beautiful Kristy Lee Cook, and others we were happy to see left behind, such as Jason Castro and David Hernandez. And those who fall somewhere in between, such as Chikeze, or of course, this guy:

I wonder if he'll be doing the tour? Why not? He's a horrible singer, but you can't help but smile at his enthusiasm, and you might find yourself humming "Best Friend Forever," later in the evening, much to your horrified chagrin...

Note to Jordan Sparks: Your song was awful, horrible, complete and utter total dreck. That style of singing, which we here at popslant  like to call double trochaic sucktameter is overdue for a quick merciful death. Besides the fact that such vocal histrionics generally sound rhythmically clumsy, the whole singing genre is overdone, overused and does not impress.

Note to Carrie Underwood: Keep up the good work. You've become sort of the Alanis Morrisette of country music, and it works. You're our favorite American Idol winner.

Of course, Carly Smithson is our favorite Amercian Idol who didn't win.