Why Kris Allen will win American Idol

To me, Kris Allen is the American Idol and he has my vote for the following reasons:

I love rooting for the underdog. In the duel of Kris v. Adam Lambert, it is pretty evident that the title is Adam's to lose. He was annointed TCO (a.k.a. "the Chosen One") by the production early in the season, after receiving the gift of a back story (They wanted you to know he was the 'theatrical' guy from the cast of Wicked who wore guy liner and had the emo hair) with ample airtime during the audition rounds. Adam had the judging panel, early fans, and production on his side (smoke! lighting! angles! song choices!), and the media obsessed over his private life and what significance that meant in respect to winning the competition.

On the other corner of the ring, Kris Allen is representative of the shocker finalist. He was pretty much cast aside as fodder because he was never portrayed to be a serious contender to win, compared to the likes of Adam and Danny Gokey, whom were the predestined final two. Editing-wise, the audience never got to watch Kris's first audition. We seldom heard a peep from him, save a group performance during the Hollywood rounds and Top 36 semifinals. This not-so-subtle blatant producer manipulation has infuritated me all season.

Of past Idol winners, only Kelly Clarkson received similar treatment her season, and she was only able to survive the early disadvantage by building a fan base based solely on her talent and only later in the season, we finally got to know her as the youthful, go-with-the-flow girl from Texas, which favored her in terms of likability and relateability -- two things that does an American Idol make. Luckily for Kris, his silent ascent in the competition was attributed to a number of things I will touch upon later, and his win tonight may cement the parallels I see with Kelly. A darkhorse win would be a big F.U. to the producers who've never favored him to win. His would serve as sweet, poetic justice for the remaining finalists (including Allison Iraheta, who would have won deservedly in another year) who had to fight extra hard to overcome the disadvantage of less screen time and questionable critiques this year.

As a matter of personal taste, I love the sound of Kris's voice. As everyone knows, the winner becomes a recording artist and sell their music. As a potential buyer, I would purchase Kris's album because he has demonstrated what kind of artist and music he would release, namely his distinctly acoustic pop-soul sound and vocal interpretation on tracks such as Once's "Falling Slowly", OneRepublic's "Apologize" and Kanye West's "Heartless". Although Adam wins on showmanship, I have a vague idea of what he wants to bring forth on a record. And to be quite frank, I cannot see Adam's vocal gymnastics translate well onto a record.

Kris is likable. He was never the victim of some personality misstep, or involved in any controversy this season, which would preclude him from winning. His appeal as a God-fearing Mama's boy from Arkansas has proven successful for past winners (The pride of Checotah, Oklahoma Carrie Underwood! Burleson, Texas' home girl, Kelly Clarkson!) In terms of image, Kris looks like an Idol. What I observed in him was that he seems unfazed by the competition, despite his growing popularit, and has remained very true to himself, which I respect as a voter. Because these people are thrusted into the public spotlight very quickly, I have little doubt Kris will continue to be a genuinely humble dude after he wins.

Kris is able to connect with you. In terms of his music, he has the ability to create and maintain a deep, emotional connection with the listener. His ability to play multiple instruments this season (acoustic guitar and piano/keyboard) further enhanced this connection. With Adam, there is often a disconnect when he sings and I never feel the same melodic, heart-on-sleeve attitude as I do with Kris. Take last night's coronation song round, which both had to sing the terribly good amazingly bad Kara DioGuardi tune "No Boundaries" -- although Kris's voice is very different from Adam's and struggled with the higher notes the song called for, I believed and was sold on his version. The lyric of "Here I am, still holding on...with every step, you climb another mountain " also fits well with Kris's uphill battle this entire season. His win would be an inspirational one.

The Kris v. Adam finale is a very appropriate summation of the season: the heavily pimped favorite versus the previously unseen and unheard darkhorse. I wouldn't be terribly upset if the other guy won, since it would also be a groundbreaking win. But I do hope the confetti will fall on the better artist tonight.