LAST EDITED ON 05-20-04 AT 00:53 AM (EST)

Finally, it's time for the finale....seems like this show lasts forever (thanks to FOX). This week, there are only four competitors who have a shot at winning, however, booted or new participants can play this week as well, they just won't be in it for the title. Before I get to the finale entry, I'll recap what happened last week......

Last week, Jasmine finally left the competition at the Final Three stage, and all of our current players managed to dodge the bullet and survive to the final week. The highest scorer on the week was last week's newcomer to the top group, sodiumswirl (31). The stakes were higher last week, and so were the scores...fighting out of the crowd of bootees was Ztugo (30), who is now in fourth place with a legitimate shot at winning. Leader djk (14) took a big hit, but still has a comfortable lead going into the finale, and also has the satisfaction of being the only player to have made it all the way safely. Here are the standings going into the finale......

Standings (After Week 10)

69 - djk
46 - ejm92
41 - sodiumswirl
30 - Ztugo
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The FINALE Entry - Finally, it's time....it's been a long season, and now comes the most cruel part of the game...almost like Simon Cowell himself designed it...in similar fashion to last season, the only way to win this game is to go with the winner in the Idol contest. You have a choice of two....choose one to be on your safe list, which you will gain 10 points for. If you choose the second place finisher, tough luck.....you're out. Here are the final two, brought to you by Coca-Cola....

Fantasia Barrino
Diana DeGarmo

Good luck.....entries are due by 8:00pm on Tuesday, and may not be changed past that point. If everyone is booted, I'll ignore that fact and go based upon points to determine the winner.

Booted Players: If you'd like to make the finale a little more interesting, I'll be holding a separate pool for bootees only. You'll get the official title of "Bootee Champion", if that means anything at all, lol. Same thing goes for you guys as it is for everyone; I'll tally up the results as soon as I can and let you know how things went.
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Randy Man Bonus - Randy's "Man" Bonus has been 6 "Man"'s for the past two weeks...the same rules apply this week; guess how many times Randy will say "Man" on Tuesday's show. Bonus points are based on a 8/5/3/1 scale.
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Tuesday Bonus Questions - Here are the bonus questions for Tuesday's show...remember this week that all bonus questions will pertain to Tuesday and Wednesday's shows only.....I'm not including flashback footage from previous shows when I look for bonus answers.

1. Will both Idols get a standing ovation (after a solo performance) from Paula this week? (2)
2. Which judge will be the first to say Diana's name? (3)
3. How many times will Simon say "Paula" on Tuesday? (5)
4. How many times will Ryan Seacrest say "Fantasia" on Tuesday's show? (8/5/3/1, just like the RMB)
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Here are the Wednesday Bonus Questions....

1. Will either Randy or Simon wear a tie to the finale? (2)
2. Which judge will be the first to speak on Wednesday? (3)
3. How many different songs will the eventual winner sing live on Wednesday? (3)
4. Which former Final Two Contestant (Kelly, Justin, Ruben, or Clay) will first be seen on the finale Wednesday? (4)
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Best of luck to everyone....all entries and all bonus questions are due by 8:00pm EST Tuesday.

Secret Balloting: Since it is so hard to pick one winner, and everyone else is likely to pick different than the leader, I'll set up a secret ballot for everyone, just in case they want to keep their picks private before the finale....since I'm in the game myself, it makes no sense to be sending me the ballots...can I please have a volunteer so that the players will have someone to send their ballots to? Thanks in advance, and if I get a volunteer, I'll make sure to post it here so you all know who to PM your answers to....the volunteer can then just forward everything to me anytime after 8pm Tuesday.

EDIT (Secret Balloting): Hey everyone, just wanted to make sure it was in this post that you can PM your ballots to true, who can then send me the ballots after the deadline so that everything remains fair for everyone...best of luck, and thanks again to true!