(Yeah, that's right, I took Kris Allen. Because I believe in the underdog, and freedom, and the heart of America. And maybe, just maybe, I took Kris Allen because my friend and colleague Eric Deggans is smart, and savvy, and was named one of the most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine, so he got first dibs. You can read Eric's defense of Adam Lambert HERE.)

1. So on Tuesday's ultimate Idol sing-off, the dudes were allowed to revisit their fave performance from the season. Lambert, in his creepy, bassist-for-Bauhaus trenchcoat, opted for Tears for Fears’ Mad World. It was just okay this time, but it was just perfect the first time. Oops! Allen’s top vocal was an acoustic breakdown of Kanye West’s Heartless. But he did that just last week. Where’s the fun there? So instead, he busted out Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine — and, sitting behind a piano, he nailed it.
2. Producer Simon Fuller then picked deep, soulful songs for the guys to warble. Sadly, Lambert made Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come sound like Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever. Allen didn’t exactly smoke Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On; it was too drum-circle pass-the-patchouli for my rugged tastes. But it was better than Lamby’s back-alley feline mew.
3. Kara DioGuardi, who is somehow worse at songwriting than she is at judging, provided the last song of the evening, No Boundaries, which was so bad Simon Cowell flamed it on TV. Adam tried to howl his way through the cliches, but couldn't. Kris, however, wisely got all mushy and Grandma’s-cookies on us. Way to take a hit, kid. Now go claim your prize.

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REMEMBER: Wednesday, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:29 p.m., I'll be hosting another live daytime chat on that fancy apparatus we busted out last week. I'll be doin' it and doin' it well from the studios of FOX 13 in Tampa. Why? Because at 12:30 p.m., I'll be stepping into a studio and rocking FOX 13's Your Turn with Kathy Fountain, talking Idol of course. Then we'll all convene back here for the 6-hour coronation of Lambert...or not. Don't miss the final Pop Life Idol Chat & Group Hug!