So my boy Phillip won Idol, richly deserved. I read that his original song “Home” was number 1 on iTunes yesterday and several other songs of his were in the top 100. Can’t wait to see what he does after the tour.
The finale was a little wacky: heavy on the cheese factor and low on entertainment. JLo and Aerosmith went on one song too long, not sure how Neil Diamond was relevant, and the gooey group songs are always overdone. My favorite moment of the night was Jennifer Holliday and Jessica belting out “I am Telling You” from “Dreamgirls.” My kids kept asking who the creepy lady with the big mouth was, but I didn’t care how weird she looked, that song gave me chills. They both had so much soul and power, it was crazy. I watched it at least four times.
“Idol” finales are always special for me because they bring me back to my time as a Fox TV news producer, when I went to LA for a week every May to cover them. We would create a huge tented setup for the contestants and judges to do interviews and for reporters from stations all across the country to do live shots about the show.
The hours were insane but I loved every minute. I dug into my archives to find these photos I took from the “Idol” Season 6 finale. Enjoy!
- Remember these faces? from Idol Season 5
Paula doing interviews
Simon swarmed
I interviewed Mandisa– remember her?
Runner up Katherine McPhee now stars on NBC’s “Smash”
Season 6 Winner Taylor Hicks with hometown Birmingham, AL reporter showing the love
My moment with Taylor
carpool candy 
I’ve watched AI since the first season, but this season just left me bored. I stopped watching once they hit the top 8. I’m glad Phillip won, but the season was disappointing overall for me. I’ll give it another chance next year, though. Sigh… Oh, but I’m LOVING Katherine McPhee on Smash!
I totally agree. Kind of a not so special finale, but And I’m Telling You was amazing- I watched it over and over. I liked the Reba McIntyre performance too, even though I don’t even like country. I thought the final performance show was kInd of dull, too- I never like their “original” songs and I thought it was lame that they had the contestants repeat a song they’d already done. I love Phillip, though, and I voted like a teenaged girl, so I was happy with the outcome.