on sweeps

**Carina, don't read this until you've watched the Amazing Race finale**

I.

Two people emailed me this article yesterday. I'd like to give a reaction, as well as give my updated opinions.

While I agree that Chris Daughtry had his own style (as Simon had said, Chris was the only contestant who refused to compromise), I could make the same arguement for Taylor and Elliott (unlike the author of that article who accuses them of having a "tragic lack of personal style." Bruthuh, please.). They are each individually unique, not only in the style of their looks, but in their styles of singing. And how refreshing! I'm not worried for Daughtry. He'll do fine, and I'll buy his music. I don't know much about the author of that article, but it seems they're a die-hard rock fan, rather than a music fan, otherwise they'd recognize the talent elsewhere.

Speaking of talent...wow, those voting percentages were close, no? (For those who didn't see it, the final 3 contestants took in over 50 million votes, and the results were split as follows: 33.06%, 33.26%, 33.68%. Elliott had the lowest total.)

Now. Taylor has been my favorite since the beginning. When I saw his audition (and Simon told him that he wouldn't make it past the Hollywood Round), I chose him as the winner. I still do.

But, ~j., you say, you said in this post that Chris Daughtry would be the winner. Yes, I know I did. That's because I know that I'm not the one who gets to choose. Not everyone loves the grey-haired "old" guy (six months older than me) like I do. I just thought that Chris had the greatest overall appeal to the masses, and that would win him the title, even though I might not personally choose him as the winner. It's like when I hear about Garth Brooks concerts selling out in 17 minutes. For me, personally, I can't imagine why that would ever, EVER happen, but I recognize that other people see things differently. Same with Katharine - she's in the finals because she's easy -- the safe, generic, beautiful robot who's loaded with skill. The girl who dresses to show off the cleaveage, picks a catchy song to sing (not that the singing was so) with some guest percussionists, and tells the judges that they've been harsh on her, because she thinks she's it. For me, the "It Factor" that's been talked about during the show also means what the contestants show as being real people, how nice they are, etc., but maybe that doesn't count for the girl who, when others are giving respect for the person who just was eliminated, smiles and gives a thumbs up to her family and the camera because, hey, at least she's still in, right? Even though I might not understand why America would vote for the girl who forgot the lyrics to an Elvis song, I still understand that they would. Some people are in to that. I know some of them.

II.

Jim. Pam. Yes. That is a season finale that I can watch over and over and over again, and be perfectly pleased with all summer long.

III.

Lorelai, you're an idiot.

IV.

T-TOW!!!! The nice guys, the hippies, the guys who started out TWICE with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, the guys who took the time to pay proper respect to local people and cultures, they are the winners. What a perfect, perfect game.