As I write these words, the winner of American Idol’s eighth season has yet to be announced—by the time you read them, of course, this coronation will be old news. Needless to say, I expect Adam Lambert will have emerged the victor, and I will be surprised and personally disappointed if that is not the case. As I mentioned in an earlier installment of this column (“Adam Bomb,” April 9, 2009), I’m an Adam fan, so I won’t harp on that here. What I will do, though, is wrap up the season that was—which I sincerely believe was Idol’s best yet…which is not to say it wasn’t a total mess.

Aside from Adam (and to a lesser extent Kris Allen, Danny Gokey and a handful of the other singers to crack this Top 36), the story of Idol’s eighth season was the addition of its fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi. I’m on record as saying I think Kara was a good idea and a net plus, but she did everything she could to prove me wrong—by season’s end she was unpleasant, unprepared, combative and generally useless (to say nothing of the coronation song she co-wrote, which was a genuine atrocity). I still submit though that Kara (or somebody like Kara) is necessary for the judges panel: On a professional level, she’s canny, smart and—hey, here’s an idea!—relevant in the marketplace. Her songwriting résumé includes Pink’s “Sober,” Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” and a host of second singles and album filler from pretty much the entire Top 40. Meanwhile, Randy Jackson is a session bassist best known for playing with Journey from 1986 to 1987, and Paula is an ex-Laker Girl and choreographer who had a string of MTV hits two decades ago—which would be perfectly fine if their criticism were not utterly without value and delivered in embarrassing, incomprehensible babble.

Notice I didn’t mention in that paragraph Idol’s most important and beloved judge, as well as its brightest star. Once again, Simon Cowell is threatening to leave the show—and I cannot imagine any way Idol can go on without him. (As an aside, why is it Randy and Paula never threaten to leave? Is it because the world would welcome their resignations and they would immediately sink into total irrelevance? Nah, can’t be.) This is not to say Simon is perfect—his once-biting criticisms are now little more than a lazy and limited collection of well-worn putdowns (“It was like being at a ghastly wedding/some horrible hotel lobby/etc.”)—but he is the face of the show and the voice of its viewers. He may not always be right, but his is the only verdict anyone cares about—be it the viewers or the contestants.

(And a quick note to all Idol judges: Have you ever actually heard Nine Inch Nails? I imagine not. So let me tell you, before you further embarrass yourself: Adam Lambert sounds not at all like Nine Inch Nails. Scissor Sisters? Jeff Buckley? Guns ’N Roses? Yes, yes, yes. But Trent Reznor? Aside from having dyed black hair and being musicians, the two have nothing in common.)

It is telling that the  “pimpmercials” that air at the beginning of every results show—in which the singers perform in a video showcasing some Ford vehicle—feature much more relevant music than the show itself: Modest Mouse’s “Float On”; Lykke Li’s “I’m Good, I’m Gone”; Apples in Stereo’s “Energy”… Meanwhile, this year’s Idol theme weeks included Motown Week, Disco Week and Rat Pack Week. Why does Idol refuse to allow itself to be dragged into the present (or even the recent past)? Two years ago, when Blake Lewis did a Ryan Adams version of a Ryan Adams song (“When the Stars Go Blue”), Ryan Seacrest announced that Lewis would be singing…Tim McGraw (who covered Adams’ song in 2006). WTF?! Why can’t Idol do Indie Rock Week? Britpop Week? New York Rock Bands Week (wherein the Idols could do Talking Heads or Blondie or The Velvets or The Strokes)? Rick Rubin Week (Weezer or Johnny Cash or Red Hot Chili Peppers)? I’m not suggesting a Black Metal Week or a Grime/Dubstep Week here; I want nothing more than imaginative and exciting definitions of pop. Look, music performed by young people is inherently cool. Why does Idol go to such extreme lengths to make it so hideously uncool?

On a related note, I sincerely feel Adam represented a true breakthrough for Idol: Never once did he just sing the song—he always re-imagined it, rearranged it for his voice, his tastes, his style. Over the last few years, Idol has been veering further down that uncharted and dangerous road—everyone from Chris Daughtry to Blake Lewis to Brooke White to Jason Castro to David Cook to Kris Allen made the songs “their own” week in and week out—but Adam was the apotheosis of this concept on the Idol stage. And the show cannot turn back. From here on out, the producers must find not mere singers, but artists. Based on the votes, it seems clear the public has little interest in hearing precocious teenagers sing Whitney Houston. So how is it that no matter the trends in music, every Idol season features no shortage of precocious teenagers singing Whitney Houston? Whether Adam Lambert won Idol is immaterial—Adam Lambert has changed Idol. And if the show is to survive, it must allow itself to be changed.

Follow Mike Nelson on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SonicBum.