For weeks, I've espoused the talents of Brentwood, Tenn., native and Tulsa Union graduate Melinda Doolittle, and somehow over the past five weeks or so, she has slipped from frontrunner to a likely third-place finisher on American Idol.

Not sure why. America can be funny that way.

However, thankfully, the show's judges know what's going on in terms of public opinion. While I don't believe they know the exact tallies, weekly, I do think they understood where Melinda ranked in terms of popularity among herself, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks.

At the bottom.

Jordin commands the teeny-bopper crowd. Blake has won over hairdressers, middle-aged women and Rosie.

That's left Melinda to the rest of us, and for whatever reason, we're in the minority. Mostly adults. Many of us old enough to remember Tina Turner's heyday in the 1970s. Many of us classy enough to love Gladys Knight -- and many of us with an ear good enough to recognize that Melinda sounds like the second coming of their love child.

Not a copycat, but a real-deal, southern-fried, good-time Gospel hour with a tad-bit of Tennessee rock-n-roll, miniskirts and plenty of leg shakin', Doolittle isn't always allowed the latitude to perform songs that deviate from the formula, a la Randy Jackson's choice for her tonight -- Whitney Houston's "I Believe In You And Me," from the movie "The Preacher's Wife."

Yet when Melinda does deviate, she is unmatched not only on this show, she is unmatched in the industry. There is simply nobody her age (29) with her talent and with that unique, old-school southern style in the entire music business.

She not only deserves a place in the finale, she should already be a shoo-in to win Season 6.

However, she's not. Far from it. She's placed behind both Jordin and Blake the past couple of weeks, according to our benevolent spoilers at dialidol.com.

Long story short, the producers got to pick a song for each of the contestants, and for Melinda, they picked "Nutbush City Limits," from Ike & Tina, and it was a brilliant pick to showcase Doolittle's originality, at least relative to today's singers.

Longer story shorter, I told a colleague at work today that Simon Cowell needed to step up and say something, damnit, or we would end up with a Jordin-Blake finale, which I think most people recognize could be a stunning, underachieving bore, musically. Unfortunately, it could still happen, theoretically. I mean, Paula is brain-dead about 70 percent of the time, it seems, and Randy Jackson is tone-deaf the other 30 percent.

Nevertheless, Simon stepped up Tuesday night, saying that if he had to pick one person for the finale that it would be Doolittle. She's consistent week after week -- great voice, great talent, seemingly a terrific person even. At some level, I think Cowell recognized that an injustice would be done if she weren't to make the finale.

No, not an injustice in the league of most anything else in real life. I could name 795 things more important right now, societally, than whether Melinda makes the finale. However, when one knows the right choice, when one knows he/she has the power to influence the outcome and when one is in the position of making that outcome his business, he simply has an obligation to say something to ensure that this 29-year-old gets her shot at the title.

So, with 20 seconds left in the show, the credits rolling and Ryan Seacrest asking him who he thought would make the finale, Simon didn't dilly-dally.

He said, "I want to see my girl Melinda in the final.”

You have to understand the machinations of this show and his influence to understand that this all but sealed the deal for Doolittle, and I can't commend our resident nipple rubber enough.

Good man you are, Simon Cowell.