Julio Iglesias Jr Wins Gone Country

The Decision

On the last show of the season, all the contestants had to perform their songs in front of a live audience. Here is the line up of what they sang:

• Maureen McCormick - Being Me
• Sisqo - The Way that I Love You
• Bobby Brown - The Man I'm Gonna Be
• Dee Snyder – Thirty
• Diana DeGarmo – Right Back Where We Ended
• Carnie Wilson – Everything Changed
• Julio Iglesias Jr., - The Way I Want You

After their performances, John Rich, along with a few record executives, chose the person they thought had the best chance of crossing over into country music. In a decision that has resulted in Rich getting lambasted by country music fans around the nation, Rich and company's chosen winner was Julio Iglesias Jr. The decision left many fans of John Rich asking "What? Really?"

The Finale

In the beginning of the show, Diana DeGarmo, with her big voice and obvious passion for country music was a fan favorite and front runner for the Gone Country crown. Fans reportedly loved her final performance and John Rich even stated that it was "straight up country." Rich also liked the other performances, with the exception of Dee Snyder's, because he felt that some of Snyder's material was inappropriate for an all ages show, but everyone else, he really did like.

His reasoning for choosing Julio as a winner is still unclear to most. Rich claims that the decision was based on the "…the person's ability to carry themselves in country music, presence and x-factor." Of these three criteria, most fans strongly believe that Julio Iglesias is 0 for 3. Given the amount of negative comments and fan backlash made around the blogosphere, the hit song that John Rich believes Julio is going to make will most definitely not be a hit.