I missed of the American Idol finale on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop me from voting for Taylor anyway. I rationalized it as making up for all of the times I watched the show without dialing a single toll-free number. Over the allotted four-hour period, I got through twenty times. Of course, I didn’t get through nearly one-hundred times, which I took as a sign that people were voting for him. I admit that I was tempted to dial one of Katharine’s numbers, just to see how easily I could get through, but that would have given a vote away, so I curbed my curiosity.

I’m stoked Taylor won. His dancing was atrocious, but endearing. He drove me nuts with his constants shouts of “Woooo!” and “Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!”, but it was that same energy during his performances I found so engaging. I’m not a fan of the song the show wrote for him, but I hope he records Neil Diamond’s “In the Ghetto” and The Beatles’ “Something”, two of my favorite songs from earlier in the season.

Next year will be the sixth season of American Idol. While that’s all fine and good, I’m actually looking forward to when they air Ultimate American Idol Showdown, where previous Idol winners and Clay Aiken compete for the title of Ultimate Idol. If that day ever comes, I’ll be rooting for Clay all the way.