next week news...(with updates!)

Well, we're getting a little trickle of information about next week's events. The Tuesday night episode, of course, is the final performance episode, where Taylor and Katharine will sing three songs.

Performance position depends on the famous coin flip, which Taylor won last night, electing to sing second, thereby finishing the show. The first song will be [taking deep breath and making big gulp] the original song. All we're hearing is "the original song" so that implies that there is just one, and both will sing it to their own beat, to their own arrangement.

And this will be certain: I will totally pan it.

I have no idea what else they will sing, but last year, as the year before, each of them selected one number from the season to reprise, so I have no reason to believe they won't do that again. Third song remains a mystery.

But what is not a mystery is that Daniel Powter will be there to sing, uhh, wanna guess? Yeah. He's gonna tell them they're having a Bad Day before they've even had one.

And then Wednesday, the two-hour cheesefest that is the finale, will run from 8-10 EDT, featuring Carrie Underwood and, of course, the reunion of the entire crew.

Now we kind of know that Meat Loaf (whom I adore) is planning to appear on the Wednesday finale, dueting with Katharine McPhee, so chances are likely that the kids will get to, like last year, pair with some great artists for a medley treat.

Now for me, my most fervent wish is for Roberta Flack to appear to sing one of her exquisite Donny Hathaway duets with Elliott. That is my wish. Last year the top three were given alone time on the stage with a guest. Word on the street says this time the top four will be given that opportunity and the rest of the kids will be grouped, usually by genre preference.

So that begs the question, if you could get anybody and pair them with one (or more) of the kids what would be your wish?

And yes, I still want Kanye West to rap with little Kevin.

UPDATE: Nigel's toying with us again, apparently. Discussing the finale extravaganza next Wednesday, he dropped us a morsel of a hint regarding Chris Daughtry, who he expected to be in the final two. Will Chris perform in the finale? Yes. He'll perform live. And, he says, "live" is the operative word. I think I know what that might mean, especially considering a certain band will be in Los Angeles on May 24.

ETA: Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in downloading any of the audio or video of this season's performances, the main site has those available now, but only until next Wednesday. The cost is $1.99 for videos and $.99 for audios. Just click the top Idol on Fox link in the sidebar.