Wednesday, May 21, 2008

David vs. David

When the show started last night, for a minute I thought Ryan Seacrest had been fired and replaced by that "Let's get ready to ruuuummmmbbblllleee..." guy. But no, it was the beginning of a whole boxing theme that they carried on throughout the show. David One and David Two came on stage in satin robes and boxing gloves, and the boxing announcer got to say, "This...is American Idol!" I wonder how furious Seacrest was to be upstaged in this manner.
Anywho, I thought the boxing theme was a bit odd, and somewhat inappropriate considering that, in true physical combat, Cook would kick Archuleta's ass without breaking a sweat.
OK, before I go any further I have to say something that I've wanted to say all season. This will make some of you angry, but...I HATE David Cook's boots. What's the deal with those cowboy boots he always wears? They make his feet look humongous. It's like he's all head and feet. Can't they get the guy a more streamlined pair of shoes?

In other clothing news, Kristy Lee Cook was sitting in the audience (next to Michael Johns!) wearing a shirt that looked like it had been slashed by Freddy Krueger.
All right, all right. I'm done with my sartorial snarking. But here is something else that's weird. During Ryan's voiceover in the introductory video package, he says that the two Davids are going after, "A heavyweight title reserved only for superstars," and on the screen flashed a picture of Chris Daughtry. What??? I played it back to be sure, and yep, they show Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, and Carrie Underwood. Chris Daughtry did not win American Idol, remember? He was voted off in what was probably the most shocking send-off in the show's history. How can they include his face in that montage when he did not win the title? I seriously don't know what is going on with the producers this season. That just seems sleazy to me.

Also kind of dirty in that video package, Ryan calls Archuleta "a 17-year-old phenom," while he refers to Cook as a "25-year-old bartender." Ouch. Why couldn't he have been a 25-year-old rocker, or a 25-year-old sensation? Archie is a phenom while Cookie is just a bartender. It's like a not so smooth subliminal message.

And why is Andrew Lloyd Webber back? I know why Clive Davis gets to chime in, but why Sir Andrew? I don't like that guy. He's rude, but doesn't seem to care that he's always insulting people.

After the weird video package that included Jim Lampley, the guys were up on stage with Ryan and they showed what nice guys they both are, with Cook stating that the competition was already over as far as he was concerned and all they were doing last night was "having fun."

Fourteen minutes into the show the singing finally started. Round one songs were selected by Clive Davis. Cook, having lost the coin toss, went first with U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." He did great, as he usually does. It wasn't a "Billie Jean" kind of performance, and I wasn't blown away, but it was good.

Then came Archuleta, who was given Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," and that's when the musical ass whoopin' began. If you've been reading my blogs at all, you know that I have never been much of an Archie supporter, but last night the guy was in it to win it. He showed more emotion in that first song than we've seen out of him all season. When I saw that performance I knew that Cook had no chance. Archuleta was just fueling the fire of his fans and anyone who may have been on the fence about who to vote for. It wasn't "flawless" like Randy wanted to pretend it was, he definitely tanked a couple of notes, but it was fantastic and it came at the crucial moment. I have to hand it to the kid, he did a great job. So round one went to Archuleta.

I'm going to pretend that round two never happened. The guys had to pick songs from the songwriter contest, which I think is completely unfair. I wish they would stop doing that songwriter contest, the songs are always terrible, and it puts the contestants at such a disadvantage to have to sing them. Cook had no chance to regain some of his momentum in round two because of the song. So for me, round two was a draw. I have emptied it from my mind.

The Davids got to pick their own songs for the third and final round. David Cook sang Collective Soul's "The World I Know" and again, he did a great job. I loved the song and at the end he teared up, which makes me love him even more. I wanted to punch Paula when she told Cook he was "Standing in your truth." What does that even mean? Simon was right though, when he said that Cook should have sang "Hello" or "Billie Jean," the truth of which was borne out when Archuleta came out to sing his last song. Not that the Collective Soul song wasn't good, because it was, and any other night he would have killed with it, but what Simon was saying is that he should have used his last opportunity to remind voters of the amazing things he had done during this season. Which is exactly what Archuleta did.

For his final song, Archuleta reprised his performance of John Lennon's "Imagine." That was the performance early in the competition that made everyone say, "Here is the next American Idol." And when he sang it last night, even though it wasn't as good as the first time he performed it, it did exactly what he planned. We were all reminded of that moment when we first really took notice of him. So it was a very smart move. Cook really should have done the same thing. Instead of wanting to create a "progression" with a new song, he should have used some strategy and brought out one of his showstoppers from earlier in the competition. When Archuleta came out and sang "Imagine" for the second time, he guaranteed his win. Simon summeed it up when he said, "What we have witnessed, is a knockout."
I have to tell you, I voted for Cook last night. I've liked him all season and he did a great job last night, so I wanted to give him my support. But I don't think the results tonight will be a surprise to anyone. Archuleta has to win after the performances he gave last night. I can't see any way for Cook to pull a TKO out of this one.

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