Author: Mike Farley (Page 84 of 117)

So last night was the big finale, and a David was going to be crowned the “American Idol” Season 7 champ. But I think a lot of us were surprised at the outcome. More on that in a moment. First, let’s recap last night’s two hour finale in as few words as possible.

97 million votes, the most ever, says Ryan Seacrest. The top 12 perform. David and David perform.
Guru Pitka makes an appearance, a.k.a. Mike Myers, to promote his new movie. Syesha sings with Seal (damn, that dude has some pipes). Jason Castro sings “Hallaleujah.” The six female finalists sing with Donna Summer, and holy crap, she still has some pipes too. Carly Smithson and Michael Johns sing a duet. Jimmy Kimmel comes out and ridicules Paula and Simon. Then the six male finalists sing with Bryan Adams, who has aged extremely well. David Cook sings with ZZ Top, three guys who have also aged pretty well. Graham Nash sings “Teach Your Children” with Brooke White, and I just know Brooke his crapping her pants as we watch. The Jonas Brothers perform, and I admit it’s the first time I’ve seen these kids, who appear to be extremely talented. Then they show a tape of the bad auditions, including Renaldo, who is invited back to sing that train wreck, “I Am Your Brother,” complete with marching band. I love the fact that a marching band had to learn this song. One Republic sings “I Apologize” with David Archuleta. Jordin Sparks performs her new single. Gladys Knight, with the help of modern technology, sings with her new “Pips” (Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr.). Carrie Underwood sings “Last Name,” a song about a one night stand…you go, legs! Keep shocking us with your lyrics, because your music sucks. The 12 finalists then perform with George Michael, who I think is still singing. Note: I’m so glad they didn’t do those lame “Golden Idol” awards this time.

Finally, we have the results…David and David standing side by side. We all knew it was a foregone conclusion that Archuleta was the winner, right? Maybe not. Simon Cowell even admitted last night that he didn’t think it was as lopsided as he initially thought, and apologized to Mr. Cook. Well, big shocker, David Cook was actually the winner. Archuleta feigned a smile, and scooted off the stage like a puppy. Meanwhile, David Cook started crying. I mean, he had to have no idea that he was going to win. But here is what happened between Tuesday and Wednesday……America raised its collective middle finger to the music industry, and said “No, not this time…..no sappy balladeer is winning….we want the ROCKER.” They may have screwed up a few years ago with Chris Daughtry, who made everyone realize it’s the rocker that’s going to make the best Idol. Kudos to you, America. We voted for David Cook in our house, and I’m glad most of you did as well.

It’s been a great season, and the final two were arguably a couple of the most talented singers the show has ever produced. Thanks for sharing this space with me this season, and please feel free to spread this post and share your comments! Otherwise, see you all in January.

Sometimes I hate making predictions and rooting for one side over the other, because that inevitably leads to disappointment. Last night was no different. I wanted David Cook to bring his best effort against young phenom David Archuleta in the “American Idol” final performance, because I thought Mr. Cook had the goods to win. But after last night, it’s just a technicality that Archuleta will be crowned the Season 7 champ tonight.

The show began with that “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” dude firing up the Nokia Theatre crowd and all of America, and both Davids coming out in boxing robes. Yeah, I don’t think that would have worked with Syesha. It barely worked with young David. And while these guys showed that they are too nice to not like each other, the little guy showed that he wanted this more than David Cook. It was, as Simon Cowell put it, “a knockout.” I mean, it was so lopsided that all of America could only be let down.

Here is how it went down. Thankfully they changed things up Continue reading »

Sorry for the cheesy intro, but tonight’s David vs. Davis finale is being hyped as the best matchup since Season 2’s Ruben vs. Clay. I have no idea what these two are singing, but if it’s any indication, I just watched the Season 6 finale DVD, and they usually follow a formula. That means we’ll probably see them each perform their favorite song that they did from this past season, a new song they haven’t done yet, and the single that some fan wrote which will likely be a formulaic snooze-fest, just like “This is My Now” was last year. Blech.

Anyway, here is my take on how I expect it to go down…

David Archuleta–This kid is young but extremely talented. His daddy has been grooming him to be on this show since it debuted in 2002, and it looks like it might pay off. Of course, it helps that the kid knows how to sing. He’s also a humble little guy who respects the spotlight but isn’t afraid of it. He tends to do best with ballads, weaving his own melodic take and getting little girls to scream and vote for him. My guess is David pulls out John Lennon’s “Imagine” again. I also think he’ll just be too robotic overall to beat Mr. Cook.

David Cook–Here’s a dude that showed moral support to his bro, tagging along with him to the Omaha auditions. Magically, the producers made David audition as well, and look how far he got. Heck, he really should win. This guy has the perfect combination of sensitive singer and edgy rocker, and most of the time he pulls out good song choices. If I had my pick, I’d have David do that awesome rock version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” But really, anything he does at this point should be his best effort, and that should be enough to win.

See you all tomorrow!