Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2007, Fox Broadcasting

Last night, Jordin Sparks was names this season's American Idol winner, apparently bringing in a record number of votes. I'm not sure if they held the phone lines open longer than usual or not.

Congratulations to her, of course. Congratulations also to Blake Lewis, who placed second. Not only is that a great achievement, but he can also count his blessings for not being saddled with the insipid single that the winner will put out. The song truly wasn't his style, but Jordin is likely to pull it off. As anybody who's been watching the season knows, she has a penchant for sappy songs and is likely to appeal to the teenyboppers who buy them.

Some have even nicknamed her the Disney Princess, both because of her song choices and because of her wardrobe, which looks very much like a little girl playing dress-up. Perhaps this will change as she goes on tour this summer.

Previous winner Taylor Hicks made an appearance to sing a couple songs, reminding me what I liked so much about him. I honestly think that if he'd been up against these two, he would have wiped the stage with them. He's a strong vocalist and a much stronger performer than either finalists.

All the other finalists, including Melinda Doolittle, sang in some group numbers, showing us again that she should have won. I only hope she goes on to the sort of success she deserves. She'll no doubt put out an album, but it's success is likely to depend on the type of songs on it and how they market it.

She sang with two of the artists for whom she'd previously sung background vocals, showing us that, whatever else, she now deserves to be at the front of the stage. I look forward to seeing what she does with her career.

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 6 (2007)

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

I've been faithfully following the Weight Watchers plan again, and I'm already seeing results. I lost 2.8 pounds the first week, which made me very happy.

One thing I've learned is that I've been overestimated serving sizes. Lately, I've been measuring everything out again and discovered that sometimes when I thought I was eating a cup of grape I was eating almost twice that much. So that's probably why I was on a plateau for so long.

I really don't want to lose a whole lot more, maybe 10 pounds total. In particular, I'm hoping to drop most of it before my first dress fitting for my wedding dress in June. Then the rest of the summer I can focus primarily on maintaining and toning up.

I'm also discovering that my regular exercise routine is helpful. The online Weight Watchers tracker has you track your activities, which lets me see just how much I'm getting in. Even on the days when I only get in one dog walk, it still makes a difference. It's nice to know.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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