As "American Idol" heads toward its finale, it's wrapping up a larger-than-life season. There are four "Idols" remaining — Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones and Blake Lewis, after Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey left in last week's double elimination.

This has been the year of the divas, Sanjaya and Antonella. It has also been the year of long hair, short skirts and big ballads.

Purists squirmed at some of that. One judge, Simon Cowell, even claimed he would quit if Sanjaya Malakar won.

And Ken Warwick, the executive producer, shrugged it off.

"America normally gets it right in the end," he said in April. "I'm pretty confident Sanjaya will not be the American Idol this year."'

He was correct. The lighter singers were ousted. For its final four, "Idol" had three mega-voiced divas and the distinctive Blake Lewis.

After being ousted, Stacey marveled at the people who were still in the hunt.

Lewis, "the most original contestant ever," faced the explosive voices of Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones and Jordin Sparks. "Jordin has a range that goes on for days," Stacey says.

That made this a rough year to be a female powerhouse.

"You walk in and think, 'A, B and C' are all big singers. I can be as big," says Sabrina Sloan.

The big three survived. Others (Gina Glocksen and Stephanie Edwards) made the final 12.

Sloan didn't, but she provides a helpful guide into the "Idol" world. At 27, she's someone who has watched the show from the beginning and has analyzed what works.

Her prime rule: "If you end (the song) with a big belt, with a big power note, it will redeem anything in the middle."

Still, that should be approached carefully. "You do not want to do a ballad the first week," Sloan says. "People will think that's all you do."

She wanted to start with uptempo songs that let the voice fly. "You have to be passionate in your singing," Sloan says.

Personality is important, she says ... in moderation. "You don't want to put a whole lot of riffs into a song, but enough to make it yours."

The rehearsals and the preparation is constant. "The only time we had to ourselves was from about midnight to 3 a.m.," Stacey says.

Singers can work out their own arrangements but in the early weeks they might only have 20 minutes or so to rehearse with the band. "The band is incredible," Sloan says.

She sang powerfully and still fell short. Why?

One problem was that she was rarely shown in the taped portions from auditions and rehearsals.

"You have no control over (that)," Sloan says. "At first I said, 'That's OK. Kelly Clarkson didn't have any screen time at this point, either.' "

Clarkson came from obscurity to be the winner. Sloan didn't. Early on, young viewers became fond of the younger-looking, younger-sounding contestants who were shown often.

Antonella Barba was featured often and gossiped about after sexy photos surfaced online. "My name is more well known because of it, but I'm not known for the things that I would like to be," she said.

Haley Scarnato's look — short shorts, short skirts, high heels, long legs — drew praise, and then criticism. If she had lasted another week, she said after-ward, "I was going to wear a robe."

And there was Malakar. At 17, he went from shy to the sly center of attention.

"He had that style and the smile and he absolutely used it," Sloan says. "I have to give him credit."

He and Scarnato will be on the "Idol" tour, sharing stage time with those powerhouses who reached the final four.

And Sloan? She's had meetings, talked to people, reminded herself about non-winners — Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Elliot Yamin, Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington — who have soared.

It seems that "American Idol" can open a lot of doors.