Tonight is the very last episode of the American Idol 2011 season and in an effort to make up for last night’s snoozefest we should be getting one heck of a finale show in true Idol fashion, but without last season’s winner…

While FOX has been fairly tight-lipped about who will be on the show (because we all know interest and anticipation are the last thing you want for your big show, right??) there have been lots of leaks and tips. Considering last night’s 7% drop in ratings over last year’s finale show (the very same “last year” that produced the worst sales ever with its winner…) they should be doing everything they can to promote the show.

Here’s what we know so far for finale show performances, allegedly of course as FOX won’t confirm bookings:

Carrie Underwood returns to sing alongside Lauren Alaina while Scotty will duet with Tim McGraw. Lady Gaga will perform “Edge of Glory.” Bono and The Edge will be doing some of their songs from the Spider-Man Broadway show.

Pia Toscano will have a duet with Charice while, I’ll be pleasantly surprised if true, Jack Black teams up with Casey Abrams. Haley Reinhart’s parents let slip a rumor that she may end up doing a performance on tonight’s finale to debut her first single, but others report it’ll be a duet with Tony Bennett. Even James Durbin gets a power performance. He’ll join forces with Judas Priest. No word on that Steven Tyler and James Durbin duet discussed earlier in the season.

The Top 13′s girls will team up with Beyonce while the Top 13′s guys will join forces with Tom Jones… Wait, what? Sure, Jones is worthy of the finale but no one semi-modern was available? Anyway…

Then there’s the judges table who will offer up a rendition of “Dream On” by Steven Tyler minus Aerosmith and JLo may have a duet with her husband Skeletor Marc Anthony.

Oh, I can confirm who will not be performing tonight. Lee DeWyze was most definitely not invited to perform on this season’s finale show. DeWyze confirmed the news while his album sales predicted it.

So yeah, lots going on with tonight’s show. Hopefully most of those are true and there’s even more we don’t know about just yet.

Which guest performer are you most excited to see on tonight’s American Idol finale?

Source: THR

Original content from American Idol 2011.

Yesterday I gave you my “American Idol” 2011 Top 10 Moments, which featured some of the best performances and most shocking moments. And our readers requested I compiled my Top 10 Worst Moments list. So here it is. Warning: this is a “Worst” list so don’t be surprised if you’re offended in any way (and I won’t argue with you in the comments).

10. Karen Rodriguez sings “I Could Fall in Love.” Karen was obsessed with Selena and unfortunately for her, it got her cut from the show pretty early. She just couldn’t quite get in the zone.

9. Casey Abrams sings “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Casey screamed and acted angry during most of his performances, but this one was the worst. He had some great moments, but this was not one of them.

8. Jacob Lusk sings “No Air.” Not only was this a terrible performance, it was terrible timing. If Jacob wanted to break into the Top 3, this was not the song to sing. I mean who sings a duet alone on “American Idol” anyway? Bad idea.

7. Clint Jun Gamboa’s attitude. There’s a reason why such a great singer couldn’t break the Top 12. Hopefully he realizes why. And I don’t want to hear an “it was editing” defenses. When he wasn’t being mean to contestants, he was being cocky and arrogant.Voters couldn’t forget him kicking out sweet young singer Jacee Badeaux.

6. Julie Zorilla sings “Break Away.” Julie seemed like she’d end up being a front runner, but I think this bad performance sealed her fate, knocking her out just shy of making the Top 12.

5. The eliminations of  pre-Top 13 contenders Jacee Badaeux, Colton Dixon, Brett Lowerenstern and Robbie Rosen. This season could have been a whole lot different with these great singers. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get in on the judges’ and producer’s pimp-fest in time. At least Jacee and Colton get another shot next season. Brett and Robbie, sadly, were wasted on the Top 24.

4. Randy Jackson. From his obvious insecurities with the new judges to his CONSTANT name drops to his uneven critiques to his obsession with getting Haley Reinhart off the show, Randy was a complete tool this season. He’s so annoying, he warrants that run-on sentence. Why is he the only original judge remaining?

3. Naima Adedapo sings “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Naima was a good performer but not the best singer. She really showed that with this performance. I can’t believe she wasn’t immediately eliminated after it. From my original review: “She got off to a bad start then stayed flat during most of the song. I don’t even know what key she was trying to sing in.”

2. Jordan Dorsey sings “OMG.” That was the worst performance of the entire season. Bad vocals, bad dancing, bad, bad, bad. On top of that, Jordan had a seemingly bad attitude. He caught a lot of flack for his very diva manners during Hollywood week. Attitude matters when America votes. Future Idols, remember that.

1. The results shows. From group numbers to countless minutes of filler, they seemed to be more painful this season than ever. They really need to cut the results shows down to 30 minutes.There were a few decent results shows. But ONLY a FEW. By far, it was the worst part of the season.

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Tonight we learn who will win American Idol 2011, but does it really matter? Based on recent seasons there’s a chance the season’s big winner won’t be the one wearing the crown when it comes down to debut album sales.

Going all the way back to season two you can see the winner, Studdard, being eclipsed by his challenger, Clay Aiken, though both had excellent sales numbers (1.7M and 2.7M, respectively). This scenario peaked in season 5 when Daughtry went on to sell almost five million albums while Taylor Hicks sold 705,000. But take a look at last season when winner Lee DeWyze became the absolute worst commercially performing Idol winner evah with just 136,000 debut albums sold. More people visited this site yesterday than bought Lee’s album since its release. Runner-up, Crystal Bowersox, outperformed DeWyze but still sold under 200,000 albums.

Can that trend end tonight? If Lauren wins tonight American Idol’s sales could be in serious trouble with a repeat of DeWyze’s sales-bomb. IdolHeadEd has an interesting breakdown of this season’s iTunes Idol Top 25 commercial sales to date and Lauren Alaina has just two entries: 19th and 25th. Meanwhile Scotty McCreery has 4th, 9th, and 24th. Those McCreery numbers aren’t the most inspiring either. Haley Reinhart fans can take solace knowing she holds the top 3 iTunes sale spots along with #10 and James Durbin earned spots 5th, 6th, and 7th.

I know American Idol producers have been fighting tooth and nail to finally get a female winner after three seasons, but Lauren Alaina looks positioned to be more Lee DeWyze than Carrie Underwood and the producers will have to learn the hard way to keep their fingers out of the pie. If they wanted the big bucks, and I think we all know that’s what this show is really about, then they should have stuck with Haley Reinhart rather than railroading her in to oblivion.

Perhaps the more important question, if Idol’s ratings continue to trend downward since 2006 but still win the season, why are the album sales doing so poorly compared to the multi-million unit sales of the early seasons?

Past season winners’ and challengers’ debut album sales:

Sales #’s source: Washington Post

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Well that “American Idol” finale performance show was about as fun as I thought it was going to be. And by that, I mean not very. I knew two country teens going head to head wasn’t going to have me dancing on my couch, but I expected a little more than what we got. Pretty boring, folks. In my opinion anyway. Oh well, tomorrow night will be way more exciting.

At least we barely heard from the judges. That was very refreshing.

As always, I’ll review each performance and assign the letter grade I think each one deserves.

ROUND ONE: Contestants’ favorite song of the season

*Scotty McCreery, “Gone.” Scotty made the perfect pick in this round. His version of“Gone” was even in our Top 10 list earlier today. It sounded just as good as the first time he did it. Fun, energetic, and very Scotty. He seemed a bit more disconnected tonight than usual, but I’ll chalk that up to stress. A

*Lauren Alaina, “Flat On The Floor.” This was not her best song of the season, but I understand she’s trying to match Scotty as far as song style. Like the first time she did it, it was fine. Vocally it was fine. Stage presence was fine. So if there’s a problem, it’s the fact that it was all just fine, and not great. Or exciting. Or new. Like Scotty, Lauren also just seemed disconnected or out of sorts all night. B+

Round One goes to Scotty.

ROUND TWO: Contestants’ idols choose the song

*Scotty, “Check Yes Or No.” George Strait picked his own song for Scotty. That’s kind of arrogant, isn’t it? Scotty did a fine job with it. There was no challenge there since he’s singing probably one of his favorite songs. Overall, it was a tiny bit boring, but sounded good. B

*Lauren, “Maybe It Was Memphis.” Carrie Underwood picked this one for Lauren. And while it was a better song choice than Scotty’s Lauren didn’t do much to make her own. It was just kind of there. And I see why Lauren blew her voice out earlier because she’s overdoing it in places trying to get an edge on Scotty. I try to avoid cutting on appearance, but what was with that “Toddlers & Tiaras” pageant dress made for a 5-year-old? Lauren’s biggest issue has been immaturity and that dress sure didn’t help. B

Round Two is a tie (for most boring).

ROUND THREE: The song they’ll record if they win

*Scotty, “I Love You This Big.” This wasn’t actually a pretty good song. Especially for a finale. I guess it pays to have Jimmy Iovine involved with the show. I think the song has a good hook and would definitely be one we could hear on the radio, unlike most of the winners’ first singles. And Scotty owned it. A

*Lauren, “Like My Mother Does.” Forget what I said about Scotty’s song being good for a finale song. This is the song. And it’s the one that will be released because Lauren is winning tomorrow night. After this song, I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s nailed down. And it has little to do with how she sang it (which she did very well, by the way).  A+

Round Three goes to Lauren.

So how do I think it will play out tomorrow night? Like I just said, Lauren will be the next “American Idol.” If for no other reason, than for the “Mother” song. It’s a song about Moms. Everyone loves their mom. Mom’s love songs about them. They’re all calling in and voting for Lauren right now as I type this. It’s clearly the show giving Lauren the edge and finally getting that female winner again.

I find it a bit unfair. It was more fair back when the Top 2 had to sing and record the same song.  It’s all unfortunate because I think Scotty is a little more ready for this than Lauren. I don’t dislike Lauren, but of the two, I think I prefer Scotty slightly more. And maybe I’ll be wrong tomorrow night (I have been a lot of times this season), but I doubt it.

Original content from American Idol 2011.

Here we go! It’s the final round of performances for American Idol 2011 so the pressure is on tonight. Either Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina will emerge victorious and it will all be up to you.

See what other Idol fans are saying right now on our Idol Facebook page and then join us in the Idol Net Chat room while we review tonight’s live show.

American Idol 2011 Top 2 Performances – Singer’s Favorite:

• Scotty McCreery – Gone – 1-866-436-5701 & 5703 & 5705 & 5707
• Lauren Alaina – Flat On The Floor – 1-866-436-5702 & 5704 & 5706 & 5708

Not a word from any of the judges so far tonight. I guess they’re racing to finish and don’t have time.

American Idol 2011 Top 2 Performances – Country Star’s Pick:

• Scotty McCreery – Check Yes or No – 1-866-436-5701 & 5703 & 5705 & 5707
• Lauren Alaina – Maybe It Was Memphis – 1-866-436-5702 & 5704 & 5706 & 5708

The judges finally speak though Randy’s suit really speaks for itself. Randy gives Round 1 to Scotty and Round 2 to Lauren. Jennifer agrees with Randy. Steven gives both rounds to Lauren, but as he says, “only because she’s prettier.” Randy reminds us that they’re both, wait for it, “in it to win it!”

We also get the introduction of this season’s coronation song performed by Taio Cruz and lots and lots of Auto-Tune help.

American Idol 2011 Top 2 Performances – To-Be-Released Song:

• Scotty McCreery – I Love You This Big – 1-866-436-5701 & 5703 & 5705 & 5707
• Lauren Alaina – Like My Mother Does – 1-866-436-5702 & 5704 & 5706 & 5708

Randy gives Round 3 to Lauren with a slight edge. JLo gives Round 3 to Lauren and then backtracks to say it’s a close race. Steven says Lauren got Round 3 “hands down.”

Grab free downloads of the original performances with Real Superpass’ free trial or you can download tonight’s American Idol performances on iTunes.

Tomorrow night we’ll find out which singer earned the most votes and will be crowned the next American Idol. Be sure to cast your unofficial vote in our Idol poll below (poll to be posted after the ET broadcast so no complaining about the votes!) and then share your opinion on tonight’s performances!

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