The moment I walked into school the other day, the first thing my friends yelled excitedly at (and with) me was "Go Bo!". Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE I knew was rooting for Bo (and I quote Ian: "Talung-talo na si Carrie kay Bo!"). He was the odds-on favorite going into the finale, he had more support from the crowd than Carrie did...I didn't think anything could go wrong.

But of course, fate hates me.

As it turns out, Bo had contracted a bad case of food poisoning just this week (it's true---Fox News did a report on it and Bo himself confirmed it), he was said to have been in the ER the day before the big finale, and was still sick even during the show (Carrie even said she could hear him vomiting from across the hall...poor thing!). Trooper that he is, though, he worked through the illness, and I truly believe in my heart that he still managed to outsing Carrie. Now that's what I call a real Idol.

I won't lie, though: this royally sucks. He had all the momentum, and it all goes *poof* just because of freaking food poisoning (great as he was, you could tell he was sick: he was pale and not as energetic as usual). I stand by my belief that Bo did better than Carrie that night, but imagine how much better he would have done were he not sick. Not to mention the injustice of the song selection: they make Bo sing an untested song that was not at all suitable for his baritone voice and rock style ("A Long, Long Road") while Carrie got to sing a song that was brought to #1 on the Australian charts ("Angels Brought Me Here") by Australian Idol Guy Sebastian (and to be honest with you, it was the ONLY song that she performed well that night. She was damn lucky to have won that coin toss, I'll tell you that much right now)!

So to summarize, it was a shitty finale. Neither one of them was 100%, and my mom even agreed with me when I said that Constantine would have kicked both their asses were he still there (like he should've been).

It was a terrible time to have an off-night, so I was worried about Bo's situation. I stayed up 'till 5am, sitting and worrying and wringing my hands before coming to the conclusion that America knows true talent and that I had nothing to worry about. I went to bed...and woke up three hours later (8am) to watch the live telecast of the finale results show with my bro.

And thank goodness they didn't disappoint this time---the results show was ten times better than the performance night. Wanna know why?

'Cause Constantine was in it! Duh! Seriously, he was the REAL star of the show (watch the audience react to him if you don't believe me). The theater erupted in cheers when it was his turn for a solo in the group song...and I nearly freaking died when he kissed the camera!

Me (jumping and screaming excitedly): "OH MY GOD, HE KISSED ME!!!"

Bro: "Heeey, he kissed me too!"

(awkward silence ensues)

Ahehe. And that bit he did in the Corey Clark spoof was hilarious (he played a Greek waiter, complete with bushy mustache and heavy Greek accent, and the smouldering stare and little wink at the end---soooo cute!).



^^^ Doesn't he make you just wanna rip off that mustache and plant him a big wet one on the lips? LOL! (credit Rickey for this image and the one below)

Went ballistic a second time there, and then again when he rocked Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" with Nadia and Jessica. Wicked spectacular!

No doubt about it---my man's a star! But what about those two other people?

Well, first off, I loved Bo and Carrie's duet. I always thought they had great harmony, and tonight they did not disappoint. Their voices sound amazing together, and if they'd ever release a single of the song they sang ("Up Where We Belong"), I'd definitely buy it.

Secondly, I must admit to my own chagrin that...Carrie's performance with Rascal Flatts ("Bless the Broken Road") was great. I've been keeping this a secret from everybody for a long time now, but the cat's out of the bag: I like country music. There, I said it. I wouldn't admit this to anyone before because everyone I knew hated country (my parents especially), but truth is, I find it all awesome. (So my three favorite music genres are Broadway, standards and country...I am such a geek.) Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw, The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, LeAnnRimes...I like 'em all!

Which is why I hate it when Carrie sings country---it makes it that much harder for me to hate her. Aargh.

But Country-lovin' or not, I still ain't buying her damn CD.

As for Bo...Ilovehimlovehimlovehim! "Sweet Home Alabama" was fantastic! I was up and dancing in front of the TV screen, and during the commercial break, my bro was rocking the guitar (he managed to learn the chords to the song just by watching) while I sang at the top of my lungs: "Sweet Home Alabama...Lord, I'm coming home to you!" My brother even noted that at the end of his song, everyone was acting like he had already won (and he had, as far as I'm concerned)!

And now, the results. Your American Idol is...*groan*...Carrie Underwood.

Shock and silence filled the living room where my brother and I were watching. Everything was going great, and then this happens...aww, shit.

"Talk about an anticlimax," I finally mumbled after shaking off the disappointment. I wonder what Ian, Reggie, Pauline, Larisse, Tifa (Tifa, I feel terrible!), Sophie, Vicky and everybody else would have to say about this.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the single that Carrie will be releasing is of the one song that Bo outsung Carrie at ("Inside Your Heaven"). Now that's just plain rubbing salt in the wound.

Dude, even the audience disagreed with the decision. During the shows today AND yesterday, Bo got the loudest cheers, while Carrie actually got some boos while singing. Bo had more finalists on his side (reported by a fan who attended the event): Nadia, Anwar, Nikko, Constantine, Scott and Vonzell were clearly rooting for him, and they would only stand up when Bo was performing.

And after it had been announced that Carrie won, Bo had encourage to the crowd to cheer for her (classy guy!), since the audience wasn't really feelin' it (well duh, we've been duped). Smart crowd. And oh yeah: there was even this girl in the audience screaming "Fuck you, Carrie! Fuck you, this whole fucking show is fucking rigged!" after the results were announced. She was taken away by security, but anyway, girl, if you're out there---my hat's off to you! ^___^

It's Ruben/Clay all over again. The one that Idol's been pimping to win since day one gets the crown...but the legitimately BETTER Idol will gain more success in the long run (that means Bo and Constantine).

Best of luck in all your endeavors, Bo, I'll be supporting you a hundred and twenty percent! In my eyes, you've won. :)