Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Barrino:When news broke that former "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino attempted to kill herself in the aftermath of the Antwaun Cook  drama, many weren't sure how to interpret the situation.  Some felt sorry for Fantasia, others were irate.  Some felt the singer should take a much needed mental and physical break, while others believed Fantasia's suicide attempt was a publicity stunt done to promote her new album "Back to Me," which hits stores and iTunes on Tuesday.

Now, Fantasia is talking, and one thing is crystal clear: she knew what she was doing when she downed a bottle of pills and was rushed to the hospital.  Fantasia wanted to die.

In a new Behind the Music interview that airs tomorrow at 9 pm ET on VH1, Fantasia leaves no room for debate regarding the overdose that occurred two weeks ago.

"At that moment, I wanted out. I wanted it to be over with – all of it, all of that [expletive]."

Fantasia goes into further detail, saying: "I just sat in the closet and looked at the mirror and took all the pills in the bottle. I wanted to go to sleep and just be at peace. I knew exactly what I was doing. You can't accidentally take a whole bottle of pills."

You can catch Fantasia on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, where she will be on hand to sing and promote her new album "Back to Me."

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David Cook

David Cook stuck out like a sore thumb last night in his absence from American Idol, as a head count of the show’s previous winners in their joint performance revealed there to be only seven of the eight past champions on stage. But it turns out his absence from the stage was for the most valid of reasons: he had previously committed to a charity event in Kansas City. Cook took to Twitter to announce that he was “sorry” he couldn’t be in Hollywood to join his fellow Idols. Mystery solved.

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Janet Jackson American Idol

More stars keep coming out to help crown the "American Idol" Season 9 winner and say good-bye to prickly judge Simon Cowell -- Janet Jackson is the latest rumored performer!

Jermaine Dupri, a record producer and rap artist, tweets, "@Oceans7LTL: Lifers once again be sure to watch American Idol tonight the QUEEN Icon @JanetJackson will B performing "Nothing" 2nite! @bmc_1201 @LTLline @johntalsr."

Janet would be just the next in a long line of music legends rumored to be joining the "Idol" party. Other rumored artists include Melissa Etheridge, Joe Cocker, Chicago, Hall & Oates and the Bee Gees.

Comedian Dane Cook is supposedly performing a comedy song and Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia are slated to duet. Who won't be in the "American Idol" house? Adam Lambert, reportedly because he skipped out on rehearsals.

Are you guys getting excited about the finale?

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Lee DeWyze Wins

The ninth season has officially come to a close, with Lee DeWyze  taking home the title of the next "American Idol."

It was only the second time in the show's history where neither of the final two contestants - DeWyze and runner up Crystal Bowersox - had ever finished in the bottom two or bottom three with viewer votes. The other two to accomplish the feat were Season 7 winner David Cook and runner up David Archuleta. Former winners Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks and Cook never landed in the bottom three with viewer votes either.

Speaking of viewer votes, the show also paid tribute to departing judge/co-creator Simon Cowell, with a star-studded performance featuring past winners (dressed in black) and past contestants (wearing white).

Following the tribute, Cowell took to the stage to thank fans and tell them that it doesn't matter who replaces him as judge on the show because it's the voters who are really the ones doing the work.

"I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support, [and] the fun," said a visibly emotional Cowell.

"The show goes forward, it will be different."

Despite the addition of a brilliant Ellen DeGeneres, this season was perhaps the weakest ever - in addition to the lack of Paula Abdul on the judges panel, the show also seemed to lack the talent it's had in the past; and had numerous comparisons to Karaoke.

Maybe DeWyze will go on to prove everyone wrong.

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William Hung

"General" Larry Platt comes out to sing "Pants on the Ground" on "American Idol."' He's got a full hip-hop ensemble of back-up singers. It's hilarious, although he sounded a lot better in the small audition room.

William Hung joins him for the big finale as the singers drop their pants and the crowd goes wild. Totally entertaining, if forced.

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American Idol Winners

Christina Aguilera, Fantasia Barrino, Alice Cooper, and of course, the Mamasox herself (uber-contestant, Mom of the Year, Best Idol Ever) Crystal Bowersox. Yes, some of our favorite celebrity parents appeared on the American Idol finale tonight. And yet, the night belonged to none of them. It didn’t even belong to winner Lee Dewyze, whose medley with the band Chicago couldn’t possibly have been more lackluster.

The night belonged to Bret Michaels, the rockingest rock star on the stage. Mere days after winning Celebrity Apprentice, and weeks after landing in the hospital, he received the biggest applause of the night. Honestly, when Casey James started singing Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” no one (NO ONE!) expected Michaels to actually appear and sing with him. Yet lo and behold… and the crowd, and Twittisphere, went bonkers.

Unlike his appearance on the Celebrity Apprentice finale, on the American Idol finale he looked healthy and lively, belting out his lyrics as if he’d never been sick. The fans noticed. Here are some excerpts from Twitter:

@hipcop Brett Michaels Looks Awesome!!

@aliliebs bret-frickin’-michaels. dude just had a stroke & killed it on #idol. winning apprentice made up for rock of love. this makes him my hero.

@MarieSteffi I thought Bret was somehow still not doing well in the hospital so I was like, “This can’t be Bret Michaels..” But then, there he was.

Fans were less thrilled with the overall line-up of guest stars. The wattage was stunning — but oddly aged. Janet Jackson? The Bee Gees? Daryl Hall and John Oates? As @BillWendel tweeted: “what exactly is the demographic for #Idol? So far the average age of the guest performers is older than dirt.”

The main issue is that there were more old guest stars than there was singing by the finalists. When Ryan Seacrest announced, ten minutes before the show ended, “Tonight is about Crystal and Lee,” I had to wonder, “Was it really?”

In the end, the entire two-hour finale was mystifying and thrilling at the same time. And yet, when not reveling in the awesome Bret Michaeldom, I was consumed with Crystal Bowersox. Second place? Who cares. The footage of Crystal at auditions with her son was priceless. She entered the competition because, “My kid deserves a better life than I ever had,” and no matter where she placed, her son will now get that. It’s not about the final prize, but that talent that got her this far. Crystal’s got the pipes and the personality — let’s all help carry her to the finish line.

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Pants on the Ground

“General” Larry Platt jumped from his chair, dashed off the porch of the tiny house in Reynoldstown and scooted into the driver’s seat of a car in the driveway.

“I got it right here,” he said, fiddling with the car stereo.

In seconds, bass throbbed from the speakers and careened off the graffitied walls of the boarded-up house across the street.

“Pants on the ground! Pants on the ground! You looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!”

The tidy yard filled with pots of cabbage and tomato plants was Platt’s stage as he danced in the grass and sang along. “Gold in your mouth, hat turned sideways …” Seated on the porch, his manager Earl Little, “friend” Sally Harley and a visitor looked on. The “general” did not stop singing until the last note of the song he made famous in January when he auditioned for “American Idol.”

But is it legally his song?

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Hall & Oates

They must be trying to pack the music in tonight -- the commercial breaks seem shorter than they have all season. Now we're back to easy-listening hits of the '80s, as Lee DeWyze and the rest of the guys do a Hall & Oates medley that starts with I Can't Go for That. Casey, of course, gets the first line of Maneater -- you knew  that was coming. Have they panned to Kara yet?

Fortunately, we get the real thing for You Make My Dreams, and Daryl Hall injects a little true soul into the proceedings.

Ryan tosses back to Toledo, Ohio, and semifinalist Janell Wheeler is there. "Crystal! We love you so much, girl!" Janell says.

Back in the theater, Ryan introduces Crystal for her song. She didn't get Melissa Etheridge as a duet partner after all, but she got Alanis Morissette. Crystal does a verse of Ironic, then introduces Alanis and they launch into You Oughta Know. But it's the sanitized version -- Crystal wants to know if "she'll go down with" you. Crystal hangs in with Alanis -- never looking intimidated.

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Up To The Mountain

Up To The Mountain,Beautiful Day Lyrics:American Idol 2010 fans got their first true taste of what kind of recording artist Crystal Bowersox might be, as she performed the single she’ll release if she ends up winning the competition On Tuesday (May 25) night.

The song is called “Up to the Mountain (MLK Song),” originally written by Patty Griffin, and MamaSox absolutely killed it. Sitting on a stool with her guitar, the song started slowly and, from the first note, perfectly fit the singer’s style. Her raw vocal power was on full display, a soul- and gospel- and folk-tinged vibe that establishes her as a sort of combination of Janis Joplin and Tracy Chapman for the 21st century. Her connection to the lyrics — inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic 1968 “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech — was unmistakable as she sang, “Sometimes I feel like I’ve been nothing but tired/ And I’ll be working till the day I expire.”

This wasn’t the first time the song was performed on the “Idol” stage. Back in 2007, Kelly Clarkson and Jeff Beck busted out the tune during the “Idol Gives Back” charity effort. Susan Boyle also recorded the song for her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream. And after Bowersox’s take on the track, the judges had a hard time avoiding a sort of coronation moment.

“You are in a league of your own,” said Ellen DeGeneres.

Randy Jackson echoed that sentiment. “This is what this show is about,” he said. “An amazing song by an amazing singer. I’m telling you what, I’m so proud of you, man. This is one of the greatest performances and one of your best moments at the perfect time on this show.”

And then it was time for Simon Cowell’s final critique of his “Idol” career, as he’s leaving the show after this season to jumpstart a new talent show on Fox called “The X Factor.” He did not hold back.

“I thought that was by far the best performance and the song of the night,” he said. “And since this is going to be the final critique I’m ever going to give, I would just like to say that was outstanding.”

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Will Young

Will Young’s song “Leave Right Now” is about to go huge in the USA because it will be used for the American Idol finale. Therefore, he is doing all the promo rounds to get his name out there.

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Who Won American Idol 2010

So whom are you supporting tonight – Crystal Bowersox or Lee DeWyze? Watch Crystal Bowersox vs Lee DeWyze Top 2 American idol performances live stream on Fox at 8:00-9:00pm.

In today’s episode of Season 9, the final two contestants perform. In last episode, Casey James was eliminated.

In recent notes, Paula Abdul is likely return to finale with pop star Christina Aguilera.

Crystal Bowersox’s Fans went crazy and wished “Crystal Bowersox will win the title of the 2010 American Idol winner.”
In finale, each contestant will sing three songs.

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