‘American Idol’: The best finals in history?

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So now we know, nice guys don’t finish last -– they finish fifth and sixth. On Wednesday night we bid farewell to two of the nicest, most genuine-seeming contestants ‘American Idol’ has known.

Phil Stacey, who defied all odds and predictions and squeaked along to the final six, managed to remain good natured and non-diva-ish every step up to these exalted heights. That he hit his stride in the final weeks allowed him to exit on a satisfying high note. And once again, a contestant said good-bye with an eerily appropriate song.

Phil, indeed, may have made the best use of his farewell song -- ‘Blaze of Glory’ -- of any contestant to date.

He used his final moments to re-enact the “Bye Bye Life” scene from “All That Jazz” (which ties with the “8 ½” finale for history’s greatest good-bye song), dancing through the aisles for last embraces from the people he met along the path of life’s rich pageant –- the judges, his fellow sailors, his family, Chris Richardson’s family, Angel of Death Seacrest and finally his Idol brethren.

Bravo Ensign Stacey –- a man who made the most of his moment.

Chris Richardson’s departure is somewhat sadder, as he showed the potential to go all the way (or at least to the two or three spot).

The quiet, modest ex-Hooters manager raised the question of whether a contestant performing in a minor key could go the distance in ‘Idol.’ The answer? One can go only so far, but no further.

It also didn’t hurt to have smoldering adolescent charms. Although on that account, we see once again, sexiness can be a double-edged sword on ‘Idol.’ History has shown conclusively that the designated sexy candidates (Ace Young, Lindsey Cardinale, Antonella Barba) rarely go the distance.

But along with Phil Stacey, Richardson maintained, by all accounts, a modest, good-natured demeanor throughout.

And so ‘Idol’ bids farewell to two whose hearts were pure, both of whom went further than anyone could have predicted.

While neither ever seemed fated to win, and neither seemed to expect that they would, there was a nobility to their struggle. They knew that at any moment they could fall, and yet they fought on.

And so, with one final swoop of Seacrest’s terrible swift sword, the party ended. Like the doomed Irish airman in William Butler Yeat’s poem, a lonely impulse of delight drove them to this tumult among the clouds. They

And so, the last of the fat is gone and we take the last steps with as even a four-person race as one could hope. While there are clear favorites (Jordin and Melinda), it is within imagination that any two of these four could end up in the finals. In fact, after reviewing previous years, it appears that the competition has boiled down to the strongest final four in ‘Idol’ history.

But next week, there will be no more sacrificial lambs to stand between them and Seacrest.

One of these titans must now fall.

(Photo courtesy Fox)