It’s time to crown a champion! Let’s take a quick look back at how our two remaining contenders got here.
First we have John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” representing the state of West Virginia. This song easily won its state in the nomination round with 19 upvotes–the runner up nomination (Joni Mitchell’s “Morning Morgantown”) only received 3. It was also had the highest score overall in that round. During the voting rounds, it went up against a diverse field of opponents, including North Dakota, Washington, Kentucky, Idaho, and Mississippi. The B-52’s “Private Idaho” came closest to defeating WV in Round 4, with “Take Me Home” squeaking by 11-9, but otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing through the bracket up to this point.
On the other side, we have Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Georgia was one of the states that had to go up against itself in the first round, so while “Midnight Train” won the initial nomination, Willie Nelson’s rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” had a chance to knock it out and take its spot in the bracket. Once the voting started though, there was never a doubt–Gladys beat all opponents by more than 10 points in the first 4 rounds, including Willie Nelson, as well songs from Illinois, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. Round 5 was a fair bit tougher, but “California Dreamin'” couldn’t quite catch up with “Midnight Train,” which won 13-10.
But, in the end, there can be only one winner, so let’s see who it’s gonna be!