.... too late.

AMERICAN IDOL SPOILERS BELOW. IF YOU'RE WAITING TO WATCH IT STOP READING.

I'd heard the point made all through the day... there's not enough people to vote for her... the 14-year-olds will work in Blake's favor... I made the point myself that she's not going to be easy to sell. Apparently they were all correct... from AP:

NEW YORK -- Most observers thought she was a lock to go on to the American Idol finale, but Melinda Doolittle was eliminated Wednesday night. The result was a real surprise, considering Doolittle -- hands down the best singer there -- had the blessing of Simon Cowell. Her departure clears the way for a final showdown between Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.

"Congratulations to you two. My commiserations, Melinda, 'cause you are one heck of a singer," said a glum Cowell, who covered his face with his hands upon hearing the news.

The acerbic judge had always made clear his affection for the 29-year-old backup singer-turned-diva from Brentwood, Tenn., who delivered knockout performances week after week. Doolittle, who never hit a bad note during her Idol run, seemed resigned to her fate. She belted "I'm A Woman" before leaving the stage.

I don't know if I care enough about the show anymore to complain. She was obviously really the best singer, but I still liked Jordin more anyway. I think she'll be a lock next week, though you never can tell what the power of the 14-year-old girl is, can you?

Neither of the two finalists are undeserving, but it is possible that Blake may have been less deserving than Melinda. It'll be interesting to see what the two finalists pull out next week. I'm not going to go so far as to say exciting, but it should be a semi-enjoyable edition to check out.

Blake's not a wondrous singer by any means, but he's different than all of his competitors were and he's much more hip than most. The beatbox thing set him off from everyone else early and I think that helped him get past some really lame performances. Jordin quietly rocked the entire time, since the second week of the semifinals. She had no problems at all getting to where she is. If she doesn't win, I'll probably feel like my little Idol-watching experiment was a bigger waste than I first suspected.