I'll make this short and sweet because David Cook won and there isn't much else to say that hasn't been said.
First, a word about David Archuleta. He's a prodigy and and best pure singer in the last 3 seasons of American Idol. He's 17. He still has to finish High School, he's thinking about a mission, his Dad is way too involved in his business. He really should have waited at least two more years to give this a go. It's not because he's not good enough, or because the chips fell this year so that he would only finish second. I think there is a very good chance he might look back and wish he could be just another kid for a little longer in his life.
Career wise he doesn't get a recording contract from the show so he's now a free agent, free to sign with whomever his Dad makes him sign with. I hope he signs with Disney, develops some acting chops, and does a few Disney channel movies and records. He'll me producing wholesome entertainment and be targeted toward the perfect market for him.
As for Cook, He won because of this:
Track 1: Hello
Track 2 Billy Jean
Track 3: World I Know
Track 4: Always Be My Baby
Track 5: Elanor Rigby
Track 6: Time of my Life
Track 7: I Still haven't found what I'm looking for
Track 8: Music of the Night
He's got a pretty good CD ready to go already. Archuleta is all potential but Cook is ready now. That's why I'm alright with tonight, because it's the best choice for right now and that's how the contest should be judged. Who did the best all season long, who is ready to be famous right now, and this year it's David Cook.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Idol Final: Quick recap
So I feel like I was wrong and I was right about the show tonight. Probably the biggest wrong of all was when I ended my last Idol post saying that the show would be average and that nothing lives up to the hype. Not only was that the best final I can remember but it was my favorite show of the season and that never happens. If anything put a damper on the evening it's that Simon decided before the show began that barring major catastrophe David Archuleta would be the winner. More on that to come, since I spent time breaking down what might happen last time here's a quick rundown of what actually did happen
Round 1: Archie gets the coin toss and an enormous advantage. When the show's this close getting the chance to leave the last impression is huge. New wrinkle this year, Clive Davis picks the songs for a Round 1, with Andrew Lloyd Weber helping the contestants find their inner child before they perform ( Sidebar: I'm pretty sure that if Mr. Weber wasn't a world famous composer he would be be the creepiest dude on anyone's block. I have a recurring nightmare where Lord Andrew shows up on my doorstep holding Peaches and saying ,"Pardon, but I seem to have found your kitty. He's a naughty one that kitty. Are you alone? Mind if I come in?" Needless to say seeing him again gave me the willies.)
This round was a whole lot better than expected. I thought Cook would crash and burn on the U2 song, because there is only one Bono and he's not coming on stage unless some sort of African relief is involved. However, Cook was great. He choose the perfect arrangement ( not the standard recording but one U2 often does at live shows) and nailed it. Equally as impressive was young David. Don't let the Sun Go down on Me is an Idol standard, not less than 10 idols have already sang it, but surprisingly that didn't hurt him. He really go into the song and did himself proud. I thought this round was a dead heat and I'm more than a little ticked that Simon gave it to the kid. At this point I felt like the singing order and the judges were on Achuleta's side, Cook has a HUGE mountain to climb, even if he does well.
Round 2: They moved the sappy Idol song to round 2 for some reason and gave them a selection of 10 to choose from. This played right into Cook's hands and he made the most of it, taking a horrible ballad and making it an average rock song. It sounded like Track 8 on a CD where I really like Track 4 and 9, so I accidentally hear a portion of it everyday on my way to my favorite song. This may sound like a criticism, but it was a best case scenario for him. Idol isn't set up to reward rockers. Predictably, Archie gave his horrible ballad all he had and made it sound as good as it possibly could. He won the round easily, but we all knew he'd have an advantage here. I'm still ticked that Simon has it 2-0 Archuleta when I have it 2-1 and a close race.
Round 3: Sing whatever you want round went an interesting direction. Archuleta went to his money song, while Cook when with something from one of his favorite 90's bands. If you want to scroll down and look this exact song choice plays out in David Archuleta's perfect scenario. So at this point I'm ready to close up shop and hand the prize to the mighty Mormon midget. However, I was completely wrong about how good Cook would be. Just a beautiful take on a great Collective Soul song. He didn't what he wasn't able to do all year by picking a new, contemporary song for himself and then knocking it out of the park. It wasn't is absolute best but I really enjoyed it and I think he deserves bonus points for guts on this one. Still. Archie did what he does and sang the heck out of his money song. It's really hard to vote against that. I have this round tied up, with maybe an ever so slight edge to Archuleta.
I couldn't vote tonight. Personally, I'll be fine with either of them winning. Archuleta has the better voice, Cook is the better performer. Archuleta has a huge tween following and is ready to light up that market, Cook is better than Chris Daughtry and we'll here his music on the radio even more ( If that's even possible.). Both win in the end, but tomorrow night Archuleta gets the confetti shower and the chance to sing a horrible song. I'm just glad it was an enjoyable show and that one time Idol lived up to it's hype.
Round 1: Archie gets the coin toss and an enormous advantage. When the show's this close getting the chance to leave the last impression is huge. New wrinkle this year, Clive Davis picks the songs for a Round 1, with Andrew Lloyd Weber helping the contestants find their inner child before they perform ( Sidebar: I'm pretty sure that if Mr. Weber wasn't a world famous composer he would be be the creepiest dude on anyone's block. I have a recurring nightmare where Lord Andrew shows up on my doorstep holding Peaches and saying ,"Pardon, but I seem to have found your kitty. He's a naughty one that kitty. Are you alone? Mind if I come in?" Needless to say seeing him again gave me the willies.)
This round was a whole lot better than expected. I thought Cook would crash and burn on the U2 song, because there is only one Bono and he's not coming on stage unless some sort of African relief is involved. However, Cook was great. He choose the perfect arrangement ( not the standard recording but one U2 often does at live shows) and nailed it. Equally as impressive was young David. Don't let the Sun Go down on Me is an Idol standard, not less than 10 idols have already sang it, but surprisingly that didn't hurt him. He really go into the song and did himself proud. I thought this round was a dead heat and I'm more than a little ticked that Simon gave it to the kid. At this point I felt like the singing order and the judges were on Achuleta's side, Cook has a HUGE mountain to climb, even if he does well.
Round 2: They moved the sappy Idol song to round 2 for some reason and gave them a selection of 10 to choose from. This played right into Cook's hands and he made the most of it, taking a horrible ballad and making it an average rock song. It sounded like Track 8 on a CD where I really like Track 4 and 9, so I accidentally hear a portion of it everyday on my way to my favorite song. This may sound like a criticism, but it was a best case scenario for him. Idol isn't set up to reward rockers. Predictably, Archie gave his horrible ballad all he had and made it sound as good as it possibly could. He won the round easily, but we all knew he'd have an advantage here. I'm still ticked that Simon has it 2-0 Archuleta when I have it 2-1 and a close race.
Round 3: Sing whatever you want round went an interesting direction. Archuleta went to his money song, while Cook when with something from one of his favorite 90's bands. If you want to scroll down and look this exact song choice plays out in David Archuleta's perfect scenario. So at this point I'm ready to close up shop and hand the prize to the mighty Mormon midget. However, I was completely wrong about how good Cook would be. Just a beautiful take on a great Collective Soul song. He didn't what he wasn't able to do all year by picking a new, contemporary song for himself and then knocking it out of the park. It wasn't is absolute best but I really enjoyed it and I think he deserves bonus points for guts on this one. Still. Archie did what he does and sang the heck out of his money song. It's really hard to vote against that. I have this round tied up, with maybe an ever so slight edge to Archuleta.
I couldn't vote tonight. Personally, I'll be fine with either of them winning. Archuleta has the better voice, Cook is the better performer. Archuleta has a huge tween following and is ready to light up that market, Cook is better than Chris Daughtry and we'll here his music on the radio even more ( If that's even possible.). Both win in the end, but tomorrow night Archuleta gets the confetti shower and the chance to sing a horrible song. I'm just glad it was an enjoyable show and that one time Idol lived up to it's hype.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Just messing around.
Digital cameras are fantastic. Sometimes I find myself just clicking away for no good reason, Take shots of the baby, photograph stuff around the house in artisitc ways, e-mail the Doc with a shot of exactly what that spot under my arm looks like...just a lot of great fun. Anyway, Carrie tried to take a nap this afternoon and I came away with these gems. Cami gets more and more excited with less and less supervision.
Cami is just able to have a bite of her favortie meal...coat hanger. Cami's First Parade
We spent Saturday at the Turkey Creek Festival in Merriam. This was Cami's first time out for a parade or festival and she had a great time. Here's a few pictures of the day.
Dad and Cami having fun at the Parade.
Cami loves hanging out with Grandma in the shade.
Most of Cami's day was spend in the stroller...and seeing how far she could stick out her foot.
Dad and Cami having fun at the Parade.
Cami loves hanging out with Grandma in the shade.
Most of Cami's day was spend in the stroller...and seeing how far she could stick out her foot.Friday, May 16, 2008
Tale of the Tape
I think it's time for one last American Idol post before the season comes to an end. The David vs. David matchup is just what we were hoping for and Tuesday should be a great show. I'd like to break it down sports style and give a couple "keys to the game" for both contestants, but before that I have a couple of comments.
1. Syesha... I just don't know what to say. I guess there is something to be said for being just good enough. I'm pretty sure she finished third as a result of a conspiracy on the part of the contestants. About week 6 or 7 I think the remaining finalists started to see that the Davids were going to the final and that it pretty much didn't matter what place you finished if you didn't make the final two. So one by one they each decide the throw the game, culminating in Castro not even pretending like he still wanted to be there when he went home a week ago. Everyone who leaves early gets a couple weeks at home to relax before coming back to do the final show then going on tour. What does Syesha get...nothing but the priveledge of being the last one off a sinking ship. I'm not sure if she's a winner or a loser in that deal but I do know I'm surprised she got as far as she did.
2. Fantasia - Not going to spend much time here since I already consider her the worst of the winners ( Taylor Hicks included) . But if you want my opinion on last Wednesday I would say she looked like a cross between a rooster and a sausage, only if the the rooster now crowed in a high pitched scream that petrifies animals.
Now the breakdown of the final. If Idol sticks true to format the show will have each of the Davids sing three songs, one from the season, one they pick themselves, and one truly aweful "American Idol Song" that they will be forced to record and have their name attached to for the rest of their lives. The format really works this year because to win one of the Davids will have to do something they never have done succcessfully this year...pick a song for themselves and have it actually sound really good.
Here's my logic. The American Idol song is going be a win for David Archuleta. I am 100% certain that this song will 1. be a ballad 2. feature at least 10 high singer notes or runs 3. have some sort of inspirational theme 4. be oozing with more horrible cheese than gas station nachos. This is young Davids wheelhouse and since David Cook will not be allowed to change the arrangement to suit him or sing it any other way then the way the writers intended he will lose by comparison and end up losing the round.
In contrast all David Cook has to do to win the "song from the season" round is break out the Mariah Carey "always be my baby" tune he worked up a couple for weeks ago and it will smoke anything Archuleta has done. Achie is almost a shoo in to sing Imagine, again, but it won't hold up against Cook's song which is already a real world hit and should be released shortly after the show is over. So that gives the round to Cook and ties the ballgame.
That means to gain an advantage they have to do it with the songs they pick themselves. Both completely suck at this so it's anyone's game. Another monkey wrench in the mix is the way song choice is staggered in the final. 1st round one contestant sings their song from the season while the other sings their new song. This is done so that each contestant can "win" a round and potentially make the American Idol song the deciding factor. This works against David Cook for obvious reasons.
Personally, I haven't made my mind up yet on how to vote. I'll wait until Tuesday, but here's two ways the show could go. the perfect scenario for each contestant.
David Archuletas perfect show:
He wins the coin toss and sings last.
Round 1: David Cook leads off the show with his new song. He picks something from a current rock band, maybe some Goo Goo Dolls or Matchbox 20. Does an okay impersonation with mixed revues. Archie then belts out Imagine, Randy tells him to go sing the phone book or something like that, lots of praise. He clearly wins round 1
Round 2: Cook sings "Always be my baby", in a perfect world he sings something else and screws his opportunity, but lets say he sings the money song and get praise. David then comes back with something fresh. I recommend "Say" by John Meyer, If he performs this with more focus on the words and less on his technical singing it could be a hit. He has already proven he can sing John Meyer fairly well and the song was originally recorded by a caucasian so that will help us avoid some of the akwardness we saw on this last show. Best case Scenario..round is split.
Round 3: Both of them just sing the song. All of America feels horrible about making David Cook have to record such a cheesey piece of trash. ( The same way we felt about Blake last year) Archie wins in a landslide and we have our first Mormon American idol.
David Cooks perfect show:
He wins the coin toss and sings last.
Round 1: Archuleta leads off the show singing an African spiritual hymn about a child that leads the world out of poverty and hunger. He confesses to Seacrest that he believes that child to be him. Cook sings, " Always be my baby" and blows away the choosen one to win the round.
Round 2: Archie belts out "Imagine" same as always and gets his props. Cook then suprises us by reworking a pop song from the 80's or 90's and once again it turns out great. I love David Cook's sound..but he's not a great imitator, he has his own vibe and he looks weak when he's trying to do someone else's stuff. If I were choosing David's song I would probably go with " We Belong" by Pat Benetar. Hear me out on this one, it's a song that can easily be sped up, has some decent lyrics, and he would give us the fresh take that we look to from him. A successfully reworked song would be a pleasant suprise for the audience and he could easily take the round given a new interpritation of a song sung well beats out just a plain song sung well.
Round 3: A miracle occurs and the Idol song doesn't completely suck. Achuleta sings it well, but Cook is allowed to do a rock version of the song and for some reason it fits a little better. Now that he has an acceptable single and has given us a great show, America votes Cook and he's the first rock singer to win the show.
In truth, neither of these probably happen. Both Davids are probably nervous as heck, both choose new songs that stink, and tie goes to Archuleta and the millions of teenage girl who love him. Not particularly exciting, but rarely does anything live up the hype. This probably is no exception, but I'll keep hoping for the best anyway.
1. Syesha... I just don't know what to say. I guess there is something to be said for being just good enough. I'm pretty sure she finished third as a result of a conspiracy on the part of the contestants. About week 6 or 7 I think the remaining finalists started to see that the Davids were going to the final and that it pretty much didn't matter what place you finished if you didn't make the final two. So one by one they each decide the throw the game, culminating in Castro not even pretending like he still wanted to be there when he went home a week ago. Everyone who leaves early gets a couple weeks at home to relax before coming back to do the final show then going on tour. What does Syesha get...nothing but the priveledge of being the last one off a sinking ship. I'm not sure if she's a winner or a loser in that deal but I do know I'm surprised she got as far as she did.
2. Fantasia - Not going to spend much time here since I already consider her the worst of the winners ( Taylor Hicks included) . But if you want my opinion on last Wednesday I would say she looked like a cross between a rooster and a sausage, only if the the rooster now crowed in a high pitched scream that petrifies animals.
Now the breakdown of the final. If Idol sticks true to format the show will have each of the Davids sing three songs, one from the season, one they pick themselves, and one truly aweful "American Idol Song" that they will be forced to record and have their name attached to for the rest of their lives. The format really works this year because to win one of the Davids will have to do something they never have done succcessfully this year...pick a song for themselves and have it actually sound really good.
Here's my logic. The American Idol song is going be a win for David Archuleta. I am 100% certain that this song will 1. be a ballad 2. feature at least 10 high singer notes or runs 3. have some sort of inspirational theme 4. be oozing with more horrible cheese than gas station nachos. This is young Davids wheelhouse and since David Cook will not be allowed to change the arrangement to suit him or sing it any other way then the way the writers intended he will lose by comparison and end up losing the round.
In contrast all David Cook has to do to win the "song from the season" round is break out the Mariah Carey "always be my baby" tune he worked up a couple for weeks ago and it will smoke anything Archuleta has done. Achie is almost a shoo in to sing Imagine, again, but it won't hold up against Cook's song which is already a real world hit and should be released shortly after the show is over. So that gives the round to Cook and ties the ballgame.
That means to gain an advantage they have to do it with the songs they pick themselves. Both completely suck at this so it's anyone's game. Another monkey wrench in the mix is the way song choice is staggered in the final. 1st round one contestant sings their song from the season while the other sings their new song. This is done so that each contestant can "win" a round and potentially make the American Idol song the deciding factor. This works against David Cook for obvious reasons.
Personally, I haven't made my mind up yet on how to vote. I'll wait until Tuesday, but here's two ways the show could go. the perfect scenario for each contestant.
David Archuletas perfect show:
He wins the coin toss and sings last.
Round 1: David Cook leads off the show with his new song. He picks something from a current rock band, maybe some Goo Goo Dolls or Matchbox 20. Does an okay impersonation with mixed revues. Archie then belts out Imagine, Randy tells him to go sing the phone book or something like that, lots of praise. He clearly wins round 1
Round 2: Cook sings "Always be my baby", in a perfect world he sings something else and screws his opportunity, but lets say he sings the money song and get praise. David then comes back with something fresh. I recommend "Say" by John Meyer, If he performs this with more focus on the words and less on his technical singing it could be a hit. He has already proven he can sing John Meyer fairly well and the song was originally recorded by a caucasian so that will help us avoid some of the akwardness we saw on this last show. Best case Scenario..round is split.
Round 3: Both of them just sing the song. All of America feels horrible about making David Cook have to record such a cheesey piece of trash. ( The same way we felt about Blake last year) Archie wins in a landslide and we have our first Mormon American idol.
David Cooks perfect show:
He wins the coin toss and sings last.
Round 1: Archuleta leads off the show singing an African spiritual hymn about a child that leads the world out of poverty and hunger. He confesses to Seacrest that he believes that child to be him. Cook sings, " Always be my baby" and blows away the choosen one to win the round.
Round 2: Archie belts out "Imagine" same as always and gets his props. Cook then suprises us by reworking a pop song from the 80's or 90's and once again it turns out great. I love David Cook's sound..but he's not a great imitator, he has his own vibe and he looks weak when he's trying to do someone else's stuff. If I were choosing David's song I would probably go with " We Belong" by Pat Benetar. Hear me out on this one, it's a song that can easily be sped up, has some decent lyrics, and he would give us the fresh take that we look to from him. A successfully reworked song would be a pleasant suprise for the audience and he could easily take the round given a new interpritation of a song sung well beats out just a plain song sung well.
Round 3: A miracle occurs and the Idol song doesn't completely suck. Achuleta sings it well, but Cook is allowed to do a rock version of the song and for some reason it fits a little better. Now that he has an acceptable single and has given us a great show, America votes Cook and he's the first rock singer to win the show.
In truth, neither of these probably happen. Both Davids are probably nervous as heck, both choose new songs that stink, and tie goes to Archuleta and the millions of teenage girl who love him. Not particularly exciting, but rarely does anything live up the hype. This probably is no exception, but I'll keep hoping for the best anyway.
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