(But you had to love it when Archuleta said, "I liked the weird, random sitar videos." And, "It was a very interesting session, even though I had no idea what he was talking about.")

This year's "Idol" finalists got lots of exposure: Syesha Mercado singing with Seal; a performance by Jason Castro; the six female finalists singing with Summer; a Carly Smithson-Michael Johns duet; the six male finalists singing with Bryan Adams. Also, Cook sang with ZZ Top; Archuleta joined OneRepublic; and Brooke White sang with Nash.

The "other" LDS finalist — the one not named Archuleta — made a great impression on Nash, a music legend in his own right. "She's singing from her heart and her soul and she means every word," he said of White. "You can't get much better than that."

Jimmy Kimmel did a bit of standup. "Hey, maybe you guys could help me with this," he said. "I valet-parked outside. How much should I tip Sanjaya?"

The Jonas Brothers performed, as did past "Idol" winners Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood performed.

Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. lip-synced as the Pips, spliced into a video with Gladys Knight. Clips of horrifically bad auditioners. And a bizarre performance by rejected (with good reason) "Idol" hopeful Renaldo Lapuz, accompanied by the USC marching band and songleaders, who were joined onstage by judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Apparently, when executive producer Simon Lythgoe promised the "biggest star in the world" would perform on Wednesday, he was talking about George Michael, who performed just before the winner was announced,

And, after a season when the ratings were in decline, Tuesday's show ticked up slightly from last year's final performance show. And then there were the almost 100 million votes from viewers.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com