Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own articles.
I watched "American Idol" last week in a fever-ridden stupor. So the show, as I viewed it, and what really happened, were two different things entirely. In my personal delusional reality, the finalists were James Durbin and Jacob Lusk. But Like I said, I was not in my right mind during the viewing. In reality, the final two of "American Idol" has come down to Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, booting off Haley Reinhart for the final showdown. Ever since that top results show, I have been pondering the choice of these top two "American Idol" finalists and wondering how they measure up to the best final showdowns over the last decade.
Kelly Clarkson VS Justin Guarini, Season 1: The showdown for the first season of "American Idol" was probably the most exciting. Justin Guarini had danced and sang into the hearts of teenage girls, even if he'd annoyed Simon Cowell to death. Kelly was also charming and in spite of what Simon dubbed as shouting, quickly climbed to the ranks and landed in the finale. It was only a mild surprise that Kelly beat Justin, but America expected both careers to take off equally. Instead, the winner clearly took all.
Ruben Studdard vs. Clay Aiken, Season 2: Season two split the country with two completely different types of people, and two different types of music. You either loved soul of had more classic tastes. You either loved Ruben or were a complete maniac for Clay. Ruben edged out as winner, and both finalists still have modest music and entertainment industry careers.
Fantaisia vs. Diana DeGarmo, Season 3: Whether people want to admit it or not, season 3 was racially split. Diana DeGarmo's style was too country and peppy for most blacks. Fantasia was way too black, in style, in sound, in look, and in feel for DeGarmo's crowd. Upon Fantasia's win, the things written on fan message boards were sad and embarrassing. This was a fiery match and both ladies were equally talented. Both ladies are pursuing Broadway and careers while continuing to work on their music.
David Cook vs. David Archuleta, Season 7: It was years before there was a such a fiery match again as in season 3. Sure, the winners in seasons 4-6 were good enough, as were the runner ups, but it seemed the public lost passion until cute David Archuleta was matched against David Cook, the first rocker on "American Idol" that seemed to be able to cross musical genre's and capture America's attention.
Kris Allen vs. Adam Lambert, Season 8: Adam surprised us with his guy liner, and ability to wail while Kris played it cool and easy. The excitement in this season came from seeing if America would play if safe or if they would pick the fiery front winner. They played it safe. The second place winner, Adam, appears to be having a more spectacular career at this moment.
Lauren Alaina vs. Scotty McCreery Season 10: It seems we have gone full circle to season 1. Some of the most powerful singers of the season have been passed over, but there remains a cute, perky, very capable girl, and a guy who is very interesting and has little girls going crazy. Who will win season 10 of "American Idol" is anyone's guess.
