I despise American Idol. It goes against every fiber of belief I have in music. The Simon Cowell Cookie Cutter Factory of creating “stars” really gets on my last nerve. Despite my negativity towards the-show-that-distracts-millions, I can’t help but write about it at the moment, because metal gods Judas Priest made a guest appearance on the series finale the other night – and blew the whole show out of the water with a great performance, which you can view at the bottom of this post.

My hatred for American Idol aside, you have to admit that this is a good move for Priest in the publicity department. As reported here numerous times, the band are about to embark on their farewell tour, and making an impressive appearance on a show like this is a good way to get the word out beyond the regular fan base.

A close friend of mine called me up at work yesterday afternoon to say that she heard on the news that Judas Priest, one of my favorite bands ever, were going to be performing on the season finale of American Idol. I immediately began a frenzied Google search for any confirmation on this news, but all it yield were results for the video of contestant James Durbin singing the band’s popular tune, “You Got Another Thing Coming” from an episode in early March. Therefore, I assumed my friend must have just misunderstood what she heard on the news.

With Idol season finale airing tonight, now I’m starting to see rumors pop up online of Judas Priest’s possible appearance on the over 2-hour episode, which begins at 8pm on Fox. Word is that the band will perform with the 22-year-old Durbin, who was eliminated from Idol earlier this month.