Thursday, May 22, 2008

Yyyyyeeeesssssss!!!!!!!!!

Mariska Hargitay, everyone. At least, that's how I originally planned to open this post about the American Idol season finale. I was going to throw out a pithy opening, use a few lines to discuss why Randy was dressed like a riverboat blackjack dealer, and move on to Ryan's strange and awkward dancing during the Donna Summer number. But once the results were announced, that plan flew out the window. Because as soon as Ryan said, "David Cook," I was so flabbergasted, so shocked, so speechless, and so THRILLED that the rest of the American Idol season 7 finale extravaganza seemed inconsequential.



I absolutely did not expect David Cook to win last night. If you read my post yesterday I really put forth what I thought was a quite sound postulation on the imminent win of David Archuleta. I seriously thought the guy had it. I didn't want him to win, but I didn 't imagine that he could be beat. Because if you read the message boards and blog comments you know that Archuleta has huge amounts of support. But I completely underestimated the will of those Cookie Monsters out there. Cook supporters turned out to vote in droves, and they must have kept at it all four hours, because he won by 12 million votes, according to Ryan Seacrest.



I think it's amazing that Cook, who has been a bit different, who represents the rock end of the music spectrum rather that the cheesy ballad singer end won American Idol. Cook really connected with the American Idol audience because he really can sing, he seems authentic, and he is such a nice guy. After the results were announced, you could see he wanted to be cool about it but just couldn't keep it together. Cook and his family are going through this crazy triumphant moment on television while another of the Cook sons is losing his battle with terminal cancer, and it seemed overwhelming for them all. I was touched by Cook's tears, and by his interaction with his mother and his brother, and by his brother's looking into the camera and saying, "That's my brother."


I guess what I'm saying is that this win couldn't have happened to a nicer guy and a nicer family. I'm so happy it turned out this way. David Archuleta will be fine. Nothing could stop that kid or his father's ambition, so I'm sure we will be seeing an album from him quite soon.

Anyway (deep breath) back to the show last night. Wow. I really don't have much snark in me this morning (other than to point out again Randy's really odd jacket/cravat situation). The show was absolutely the best finale in American Idol history. They jam packed that thing with celebrities and great musical numbers with cool performers. It was really entertaining. In past years I remember watching the finale and just wishing they would get to the end, but the show last night was really well done. The musical numbers where the Idol contestants sang with other acts were particularly great. Here are some of my favorite moments from the finale (and there are quite a few):


  • Mike Myers as Guru Pitka trying to shave David Cook's beard. Now I'm going to have to see that movie even though I can't stand Jessica Alba. Darn you Myers and your funny characters.

  • Seal singing with Syesha. When Seal came out, I knew that they were going to have some great talent show up.


  • Ryan dancing during the Donna Summers number. I had to mention it again, we were rolling on the floor laughing. The guy has no rhythm.

  • The guys singing with Brian Adams and especially Michael Johns singing "Summer of '69."


  • Jason Castro singing Hallelujah again, with such confidence. He did it even better this time.

  • Brooke White singing "Teach Your Children" with Graham Nash. I loved it when he kissed her hand at the end.

  • David Cook rocking with ZZ Top. I wonder what the teenagers in the pit thought about those old guys with their beards. I kept saying to my husband that I wished they had rocked some songs like this earlier in the season.

  • Gladys Knight and the "Pips" as reinvented by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. I had tears streaming down my face. This is off topic but it's so fantastic that R.D. JR has made such an incredible comeback. I've always loved him and am happy to see him off the drugs and back in the movies.


  • David Archuleta singing "Apologize" with OneRepublic. Again, this would have been a great song for him earlier in the season. This type of song is exactly what he should be doing. I was blown away. (But still bothered by his closed eyes.)

  • Simon Cowell apologizing to David Cook just before the results were read. He admitted that the previous night's competition had been closer than he thought, and that his comments were disrespectful. I was shocked, because Simon doesn't admit he's wrong very often, as certainly not as forcefully as he did last night. Pretty classy.

  • Of course, the announcement of the winner. We went nuts at my house.
I still haven't taken it all in. I'm sure it will take a couple of weeks to sink in that the show isn't on. With the season finales of Bones, House and AI I'm preparing myself for the deep TV depression that will sink in next week when there is nothing on to watch. For now though, I'm just basking in the post-Idol glow of a well deserved victory for a worthy Idol contestant.

1 comment:

karla deras said...

Totally wanted Cook to win. David didn't seem passionate about music- it seemed as if all this stardom and such is his DAD'S dream.