In what was a truly shocking (at least to this AI superfan) season finale of American Idol, David “Cookie” Cook took the season seven crown of American Idol by an approximate 12 million vote spread.

My American Idol mojo has been fairly off this season with only 1 out of the last 4 eliminations coming in where I expected them to. Carly Smithson out before Syesha? Brooke White out before Syesha? Castro out before Syesha? You get the drift. However, my season finale mojo has only failed me once with season two’s crowning of Ruben Studdard, a victory I still think was incorrect and later “covered up” by the AI peeps. Yes, I’m an American Idol conspiracy theorist. Don’t judge! The snacks at our meetings are totally worth being a member. I assumed I was safe with my prediction of this season’s winner even if I was disappointed with what I thought would be the outcome.

Dear AI Producers,

Thank you for giving the American Idol viewing audience the greatest cutaway shot of Simon Cowell in the history of the show.

Bringing back Fantasia and her craziness to the power of pi was pretty smart. Having her perform a song that is as wacked out of a song as I’ve ever heard, even smarter. Subjecting Simon to it and then giving us a cutaway shot of his expression at seeing Fantasia and her goodGRAVYjusthowshortarethoseskirts back up, um, dingers (singer/dancer) work it out as only they could on stage? True genius! I don’t even care that I couldn’t understand a word of the song and was horrified/oddly fascinated by the entire circus of a performance. The look was worth it all.

Curse you,  Seacrest! I’ve been patiently waiting to use that tag line for 4 weeks and you just had to use it before me.

Idol lost the last of its dead weight tonight with the elimination of Kristy Lee Cook, the unofficial ambassador of the country vote.

On the menu tonight, as usual, were the judges, contestants being emotional (for both legitimate and ridiculous reasons), and both a past contestant and mentor performance.

Of Note in This Elimination:

Paula makes a statement to the scientific and horticultural communities this week with a huge white flower growing out of her neck. That statement? Flowers can grow, and actually flourish, with the aid of an alcoholic and chemical environment.

The final 7’s group sing was the Mariah/Boyz to Men hit “One Sweet Day.” I wonder how many people, if any, will be as “offended” by the song choice as they were last week with the group singing “Shout to the Lord.” In the double standard against Christians, it seems you can sing a secular song that specifically mentions “heaven” and implies that it’s real and will be a place where we’ll see our loved ones again (something based on Biblical principles).

We’re finally at the beginning of the end for the American Idol showdown. Some of the more entertaining and colorful of singers have departed and we’re left with what Seacrest claims is the most talented of finalists. While I don’t quite concur, I will give props where props are due.

This week’s outpouring of the Lennon / McCartney songbook brought some oldies but goodies and definitely some “whuh?”

Notably absent in the charisma department was Ramiele Malubay who bored just about everyone to tears with “In My Life.” Adorable and pretty sounding may get you the lead as the next heroine in whatever animated Disney princess movie may come out next year, but it won’t get you far in the land of AI. She’s as cute as a button and has the pipes to do well, but seems stuck in the rut of not knowing what to do with such a powerful instrument. Also? Stop with the cutesy pouting. It is neither endearing nor attractive.