We feel certain that she is a nice young lady. It is not an act. She works hard to learn to dance well - much like Ty did, and I thibnk that after he left, his voters went to her. I think many people assumed that she was the "underdog" and maybe going to finish third (or even 4th to Lil Kim, before Ty beat her!). It is nice when Americans vote for the "underdog." I like Adam Lambert on american Idol, but he was already n the road to fame, and Kris allen was nice and kept improving, and had a nice voice, and did very well on two of the final songs, at least. adam is better off free of the Idol title and restrictions - and of the obligation to sing that song. Kris actually did a good job on the song, and it seemed appropriate for him - apparently he is required to have it on one side of his first single, sponsored by the Idol folks. I cannot see Adam tolerating being treated like a puppet, being managed and told what to do by Idol experts - whereas Kris could probably benefit from thir expertise. I wish them both luck (I agree with Clay Aiken in his criticism of the Idol glitz and staging, and in his dislike of Adam's version of Ring of Fire - but I go to youtube to hear as many songs as I can, and do not judge merely on Idol performances. I hope all five of these folks do well, and was glad to see all of them in finals. i jsut do not get the extreme pemphasis on "the" winner. I like to see many talented people get acknowledged and rewarded. I have turned now to So You Think You Can Dance, and was thrilled by the excellence - more than that, artistry and even an almost mystical beauty, in some of the dancing. Especially the last two on the show last week. The judges were moved to tears, or close to it, in the case of the guys! I think it would be wonderful if every town and community had dance lessons as part of the opportunities for young people. Our town has a dance studio, and I went to the recital Friday night. the instructors are doing a wonderful thing for the town and the children in the town. Our small school emphasizes music - and the college/university does too. Such great progress to have dancing, however, in a town where the dominant church was anti-dancing for so long. As it became more international, and culturally enriched by the folk dances and music of other cultures, and as foreign students came to the college, and put on an annual International night of entertainment, the coming of world civilizationi has hit us - not to mention a variety of Hawaiian and other island dances at an annual banquet. I think many of the losing dancers who are still good - but not Broadway-ready - should be tested to see whether they can learn to teach dance, and placed in schools as dance instructors (after proper training) so that more young people can acquire the health, motive for good nutrition, poise and self-confidence, coordination, and sense of musicality and physicala beauty of motion, that dance gives. I do not mean the raunchy stuff, but I do include standard Latin steps, for those who are competent (maybe with a bit more to the costumes!) I think some folks liked it that Shawn was not sexy, and is a growing-up Olympic gymnist still, and not an object, but very much a real person, and a nice one.