THE FINALE FOR THE WORLD

American Idol Finale

American Idol judges by Michael Lavine/FoxSimon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul,

American Idol
What a wild trip Season 6 of American Idol has turned out to be. Antonella's scandalous pics. Simon and Ryan's barbed bickering. Sanjaya's hair. Yet in the end, a fierce final three — Melinda, Jordin and Blake — are poised to battle it out on TV's most-watched show. We shadowed this diverse and driven trio for a week as they rehearsed their songs, shopped for picture-perfect duds and posed for TV Guide's cover. Here's our behind-the-scenes peek at how they're dealing with Idol's unrelenting pace and pressure. Who's got what it takes to become — all together now — your American Idol?

Clothes Make the Diva
For most women, a shopping spree on somebody else's dime would make for a dream afternoon. But Melinda Doolittle isn't like most women. It's not just that the 29-year-old has had less than five hours of sleep and is relying on a highly caffeinated iced mocha to keep her eyes open on this Thursday morning. Retail therapy — even if you're being whisked to L.A.'s trendy Beverly Center in a snazzy black chauffeur-driven SUV — is anything but therapeutic for this Tennessee inhabitant. "I don't really enjoy shopping," says the petite powerhouse, who's clad in a red T-shirt and jeans today. "I'm a woman who'd rather be at home watching football."

But now that the backup singer has become a center-stage favorite, Melinda must look like a star. That's not always an easy task, given that the woman who her fellow Idols call "Mama" is as conservative in her clothing tastes as she is humble in front of the judges. But stylist Miles Siggins, who calls Melinda his "biggest makeover of the season," has managed to work minor miracles, getting her to "channel her inner Tina Turner" by wearing heels, sleeveless tops and even dresses that play up strengths and camouflage flaws. "I don't have the longest neck," Melinda says amiably. "People call me 'Shrek.'"

"But once you put on a dress and heels and you get out on that stage," Siggins says, "your attitude changes completely."

"Chanel comes out!" Melinda says, grinning.

Huh? "My alter ego's name is Chanel," she explains. "I love her. Chanel is sassy. I just wish she could stay through the [judges'] comments instead of leaving, ‘cause she would take them a lot better. She'd be like" — Melinda snaps her fingers and drips attitude — "I know!"

As Melinda enters the fashionable store Politix, it's obvious she's been here before. "I missed you last week!" she squeals, giving salesgirl Demetria a hug. She looks over the racks, but for the most part, she's happy to defer to the British Siggins. "If I'd have shown her this stuff eight weeks ago," he says, shoving her into a dressing room with several outfits, "she'd have said, 'I'm never going shopping with that man again!'" When she emerges wearing something she likes — such as a $552 black wing-sleeved top — Melinda claps like an excited young Idol fan. When she doesn't like it — say, a slinky green top that exposes her lower back — she grimaces and sinks into her shoulders.

As Melinda makes her way to another store, fellow shoppers do double takes. "I don't know whether to say 'Hey!' or just put my head down and keep walking," she says. Despite that famously meek, polite demeanor, don't think for a minute that Melinda isn't out to win Idol. As she climbs back into the SUV and heads to the studio, a flash of Chanel appears. "Everything I get into, I'm in it to win it!" she says saucily, before reverting back to her normal demeanor. "It's like a blessing that I get to stay and do it again every week. I'm so excited [winning's] even possible. I mean, gosh, who wouldn't love to win?"

For more on American Idol, pick up the new issue of TV Guide, on sale Thursday