More thoughts on the finale...

So after reading all of the reaction on the Internet and talking to some friends, here are some more thoughts on the finale which everyone agrees was not all that great…

If “Idol” was looking for a moving performance to cap the finale when they invited Bette Midler just 24 hours beforehand, they failed miserably. Apparently, they didn’t know she was going to make a mockery of her own song (I know Jerry Springer cried, but that arm flapping and dress swooshing was ridiculous.). And apparently the “Idol” producers had no idea—nor did I—that Bette Midler was so unknown among younger viewers. I had two girls under the age of 25 yesterday (separately, mind you) say that they only knew her from the movie “Hocus Pocus.” “I didn’t know she was a singer. I just thought she was an actress,” they both told me. Boy, does that make me feel old…

And if this was Bette’s chance to introduce herself to the under-25 set, she didn’t really do a good job of it. However, in her defense, it was clear she was having some kind of technical problems since she kept fiddling with the sound pack she was wearing. Maybe she thought the wing-flapping would make up for it…

I still haven’t seen or heard an explanation as to why Simon was not in his seat when she took the stage. I was also stunned that this was their “big get” that earlier in the day had been rumored to be Britney Spears…

It seems I was not the only one that detected a slam on Kelly during Clive Davis’ ramblings. Ken Barnes of “USA Today” pointed out that presenting Carrie with an award for her six million in sales was also kind of a slap in Kelly’s face. Why? “Breakaway” has sold 5.7 million copies, which is actually closer to the 6 million mark than Carrie’s album is. Hmmm…