American Idol

love & idol

2008-06-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

*Here's a very brief recap of Ruben's wedding, which took place Saturday in a church in a suburb outside Birmingham. He met her in 2006, during a fan meet-and-greet in a Wal-Mart.

*Season 7's Kristy Lee cook has signed with Arista Nashville, the same label that dropped her when she was a teenager. Her first single, "15 Minutes of Shame," comes out August 11. Read more here.

*Finally, is anyone actually surprised that David Archuleta has never kissed a girl? Um, yeah, that's what I thought. Full story here.

we'll always have paris

2008-06-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Season 5 finalist Paris Bennett is preggers...and engaged. Read more here.

Paris is 19 now, in case you were wondering. I think my favorite part of the aforementioned article is this quote from Paris' grandmother:

"I'm proud of how she did it. I was 16 when I got pregnant," said Jamecia.

I never really liked Paris that much while she was competing. A bit too robotic. But, um, I still pass on my congratulations.

Have a good weekend!

no atlanta auditions this year

2008-06-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

Local singers looking for "American Idol" fame will have to travel outside their comfort zones this year. Literally.

Audition cities for the eighth season of the reality TV show have been announced, and while producers traveled to Atlanta last year, it's not included this time. Still want to try out? Here are your options:

Thursday, July 17 San Francisco, Calif. The Cow Palace

Monday, July 21 Louisville, Ky. Freedom Hall

Friday, July 25 Phoenix, Ariz. Jobing.com Arena

Tuesday, July 29 Salt Lake City, Utah EnergySolutions Arena

Saturday, August 2 San Juan, Puerto Rico Coliseo de Puerto Rico

Friday, August 8 Kansas City, Mo. Sprint Center

Wednesday, August 13 Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

Tuesday, August 19 East Rutherford, N.J. IZOD Center at the Meadowlands

Read more here.

back in the saddle

2008-06-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Can you blame me for taking a month off post-"Idol" finale? Don't answer that. Anyway, this blog is back in action now. And boy, what a difference a month makes. Here's a rundown of what's transpired in "Idol" land since I last blogged:

*Clay Aiken is going to be a dad. (Artificially.)

*Ruben Studdard is getting married. (Not to a Big Mac.)

*Blake Lewis got dropped from his record label.

*Former contestant Vonzell Solomon got caught with a gun in the airport. And her house is being sold in foreclosure.

*Syesha modeled bikinis.

*Everybody and their mother from last season is working on an album.

*The tour is coming up!

Wow. Looks like I didn't miss that much after all. Stay tuned.

rock on!

2008-05-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

New posts will resume post-Memorial Day. Use this space to weigh in with all your thoughts on the Season 7 champion, David Cook.

idol detox

2008-05-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Recovered yet? Me neither. But in case you're in need of an AI fix, here are some links to keep you busy:

*Tuesday's episode outperformed last year's final performance episode in ratings, this article notes. It also represented the best AI scores since March.

*Some 97.5 million people voted in the AI finale. How many votes were cast in all 2008 Democratic presidential primaries? 35, 216,531. (Via USA Today's political blog.)

*Entertainment Weekly has this backstage interview with David Cook and this one with David Archuleta.

*The Davids had a teleprompter reminding them of their lyrics on Tuesday's performance episode. Think this makes the show more similar to karaoke? Get the full story here.

*Does a Cook victory prove that the judges don't know what they're talking about? This piece takes on that question.

*Finally, on a sadder note, Top 24 contestant Luke Menard has been diagnosed with cancer. Details here.

idol ends, cook's future begins

2008-05-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have to give some credit to AI voters. Clearly, people are ready for a change of tide, and the show got its first rock Idol with David Cook's victory tonight.

He ends the night performing this year's coronation tune, "Time of My Life," tears and all, and sounds pretty good.

Despite the excessive praise Archuleta received from judges Tuesday night, I think if anything, the night proved Archie's lack of versatility as a recording artist. Cook represented something new, not only musically, but also with a personality "edge" that's not as traditionally saccharine as the AI brand.

I can still see Archie recording a song or two for adult contemporary radio, though.

Sure, this season had its down points, but in the end I think the finale proved we got a pretty strong depth of talent. I'd rank this one above Season 6, definitely.

It's been interesting, definitely, and I'd like to thank all you guys not only for checking in regularly, but also for the excellent comments. Even when they involve repeated use of "hit that" or criticism of my predictions. You've made me look forward to nights of glorified karaoke.

And, of course, I'd like to extend a special thanks to my weekly hosts, Dawn and Jeff, who watch this cheesy show just to help me out.

I still plan on updating this blog semi-regularly, at least in August when I plan to attend the Idols Live tour.

Thanks again for reading...keep the comments coming.

david cook wins!

2008-05-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Results time!

Simon says last night he was verging on disrespectful with David Cook. Apology!

OK, and the Season 7 Idol is...

David Cook!!

george michael performs

2008-05-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Another "Guitar Hero" commercial, this time featuring Archuleta in the "Risky Business"-inspired "Old Time Rock and Roll" bit. Um, it's a little more uncomfortable than watching Cook in the same bit. Think kiddie porn.

Now the Top 12 take the stage again for a George Michael medley. Again, probably not the best idea for Hernandez to sing "Father Figure." And here's George Michael! Paula is sooo excited right now. I can't recognize the song -- it's a slow one -- and I really wish he would have opted for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."

And Paula's crying.

Note: I don't think this classifies him as the biggest star in the world.

"dead" gladys knight

2008-05-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Whoa! A "dead Elvis" performance, only this time featuring Gladys Knight. Note: She's still alive. She's backed up by the "Pips" -- Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. Translation: comedy bit. They sing "Midnight Train to Georgia." And, um, ew. Jack Black's pants came off.

On a less creepy note, here's Carrie Underwood. She performs "Last Name" very well. I love her. So hot.

one republic, jordin sparks

2008-05-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

Time for a performance by One Republic. They sing "Apologize," sans Timbaland. But instead of Timbaland...we get Archuleta!! Yes! He actually sounds really great on this one. Ballad obsession aside, he deserves to win tonight.

Back to hometown visits...Matt Rodgers is here to update us on the fun in Utah. Some of Archie's family no hablan espanol.

And Jordin Sparks is back to sing "One Step at a Time." Her outfit -- a gold babydoll dress -- is less than flattering. Not quite at Fantasia's level, but pretty awful. You get the idea.

brothers forever?

2008-05-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes! The Jonas Brothers take the stage. Archuleta must be sooo jealous right now. I love these guys, by the way. I'll pretend I'm 16.

Inevitable bad-auditioner recap. I actually remember most of these people. And as predicted, Renaldo Lapuz appears on the AI stage to sing "Brothers Forever." Joined by the USC cheerleaders and marching band. Plus Paula and Randy. Simon is having nothing to do with this.

Fortunately, he's cut off by the commercial break.

zz top and more!

2008-05-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here's Jordin Sparks, who explains about living the Idol dream. Which also somehow involves Disney.

On a more exciting note, David Cook is performing with ZZ Top! A pretty awesome performance, but not necessarily supporting the case for Cook removing his facial hair. Blake Lewis is in the audience, too, by the way.

Cue the hometown visit shots. Mikalah Gordon gives an update from David Cook's hometown.

Brooke takes the stage with Graham Nash to do a guitar duet on "Teach Your Children." Fortunately, she doesn't forget the lyrics.

One hour to go!

Did anyone else see that "Guitar Hero" commercial? Was that David Cook on it? Consensus is divided.

bryan adams, jimmy kimmel

2008-05-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Carly and Michael Johns take the stage together to sing "The Letter." Predictably, they sound pretty good together. Probably my 2 favorite contestants of the season. Love them.

Back to comedy. Jimmy Kimmel's here to give a review of the season. His "19 weeks of karaoke" joke doesn't get a lot of laughs. But there is a crack about Paula's mishap on Neil Diamond week. Funny bit compiling Simon's criticisms.

Time for the Top 6 men to perform. They kick things off with "The Summer of '69." Probably not the best tune for Hernandez to sing, if you know what I mean. Looks like a Brian Adams medley. Archie and Cook take on "Heaven" together. Um, can you say bromance?

Oh! Bryan Adams joins the crew. Man party! Bo Bice is in the audience, probably wishing he was on stage. Maybe.

cars and fast women

2008-05-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Castro takes the stage for a reprise of "Hallelujah." He might not be thrilled by Ryan's disclaimer that interviewing him was like "pulling teeth," but he still turns out a strong performance. Not a duet like Syesha's, though.

Break for a Ford commercial. They crew sings "Let the Good Times Roll." It's mainly good because it's the last of this season.

Wow! The Davids get cars! Can Archuleta even drive? (Just kidding, I know he's 17.)

Back to the music. The 6 girls from the Top 12 perform a medley of Donna Summer songs. They're all wearing red. Vixens. And surprise! The real Donna Summer joins them! One of my viewing partners just mistook her for a tranny.

And Syesha gets another moment of glory, singing some one-on-one on "Last Dance" with Donna.

And speaking of red...Fantasia's in the audience, still sporting that horrendous hair. SOMEBODY didn't learn her lesson.

mike myers, seal appear

2008-05-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Straight back to performances. The Davids take the stage together to sing Chad Kroeger's "Hero." A little awkward, and very much out of Archie's comfort zone. It could be worse, though. Say, if they did the Mariah Carey tune of the same name.

Uh-oh. Cut to comedy segments. We get clips of Mike Myers in his Guru Pitka character. Oh, and now in a true time killer, the kids get to meet the guru. He tells Cook to fix his facial hair, and he explains puberty to Archie.

Bit continues with Guru Pitka hitting the AI stage. Waaay better than Robin Williams, though.

Back to the music, fortunately. Syesha takes the stage to perform "Waiting for You" joined by Seal. Hmm. I don't think Syesha like's sharing the stage, but this performance isn't that bad.

Sigh. One hour, 40 minutes to go.

let the finale begin

2008-05-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

Here we go! (For the last time this season. Aww.)

Some 97 million votes cast last night, Seacrest says. The final tally? Fifty-six percent to 44 percent. Close!

We quickly get to the hometown shots, hosted by former AI contestents Mikalah Gordon and Matt Rodgers. Obviously, lots of screaming teens.

Then, it's group performance time. The final 12 take on "Get Ready" with some backup from the "So You Think You Can Dance" kids. Luckily, Brooke doesn't have to worry about too much choreography.

Stay tuned.

the suspense builds

2008-05-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight's two-hour finale starts at 8 p.m. on Fox. I'll blog live as usual.

Keep those predictions coming!

On that front, DialIdol -- the site that monitors busy signals -- has predicted a Cook victory. Read more here. Bear in mind, though, that the prediction doesn't consider text message votes, believed to be popular among Archuleta's fan base.

Something else interesting...neither of the songwriting contest tunes the guys sang last night is the actual coronation tune. That song is called -- get ready to vomit -- "Time of My Life" and you can get details on it here.

And finally...wake me up before you go-go. George Michael is rumored to be performing tonight. Full story courtesy of E! Online.

who's gonna win?

2008-05-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, Season 7's final performance round did little to help undecided voters. Cook offered his characteristic grunge tunes, while Archie stayed on the sappy ballad route.

Then again, with opposites that polar, could any viewer really be on the fence?

At the end of the night, judges agreed Archie came out on top. After "Don't Let the Sun Shine Down on Me" and possible coronation song "In This Moment," he ended the night with a repeat performance of "Imagine" -- which the judges ate up.

I can't criticize his vocals, and if anything the night proved his suitability as an adult contemporary recording artist. But is that route best for the AI brand?

Cook, meanwhile, went his standard grunge route on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and did his best to rockify cheesy potential coronation tune "Dream Big." He ended the night with tune he hadn't yet performed this season, "The World I Know."

The decision to add something new to the mix took some heat from judge Simon Cowell, yet might reinforce Cook's role as risk-taker.

What do you think? Who's going to win this thing?

imagine archie a winner?

2008-05-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

It's still contestant's choice, and David Archuleta has the last performance of the night.

Song: "Imagine"

Me: No surprises here. Archie opts for one of his more memorable tunes, which he performed during Top 24 round. Probably relied on some (physical violence-induced) advice from Dad. He does the song flawlessly, though, but at this point in the night we're clearly not getting any surprises from him. It's evidence of what we've seen all season. Sappy, heavy on inspiration, and primed for judges' praise.

Randy: "You are so good tonight. You are exactly what this show is about...The best singer of Season 7 is right there."

Paula: "You were stunning tonight."

Simon: "You came out here tonight to win and what we have witnessed is a knockout."

cook: rocking our worlds?

2008-05-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Final round: contestant's choice. Here's David Cook.

Song: "The World I Know"

Me: He contemplated singing this tune last week, sources report. Glad he ends the night with a slow song accompanied by the guitar. And bonus points for choosing a song new to the lineup. It's a quiet, more subdued, performance. A nice way to end the night, but some fans on the fence make take issue with the fact he didn't opt for his characteristic move of inserting originality into a cover song.

Randy: "That was a very nice sensitive side of David Cook."

Paula: "I look at you up there on the stage and you're standing in your truth."

Simon: "You are one of the nicest, most sincere contestants we've had...It was completely the wrong song choice for you."

archie stuck in a moment

2008-05-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Next up in coronation song round? David Archuleta.

Song: "In This Moment"

Me: Blech again. Obviously, Archie goes for a ballad even sappier than Cook's. It's basically a cheap knockoff of "A Moment Like This." Even worse, if you can imagine that. He turns on the typical inspirational song charm, and performs a forgettable song decently. Nothing that screams "Idol" champion in my mind, but again, his fans will love it.

Randy: "You can sing the phone book and it would be good."

Paula: "It's like you're on fire tonight."

Simon: "You definitely, definitely chose the better song there...Round two goes to David Archuleta."

was cook's 'dream' a nightmare?

2008-05-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

Time for coronation songs from the songwriting contest. In a strange move, they'll each be doing different tunes.

First, it's David Cook.

Song: "Dream Big"

Me: Blech. Three seconds into the song and we already have a reference to changing the world. That aside, the tune is less sappy than tunes of years past, but it still seems better suited for, say, Hilary Duff. Cook does his best, though, and turns out something tolerable. It's a bit repetitive, but Cook does his best. He's not in his element, though, and I don't blame him.

Randy: "You were singing your face off."

Paula: Incoherent praise

Simon: "It was a bit of a lightweight, I thought...It didn't feel like a winning moment for me."

archie shines

2008-05-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Next up in Clive Davis round? David Archuleta.

Song: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

Me: A odd song choice, especially given Clay's success with this song in Season 2. It's a tune perfect for Archie, though, and he nails it. It's a performance that's hard not to dislike, once you get past the fact that it's nothing different from the ballads he's performed all season. Adult contemporary charts, here we come.

Randy: "This is one of the best performances of this season...That was flawless and unbelievably molten hot."

Paula: "The sun is never going to go down on you."

Simon: "I thought tonight's performance was obviously the best you've done so far."

cook finds the prize?

2008-05-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

OK, down to business. Time for Clive Davis' song choices. Boxing metaphor continues, thankfully.

First up, David Cook.

Song: "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

Me: Predictably, Cook is in his element for this one. He slows the opening verses down a bit, then inserts his characteristic grunge edge later on. Vocals are solid, maybe one of my favorites from him this season. Nice balance overall, his fans should be happy.

Randy: "It was hot, baby." (Randy is also apparently unaware of what year it is. He calls it 2007.)

Paula: "You may have not found what you're looking for, but we have found it."

Simon: "I thought it was phenomenal."