‘American Idol’ Down to the Final Vote

SNELLVILLE, Ga. – With all the notes sung, the judges’ opinions rendered and the votes cast, the only thing left is the announcement: Is Diana DeGarmo or Fantasia Barrino this season’s “American Idol?”

And that comes Wednesday night, wrapping up the two-night finale of Fox television’s third annual singing contest.

Tuesday night was devoted to letting viewers have one last, long look at DeGarmo, a 16-year-old from this Atlanta suburb, and the 19-year-old Barrino of High Point, N.C., before casting their votes over the telephone.

Each performed three songs before a live, nationally televised audience from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, home of the Academy Awards. Then the balloting began and went on for four hours, instead of the usual two.

If viewers follow the lead of the judges – who help winnow the field but have only an advisory role in the final rounds – Barrino will walk away the winner.

“The stage is yours – it’s your night, my dear, it’s your night,” Paula Abdul said after Barrino’s final song, titled “I Believe.”

Barrino seemed to believe, too. Tears streamed down her face and she heaved with sobs.

“I think you are, without question, the best contestant we’ve had in any competition,” Simon Cowell said, comparing her to the approximately 70 singers who’ve won “Idol” contests worldwide.

To DeGarmo, who stumbled in the middle of Melissa Manchester’s “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” Cowell said: “I think you had one last chance to come and nail this competition, and I don’t think you did.”

But she received high praise from Randy Jackson after wrapping up her rendition of “No More Tears” by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. “You’re singing your face off tonight,” Jackson told DeGarmo.

After the show, Gov. Sonny Perdue called DeGarmo and told her he hopes she wins despite Cowell’s comments.

“We think you really kicked it tonight, and America’s going to show Simon he doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Perdue said at the governor’s mansion in Atlanta, where 350 of DeGarmo’s friends, neighbors and relatives had watched the show on two widescreen TVs.

Earlier he had declared Tuesday “Dial for Diana DeGarmo Day” in the state, and asked Georgians to support the singer by watching her on the Fox series and voting for her by phone.

At DeGarmo’s church, Zoar United Methodist Church, a couple dozen people watched the show on a projection television. Many went for their cell phones as soon as the closing credits began to roll.

Some kept getting busy signals, but Pastor Dana Everhart saw the busy signals as good sign.

“The system is full, which means everyone is calling at once,” Everhart said.

Moments later, Everhart was jumping up and down and excitedly crying, “I got it!”

In Barrino’s hometown, nearly 1,600 supporters watched the show from Providence Place auditorium. Fans were poised and ready with their cell phones as the show ended.

Similar to Perdue, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley urged residents to show support for their “favorite daughter.”

“He encourages people to watch the show and vote for the best talent – and that’s Fantasia,” said Ernie Seneca, a spokesman for Easley, who is a fan of the show.

Easley also sent a letter to Barrino last week inviting her to visit him regardless of the outcome of the final vote. He described Barrino as an “amazing talent” and a “larger-than-life personality” that has made her a star to millions of North Carolina residents.

—

Eds: AP Writers Michael Felberbaum contributed to this report from High Point, N.C., and Doug Gross in Atlanta.

—

On the Net:

http://www.idolonfox.com