Ranking the American Idol 9 Top 2 - Lee DeWyze is #1
Lee DeWyze is #1 for the week on Rickey.org based on pageviews.
Crystal Bowersox is still #1 for the season average, but Lee has closed the gap.
Casey James was #3 and has been voted off.
Mega Analysis time!
If we rely solely on season average, then Crystal Bowersox will win American Idol next week - as she has demonstrated that she is the most popular Idol week after week since the beginning. She has a very strong shot at winning this thing. Her fanbase is solid.
However, it looks like Lee DeWyze is experiencing a bit of a surge in popularity. 3 of the last 4 weeks, he has been more popular than Crystal in terms of pageviews, and this week, he doubled Crystal's numbers.
Historically, the contestant peaking late books his or herself a ticket to the finale:
Diana DeGarmo - Season 3 - "Don't Cry Out Loud" (Top 3)
Bo Bice - Season 4 - "In A Dream" (Top 3)
Katharine McPhee - Season 5 - "Over the Rainbow" (Top 3)
Blake Lewis - Season 6 - "You Give Love a Bad Name" (Top 4)
Kris Allen - Season 8 - "Heartless" (Top 3)
However in the past 2 seasons, peaking late and/or getting all the attention in the Top 3 has led to a win.
In Season 7, David Cook (not a late peaker) sang "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" which some fans thought was setup as a coronation song in the Top 3 (similar to how fans felt about Lee DeWyze's "Hallelujah" this week with the backup choir). David Cook won.
In Season 8, Kris Allen won after his breakthrough "Heartless" Top 3 performance which dominated iTunes for weeks. Idol revealed later that "Heartless" was the most downloaded song of the entire season.
So was Lee's "Hallelujah" the "Heartless" plus "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" of Season 9 which will lead to a win?
Maybe. But I think it's too close to call.
I've picked Lee DeWyze as my dark horse during the start of the season so I want him to win. But Crystal Bowersox is really super-popular and can pull off another "People Get Ready" performance (or two) next week to seal the win.
Poll
Ranking
| This Wk | Last Wk | Season Ave | Top 3 Performance | Views |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Lee DeWyze - Simple Man / Hallelujah | 19,755 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Crystal Bowersox - Come To My Window / Maybe I'm Amazed | 8,416 |
| 3 | 3 | Voted Off | Casey James - OK, It's Alright With Me / Daughters | 6,042 |
(as of 9:07 am 05/20/2010)