By Nichola Groom
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (May 19) - Not even British music mogul Simon Cowell , the super-opinionated talent judge on "American Idol ," dares to predict who will win next week's finale.
Cowell, whose acerbic comments draw boos each week on the top-rated televised singing contest, said Friday this year's show has come down to a choice between a "brilliant entertainer" and a "great singer."
Jordin Sparks, a bubbly 17-year-old with huge voice, and spiky-haired Blake Lewis, 25, who puts a contemporary twist on classic songs, will square off next week in the two-part finale airing on the Fox network Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I can't call it at this stage," Cowell told reporters on a conference call. "For Blake, he's a brilliant entertainer, but the negative is he's not a fantastic singer. The advantage for Jordin is she is a great singer and the negative is she hasn't done one performance yet which I can remember as a 'wow."'
Cowell said he was amused by the long "Idol" run of Sanjaya Malakar, a contestant known for extreme hairstyles and mediocre singing.
"The whole Sanjaya thing was hysterical," said Cowell, who once threatened to quit if Malakar won. "I don't think I'd be happy if he was in the final, but looking back I think it was quite amusing."
Cowell said it was "unfair" that contestant Melinda Doolittle was eliminated from the show this week.
"She had delivered 10 weeks in a row better than anyone else," he said, adding that the experienced backup singer's age -- Doolittle is 29 -- may have made her less appealing to the show's teenage viewers.
Thanks for the read. With the exception of season 4, this season had to be one of the most boring seasons; so predictable and full of scams.
I dont think this season was boring, last season was the predictable one, i mean besides Chris you knew who was going home every week.
I think the season was great, i mean it took me a while to like this season but now i love it, its a great season a great group of talent. I love this season.
BUt i agree with Simon you cant call it, its going to be really close.