I think David Cook said it best when he said, "American can't get it wrong." There were reasons for both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen to win and in the end Kris took the title. I still believe Adam to be the better singer/performer, but I think Kris will benefit more from winning.

Last night's finale was, I think, the best ever. It was star-studded and moved at a great pace. There were highlights and klunkers spread over the 2+ hour event.

I enjoyed the montage of the judges' "quirks" - Randy with his "for me, for you"; Kara with her "sweetie" and "honey"; Paula with her expansive vocabulary; and Simon with his "what?" I liked that part.

AI alum, Mikalah Gordon and Carly Smithson were brought back as hometown correspondents, although we didn't see much of them. Last year's winner, David Cook, sang a goose-bumpy new song Permanent. Loved it!

There were Golden Idol Awards throughout the night. The Outstanding Male award went to Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle and Outstanding Female went to Tatiana Del Toro. Best Personality may have been given too quickly to Katrina Darrell aka Bikini Girl. Miss Personality seemd a bit miffed when judge Kara DioGuardi joined her on stage and out sang her by a mile only to end the performance by ripping open her dress to expose her bikini. Kara was clearly not comfortable with this, but it was kinda cute after their tiff during Katrina's original audition. Katrina, on the other hand, seemed not so happy with having to share the spotlight.

Stars included Queen Latifah singing with Lil Rounds; Jason Mraz performing with Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace; Keith Urban with Kris Allen; Cyndi Lauper with Allison Iraheta; Danny Gokey was joined by Lionel Ritchie; Adam sang with KISS; Carlos Santana performed with Matt Giraud; and Steve Martin played banjo for a duet with Michael Sarver and Megan Joy. Group performances included the gals singing with Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas and the guys singing with Rod Stewart - neither of which was anything to write home about. Finally, Adam and Kris performed with Queen.

As usual, I started watching AI late so I text messaged my sister, Kara, to let her know I was behind and not to call or text when the winner was announced. Just before 9:00 I decided to call her and watch the end of the show with her and then go back to watch the rest. Kara has been a HUGE Adam fan and supporter since day 1. She was not too happy with me when I said Kris would win. She knows I thought Adam was the better singer/performer, but that I figured the Kris voters would pull him through. As we watched the announcement she shreiked in terror as she learned that Adam had not won. I calmed her down and went to answer the phone...my other sister was calling.

A short time later Kara went out to walk her dog and sent me the funniest text I have ever read. She wrote, "There r a ton of bats flying around me rite now. I hope one swoops down, flies thru my eye and take a big lethally poisonous bat (poop) on my brain." Guess she didn't really calm down, but I got the laugh of a lifetime out of it.

Until next season...