behold the power of cheese...

As much as I generally don't love the finale performance shows, I always look forward to the party of the finale results, even though normally they have more layers of Velveeta than my aunt's macaroni and cheese.

Every now and then, cheese is good.

It's two hours of celebration, so there's lots of time to have some fun.  There will be the requisite opening duet, with Carrie and Bo heralding togetherness, friendship and endurance.  (And rainbows, and dreams and puppies...)  There will be the appearances from former Idols.  Kelly will be a no-show, but Ruben and Fantasia should make appearances.  And, of course, we'll get live updates from Alabama and Oklahoma. 

There will be the traditional "lookie who came to see us!" as Ryan pans the audience, looking for luminaries from other FOX shows and some of the Idols from previous seasons, many of whom we saw last night.  I caught Jennifer Hudson and Camile Velasco, George Huff and Jasmine Trias last night.  We will probably get our backstage, in the makeup chair interviews with Carrie and Bo, and all that good stuff that lends to the party atmosphere.

Both will perform individually.  And then they will perform with the class of season 4 in what producers are calling a "super medley."

In past seasons, the kids, dressed nattily last year in yellow and white <gag>, sang and "danced" their way through a retrospective of the theme nights they had endured. 

This year, though, the kids are being given the opportunity to sing with their idols.  It's already been announced that guest musical guests include Rascal Flatts, to back Carrie, Lynyrd Skynyrd to back Bo, plus Kenny G. and George Benson.

Evidentially rehearsal was open yesterday, so reports are leaking about what we'll see, and, if the reports are true, it has the potential to be a lot of fun.

In addition to Carrie and Rascal Flatts and Bo with Skynyrd (who, it's said, will perform Sweet Home Alabama) Vonzell apparently will duet with Billy Preston on With You I'm Born Again.  [That performance alone will be worth the cost of my VHS tape.]  Anwar and Anthony are slated to perform I Believe I Can Fly, to the sax of Kenny G.  Scott and Nikko will perform On Broadway with George Benson and Mikalah and Lindsey are scheduled to perform Everytime I Close My Eyes, with Babyface.  And certain to get the most screams, Constantine, Jessica and Nadia will team with members of Aerosmith on Walk This Way.

Plus, of course, they're planning to flip the bird (figuratively, of course) at the amount of dirty press the show and its people have received this year.

Now, if tradition holds true, we might get a sneak preview of the winner, before it's time for Ryan to open the card.  It is a tradition for each of the final two to sing his or her first CD single.  And the winner always ends the show with the single itself.  Whoever becomes the Idol will record Inside Your Heaven (whether we like it or not...) and the other "original" song as the flip side.  So if either of them sings Heaven prior to the big reveal, it might be a tip that he or she is not going to be the one singing the show off the air.

Remember, tonight the party starts at 8 p.m. on FOX.  Who needs to watch that lost show anyway?