Well, another season is coming down to the end. It was an interesting season that started off strange with Josiah Lemming, the kid who lived out of his car that sounded British, not making the Top 12. Then, we had pot smoking, dreadlock wearing Jason Castro going to the Top 4 which was nauseating. Plus, there was the premature eliminations of Michael Johns and Carly Smithson. And remember that dude or dudette - Danny (Danielle) Noriega. I'm trying to erase my memory of him from my brain. But, from the beginning, it was pretty obvious that both Davids would be in the finals.
Lets look back. On January 30, 2008 I wrote: "Next was my favorite performance of the night - David Cook. Personally, I didn't love his new-wave hair that was part red and party messy. I just don't get that look at all. But, one sentence into Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer", I turned to my wife and said, "This guy could be our next American Idol." I loved his voice. I loved his stage presence. Loved his song choice. And damn...he did a great job. Look for him to be in our Top 10 and probably go much further than that."
On February 13th, 2008 I wrote: "David Archuleta: He's the teenage heart throb. Girls will love him. He's already won Jr. Star Search. If he doesn't win, I could see him in High School Musical: The Next Generation."
So, who takes this year's crown? Let's see how things went down last night:
David Cook's first song was chosen by Clive Davis who picked "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2. That was definitely an interesting choice to take on Bono but I thought he pulled it off. As usual, David changed up the song and made it his own and what a great final note he held. The U2 version is too good for David to ever turn into his own single but it was a great start to the finals. He's solid as usual and he has such stage presence and has come a long way since getting that ridiculous red out of his hair from the auditions round.
David Archuleta's first song was also a Clive Davis choice picking "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John. This was the perfect song choice but the problem I have with it is that I remember Clay Aiken singing this same song at one point in Season 2 and when I think of how Clay sung it vs. how David sung it, Clay's version was so much better. Part of my knock on the Golden Arch is that he doesn't change it up that much. He still has a nice voice and did a good job with the song. Simon said that Archuleta won the first round and I'm don't agree with that.
Then, it was time for the dreaded "coronation" song. Yup....time for the sappy songs that all have the same lyrics. In season 1, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini sung "A Moment Like This." The next season, Rueben Studdard sung "Flying Without Wings." Clay Aiken sung "This Is The Night." Season 3 gave us Fantasia Barrino singing "I Believe." Diana DeGarmo sung "Dreams." The following year had Carrie Underwood & Bo Bice sing "Inside Your Heaven." In season 5, Taylor Hicks sung "Do I Make You Proud." Katharine McPhee sung "My Destiny." Last year both Blake Lewis and Jordan Sparks sang "This Is My Now." So, what crap is in store for this year? David Cooks' song is "Dream Big" and David Archuleta's song is "In This Moment." Hmmmmmm.... Aren't the words "Dream" and "This Moment" in other "coronation" songs we've heard before? Oye Vey !
David Cook does his first, now with his guitar in hand. I think the song is perfect for him and had a bit more different of a sound than other coronation songs of the past. I was totally able to see this song on the radio. It was faced paced and catchy. I thought the song sounded a bit Rick Springfieldish but back in the 80's, Rick was "The Man." I thought David rocked it for what he was given to sing.
David Archuleta now had his "moment" to sing the song they wrote for him. This came off more of a "coronation" song as it was slow and sung all sweet and stuff. I actually thought the beginning was a bit off and I almost thought he muffed a lyric. I even had to play it back for a second and didn't hear it the second time but there was a part of the song that didn't go smooth. Again, the background music is always a bit louder than David's voice but you can't argue that he does have a nice voice. What bothered me is that Simon said that Archuleta chose the better song and that round two went to Archuleta. However, they didn't pick this song. The songs were written for them so is one of the ways that the judges try to sway the votes of the American public giving false information during a critique?
Now it was the final round where they could chose their own song. David Cook chooses Collective Soul's "The World I Know" which was a strange choice. Simon had it right saying that he should have chosen either "Billie Jean" or "Hello" which were his two best performances of the year. Last year, Blake Lewis had it right singing "You Give Love A Bad Name" for the second time. Cook wanted to sing something new that we haven't heard yet. But, this was the final song of this season for him. He really needed to WOW us. Don't get me wrong, it was sung great and loved the performance but for his final song, I wanted a bit more than we got.
Archuleta went back to one of his better songs of the year singing John Lennon's "Imagine" which he nailed. You can't argue that this kid can sing. He sung the song flawlessly. And for this final song, I thought he did better. So, who wins American Idol Season 7???
Both had a great night. I think over the course of the season, David Cook deserves to win based on how consistent he was each week changing up the songs. However, Archuleta has this strong fan base of teenagers voting like crazy for him. But it really doesn't matter. Cook could be better off losing so he doesn't have to make this sappy record that the winner mostly makes. Look what happened to Taylor Hicks with the record they made him make. A Cook loss could help his career and put him in competition with Daughtry for radio play and album sales. Archuleta will most likely win based on the judges comments last night. He'll have a nice career selling CDs like Clay but may not have the radio play like some other winners.
So, I'm rooting for Cook as he was my man from the beginning but I think Archuleta will be our next American Idol. Hey...things could have been worse. We could have had a finals of Castro for Syesha and that would have really made me sick.
But, we shall see tonight. For now, I'm back on B.V. - Blog Vacation. Until next year...Birdman Out !
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