I blame myself. I forgot to vote cause I got caught up in Heroes. And I was one assuming that Melinda was a given for the finals.

Shear Genius: Man, even at the end Tabitha blames Tyson for her loss. If she could have kept her mouth shut during the judging process things might have gone a bit differently. (Although, the hair really did lack cohesion.) I never expected that Dr. Boogie or Ben would outlast Tabitha.

And Daisy and Anthony did a really great job.

Also, next week looks really interesting.

I'm a conspiracy theorist. Something doesn't seem right about Melinda being out.

This saves me watching the AI finale though. I'm not going to bother.

I'm not sure I'm interested in watching next week with Melinda out, but I can see how competition from Jordin might split up their fanbases and allow Blake to sneak in there. Ridiculous considering it's purportedly a singing contest, but I console myself with knowing that it wouldn't make much difference to her career if she won.

Anyone watching Shear Genius? OMG, Tabitha just is a prime bitch. I don't much care for Tyson either, but the way she dissed him to the judges? Damn!

yes, but I still love her.

Man, even at the end Tabitha blames Tyson for her loss. If she could have kept her mouth shut during the judging process things might have gone a bit differently. (Although, the hair really did lack cohesion.) I never expected that Dr. Boogie or Ben would outlast Tabitha.

Although the judges didn't like her hair, it definitely had a style to and showed a skill. The bridesmaid's hair was a mess, and they didn't really do anything with the mother's. They deserved to lose, and I do think that Tyson was majorly at fault, although it wasn't entirely his fault. Frankly, I think that they are the most talented stylists, and if they had had halfway decent hair, they would have been okay, but they simply had the worst hair by far.

Although, the mother's hair for the Boogie/Ben team was DREADFUL. I like the bridesmaid's hair a lot, and Boogie ignored what the client wanted. He could have done a half updo or something that could have worked with the client more.

Now, my money is on Anthony (the black british guy) for the win.

AI: I am not surprised. While Melinda has an amazing voice, she is not going to have the text messaging support because her fan base isnt the text messaging type. Also, the producers love Jordin. She was definitely in. And, legions of 12 years olds were calling for Blake, so I thought he would win. And I was right, unfortunately. but, I think that it's better not to win, because then you're obligated. You have more choices if you don't win.

You have more choices if you don't win.

That's what I think. Jennifer Hudson is a great example. Melinda will get more out of this than the others, even without the win. It doesn't matter who does win between Jordin and Blake because they will never be more than one-hit wonders, no matter how good the songs they write for them.

SG: Tyson and Tabitha sabotaged themselves. They both went into it thinking they were the best and didn't even really try to collaborate as a team. Especially Tabitha with her experience. In the first portion of the show, Tyson did help by being such a good salesperson. In the second part Tabitha should have stomped all over him and taken more initiative to direct the overall theme of the hairstyles. I've got to say, I think she did wrong giving the bride such an overblown updo. You could tell the bride didn't like it and it wasn't balanced to her face or her proportions. And Tyson with the lame french twist! Come on, I think I could have done better than that. You could see he was uncomfortable throughout it all, he kept looking down and away any time the camera was directed at him. He wouldn't even look at what he was doing. He should have asked for help. Seriously, those two were fun to watch snipe at each other, but I just wanted to shake them both and tell them to wake up if either one of them wanted to win. But I guess Tabitha said it all at the end, as long as Tyson didn't win she was happy.

Melinda will get more out of this than the others, even without the win.

yep. and she will get great album sales. not a lot of tour support, but small venues and jazz clubs will be sold out.

Just watched "New Beginnings" on Deadliest Catch. Does anyone know what the story is on the Maverick's absence from this episode? There's a quick shot of it leaving Dutch Harbor but it isn't in the totals and there is no footage. I'm really bummed if we don't have the non-Blake Maverick!

Well, it's been a while since they had a male winner . . . since Ruben. (Edit: Maybe if I try hard enough, I can make Taylor disappear. Woo!)

Like Ruben!

You have more choices if you don't win.

See also Clay Aiken v. Ruben.

But I don't know. I liked Melinda but...the fact is, it's not "just" a singing contest. It's American Idol, not American Singer. Choosing songs that people can get into, doing something interesting with them - that's a legitimate part of it. And one of the things I do like about Blake is that last - he takes more chances and does more with his songs than any of the others.

bingo, brenda. thanks for speaking for me.

p.s. i'm happy with Blake in the final two. Jordin can now go off and win it and let Blake go do his own thing. (the only AI winner i've ever liked is Kelly Clarkson.)