American Idols Live! 2008 – Houston, TX

HOORAY! Hope the Idols get a nice welcome in Houston, especially since that’s where David Cook was born. Then, they head to DALLAS where I finally get to see them tommorrow. Sorry, this isn’t really about the Houston show, I guess…I’m just excited about them being in Texas!

Hope they enjoyed my HOT (literally) Texas!

No clear explanation of what Mavid was tonight. Something about them getting on their knees and “acting silly”. Hmmmmm…..

Are David and Kimberly still together? The whole time I was watching him tonight I was wondering if he had spent any time at her home the last two days. Her family lives in Katy, a very nice suburb of Houston. It’s about an hour from downtown where the arena is, though.

I don’t like to give reviews because all of the kids are too precious to critique. I will say my co-worker, a male, got a little teary-eyed during Archuleta’s “Stand By Me”. He was blabbing on the way home about the privilege of seeing Arch at this age, and plans to follow his career. Co-worker thought the suit was something Elton John would approve of, but I don’t think so. SBM was wonderful and heartfelt. Probably the best song of the night, I think.

And… we both thought Brooke was way more talented and entertaining tonight than she was on the show. She mentioned going to a huge mall, I guess it was the Galleria. Everything you could ever need or want in this world is there, including ice skating. You can drop a lot of money at most stores, though.

Carly said something about riding a bull. All of the kids were as wonderful as I expected them to be, especially David Cook. Ramiele is SO CUTE.

I think David wasn’t in Houston. He’s recording. He wasn’t on the plane to Houston.

David mentioned to fans that he had three hours of sleep last night because he was in LA working on the album during his two days “off”. As for Kim, her family does live in Katy. She – and they – could have very well been there tonight. We’ll see…..

I sure hope he gets to see Kim while in Texas. She makes him so happy.

Mavid-Houston

kathryntx, have a great time at the Dallas concert!!

Mavid, okay LOL!

Thanks langslowback for posting.

Thanks langslowback .

Re: Houston MAVID brodance, Rooster Dance? (Rooster…Poultry…Texas… ).

It seems that David Archuletaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stand By Meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  remains a favorite in almost every city. I just loved it so much. He is a terrific performer.

Jason remains #1 in my heart.

I didn’t catch the part about Cook only getting 3 hours of sleep. Jason Castro mentioned that he had friends in the area, so he was tired, and asked the crowd to keep the energy going. Jason was pure Jason. Didn’t sound tired to me. He was awesome.

My co-worker took a chill during Syesha’s “Listen”, and liked her set very much, second best to Archie. Co-worker is not as much of a rocker as I am.

What’s amazing to me is that Arch seems so out of breath between songs, and I was worried each time that he couldn’t sing the next one. But each song was perfect, not breathless at all. Far from it.

The one with great breath control is Carly. Wow.

Chikezie’s set was so good. What a talented guy! He moves very well, and comes across as being very likeable. I’d pay to see him in a small venue, definitely.

The crowd – last year there were only 5529 paying guests at the 18000 seat Toyota Center. I was surprised when I saw that number because it looked like it was almost 1/2 sold out from where I was seated. This year there were definitely unsold seats, but I feel sure they sold at least 8000 – 9000. It’s a school night for some and I didn’t see as many kids as last year, so I dunno. The floor looked very full, and I was on the side in line with the stage.

Apparently Archie was really ill yesterday and Cook only had three hours of sleep yet again. I’m ready for this tour to end now so they can have a tiny bit more rest.

They are running those poor boys ragged. Well I guess this is the worst it will ever be, so if they can make it through this, they’re good to go.

this was from ITTO at Rickeys Regarding Archie:

“Just to confirm, because I know everyone probably heard and is concerned about himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’David was not feeling well at the concert last night in Houston, but you couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really tell during his songs. We found out yesterday when we were at the buses because one of the handlers told people that David wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be giving hugs because he was feeling sick to his stomach. But through all of it, David had his usual smile on his face and was as kind and gracious with the crowd as he always is.

I could tell David was not feeling well during his set. His songs sounded wonderful as usual (although not the best Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve heard him). Between songs he seemed really exhausted and he was sweating pretty badly throughout the whole thing. The amazing thing is that I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think most people even picked up on it because he sang in his usual incredible way.

At the afterparty, David was pleasant and charming and funny, but he confirmed to us that he was indeed not feeling well. Again, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think most people would have noticed because he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t give any overt indication or hint of being under the weather. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just hoping that the poor kid gets some much needed rest soon.”
———–

Also from Becky:

“I’m chatting with Richard right now…David has a cold, that’s it. Richard was with him last night and he’s fine…”
———

They just need some rest… I dont think any of them get alot of rest, especially both Davids, running all over to work on their albums and other stuff.

Good! I’m glad it isn’t more serious! I’m just getting greedy and want them to sound good on their albums. I’m really going to miss the day to day activity of the tour when it’s over though.

I was curious if Kristy got a better reception since the west has more country fans. Anyone?

Found these clips…

Angels

Hello

SBM

I’m glad it’s not serious, but Archie looks like the tank is almost on empty. I think he will soon learn that it takes a lot of energy to pretend to feel good when you don’t. I also think (hope) most fans at this point would rather he conserve that energy than in spending it to see them, but that’s not going to happen. I wish he’d just rest.

I guess I’m in mommy mode today – Tsk, tsk, fuss, fuss, I’ve got chicken soup, should I fedex it to Dallas? Lupe left one stop too soon, so mother hens unite!!

Tsk, tsk, fuss, fuss, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve got chicken soup, should I fedex it to Dallas? Lupe left one stop too soon, so mother hens unite!!

:clap_tb:

I guess some fans are selfish, and we have hear taht Archie doesn ´t like to let anybody down, so I guess is up to Jeff, his hadler or other adults in the tour, Cook… Brooke and Carly to step in and put him to rest for a while… but I doubt that will be happening any sooner…

Today Archie will be in Radio Disney, so I guess he can ´t get a sick day today…

Elle, I actually understand what you are saying. He probably wouldn’t listen though because he is trying so hard to be accomodating to his fans. Sadly said, after reading some stuff elsewhere over the weekend, many fans think a personal experience is par for the course. It’s like the concert isnt enough. I feel for all of them who are going above and beyond. I know how difficult it must be. I would love to see them have bigger breaks on the tour where they can regroup. That being said, this is testing their mettle, and most of them are passing with flying colors.

I am loving all of the chikezie love lately. I hope he reads here, it would have to be uplifting. He’s incredible and I am so looking forward to a future in music for him.

abbysee, he won’t stop that’s for sure. And I can’t begrudge anyone their personal experience although in most cases it isn’t really meaningful, you know? But how about those that have already had several ‘personal experiences’ at this point and are tour hopping? I’ll volunteer if they’ll let me at the bus lines and after parties – ‘one personal experience per customer please! Idol’s need their rest!’

My friend attended an after party recently in another city and was astonished at how dead on his feet Archie looked in between smiling and laughing with the fans. Sort of like in moments when he didn’t have to be ‘on’ he seemed beyond exhausted. But she’s protective like me! :rolleyes_tb:

David A signing autographs;;Dancing to Crush in Houston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emU1rD9ju28&eurl

Thanks for the video! You could definetly tell he was sick. He wasn’t talking either.

lol I was just going to post the video. Yeah he wasnt talking much either. Cute little bopping to his song. lol

here is a vid from the fans view, of them singing Crush to Archie, in the above vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8p7NSU3hZk

Cute tired little bopping! And I wonder if fans realize he has perfect pitch?? Ouch.

Oh, poor David. I hope it makes him feel a little better all the love he is getting amongst his peers. The young ladies really do adore him.

Elle, I just can’t begrudge anyone getting their idol on, lol, but I just think that it’s above and beyond, and I would never expect it either. To me that’s a bonus. Not an entitlement.

From the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/5965160.html

There were no especially revelatory moments or unexpected breakouts during Sunday’s American Idols Live! tour stop at Toyota Center.

Jason Castro is still a bemused goof. Brooke White is all sunshine and smiles. Michael Johns and Carly Smithson were eliminated much too early. David Archuleta is, well, gosh …

The group finale number à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  Rihanna’s Don’t Stop the Music à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  was cheesy fun. And David Cook is still the much-deserved champ.

But there were small surprises during the fun, frisky three-hour show, which has been nicely streamlined since the first few clunky outings. Each singer, counted down 10-1, got a mini-set of tunes to show his stuff.

Chikezie and impossibly cute Ramiele Malubay à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  remember them? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  were engaging and unhampered by the nerves that marred their TV performances. Third-place finisher Syesha Mercado managed a bubbly sexuality, even as she struggled with notes. And Kristy Lee Cook is just bland enough to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  mark my words à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  become a country superstar. Plus, God Bless the USA still works like a calculated charm.

Teams Cook and Archuleta were well-repped via homemade signs and T-shirts. But there was also a lot of Lone Star love for Castro à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  and a pair of girls wielding an “I miss Jordin” sign.

Cook’s closing set was further proof that he has the raw talent to become a post-Idol rock star. His gravelly voice was layered with emotion during searing takes on Lionel Richie’s Hello, Aerosmith’s I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing and a fantastic Billie Jean.

“This is very poetic,” the Houston-born Cook said as he looked around the arena of cheering fans.

“I left here in 1983, and this is my first trip back. It’s a nice way to come back.”

His heartfelt Time of My Life is the best coronation song since Fantasia’s season-three I Believe. Both work because the singer gets past the hokey lyrics and makes them relatable and real.

Cook dedicated the Foo Fighters’ My Hero to his brother Adam, and it was a punchy, powerful moment.

Archuleta charmed the young girls, but he’s taken to replacing a real musical identity with vocal showboating. He stretched out notes throughout his tunes, most notably during Josh Groban’s interminable When You Say You Love Me and Robbie Williams’ Angels. His take on the latter veered too far from the lovely original, which soars on a simple vocal arrangement.

Archuleta’s Stand By Me/Beautiful Girls mashup was cute, and he does have a lovely voice. But he was awkward between songs, breaking up almost every spoken sentence with a high-pitched “woooh!”

Mercado earned big applause after tackling demanding tunes from Alicia Keys (If I Ain’t Got You) and Beyoncà © (Listen). But she fell far short of the originals. She looked great, though, and fared better with Rihanna’s slinky Umbrella.

Castro’s sharp set was a reminder of what made his so charming during the first few weeks of Idol competition. He plucked his ukulele during Somewhere Over the Rainbow and energized the crowd with a terrific take on Gnarls Barkley’s oft-covered Crazy.

“When you haven’t been here in a few months, you don’t get a lot of sleep when you have a lot of friends in Texas,” Castro, a former Texas A&M University student, said behind a sly smile.

White, thankfully, didn’t flub any words during her trio of tunes. Her biggest mistake was an ill-fitting take on Feist’s 1234. But she made up for it with a lovely Let It Be and a luminous version of Coldplay’s Yellow.

Smithson’s zippy song choices (Evanescence’s Bring Me to Life, Heart’s Crazy on You, the Cyndi Lauper-popularized I Drove All Night) were good matches for her rock-belter vibe. She tempers her slight edge with a sweetness that works well onstage. With a bit more confidence, she could still make the great record that has eluded her for so long.

Johns’ soaring, soulful voice should have given him at least a Top 3 finish. (Sorry, Syesha.) There was a clear surge in energy when he took the stage for a smart set that included We Are the Champions, Dolly Parton’s It’s All Wrong but It’s All Right and Dream On.

Like David Cook (and, to a lesser extent, Kristy Lee Cook), Johns possesses a keen sense of self that, with the right songs, could translate into real-world success.