About tonight: Kara's song the sabotager!

Tonight's finale was set to be a one-sided wipe-out, and although it may not have been as clear cut as expectations had us all believe, it was still a wipe-out based on the judges' comments. The three songs per finalists thing must have not really been a big hit with Adam and Kris, as it seemed like the two of them ran out of gas near the end of the show.

But who can be blamed for that? No one but Ms. Kara DioGuardi. Her co-penned coronation cheese-fest "No Boundaries" was set in a key so foreign to the two contenders that each of their takes on it came off sounding like two amateurs were attempting to sing something they just overheard someone playing in a cheap bar.

Adam took on the song first, which would have showed he was pretty brave had he not been required to do the duty before Kris. The result was something that was not very pretty. Adam was off pitch a couple of times, just as Randy noted, and his theatrical style just sounded all wrong on the poppy track about mountains and hurricanes and whatnot. In fact, it would probably be best for him not to win if only for the sake of his credibility not being damaged. But on the other hand, David Cook survived the blunderful "magic rainbow" line in "The Time of My Life," so anything can happen.

Kris took the same approach, as they were barred from playing instruments during the final performance. This left him virtually naked and a little uncomfortable, as he had to grapple with the high key and used the mic as his crutch to prevent any nervousness from seeping out. That did not really work, though, and in addition to slipping up on the lyrics for a half-second, his voice just sounded like it was giving out at times. Still, this faltering was nothing compared to Blake Lewis' surrendering back on Season 6 when he was given "This Is My Now" as his final song. As the judges noted, "No Boundaries" was probably fit more for Kris' vocal style, but he may or may not be able to call the song his own depending on how tomorrow's results go.

The judges were easy on the song itself, with even Simon stating that he would ignore the song and focus just on the individuals as vocalists during the show. This was all to spare Kara any embarrassment that is usually directed toward the writer(s) of the coronation tracks. But even Kara said something in a "yea yeah" sarcastic tone when Simon mentioned the "mountains" part of the lyrics, so she must agree that it did not work all that well on the two of them.

I will go into detail with my thoughts on the song following this post, so be sure to look for it (I promise I won't disappoint).

As for the two thirds of the show that didn't suck, it was pretty evenly split. Adam opened the show with a bang when he re-did "Mad World" in Broadway garb that would make any character from the Great White Way proud. The fog machine (or dry ice? as Adam said following his performance) was probably the thing that sent the performance over the edge into the category of ridiculousness, as Simon made sure he got in a word about. Vocally, it was strong, perhaps on par with his version back on Top 8 night but must likely not equally matched.

Simon Fuller's choice, on the other hand, was the most awkward, unfit song for Adam to sing that it sucked out any momentum that he gained from the first round, no matter what Simon said about him being "a million times better" than Kris in the second round. Although Adam sang the song well, the fact that he was tasked with finding a more soulful sound deep within the layers of his signature style kind of resulted in an odd final product. Still, the judges loved what he came up with, as Kara applauded him for finding his own interpretation of the song and Paula went as far to say that it was the best she had ever heard him sing on the show.

Kris, on the other hand, had the best performance of the night with his reprise of "Ain't No Sunshine." It's just too bad, as Simon pointed out at the end of the show, that Kris had to waste his best showing at the beginning of the night. The fact that he tried it out on the piano showed that he really is a true artist and is very versatile with playing instruments while performing. He was able to show his softest side on "Sunshine" and won praise from the judges,hearing everything from "awakening spirits in all of us" courtesy of Paula to "creating an intimate bond with the audience" from Kara. Simon was more effective in his turnaround in which he said Kris deserved to be in the finals after the performance.

On the Fuller choice of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," however, he lost a little bit of his luster. The vocal was raw and very Jason Mraz-y, which was good, but Randy and Simon had a point when they said it was a little "light" for the finale. Acoustic is great, and works extremely well on the much smaller Idol studio stage, but in the Nokia Theatre it gets a little lost in the air. And once again, Simon was right on the money when he compared it to something that could be heard in a bedroom with three friends just playing around on the guitar (where does he come up with these comparisons?).

Fortunately for us, Carrie Underwood was there to sing us out in what was probably the most exciting (and best) performance of the night when she took on this season's goodbye song "Home Sweet Home." She looked as good as ever and sounded pretty strong.

And for a few bragging rights, Adam and Kris did take my advice into consideration by picking "Mad World" and "Ain't No Sunshine" for their encores, respectively, so that was good to know.

So when all was said and done, this finale performance episode definitely ranks among the lower rungs of the finales when compared with the past seven seasons, as the excitement factor just did not live up to expectations. Still, whoever wins tomorrow night will have a lot to live up to and he better get to making "No Boundaries" work with his voice, because the song is not going away.