Season 7- The Finale! – Recap

FIRST! Score!!!

Ok – did anyone see Danny Noriega?!?

I would love to buy that first duet by both David’s. WOW! That was just all kinds of beautiful and I hope they allow us to purchase that. Wish they would do another together, just wow.

97 million votes?

Then why do the ratings suck?

Amanda Overmyer looks like she wants to kill someone!

And yes, the first duet with the Davids was lovely
but I only heard my David… The Cook Master. :}
David Cook: Yes, I KNOW You Can Sing! (And Dance, too. Hot!)

Props to Donna Summer – 59 1/2 years old – and still sounds good.

I have to admit, that was one damn good duet with the Davids. Rickey better have these mp3′s!

LOL at Amanda. She REALLY looks like she’s enjoying this, no? Wonder if they had to bribe her to do this.

@Tony, because my three nieces called 96,999,997 times. They only have a few real viewers.

I guess red is the color of the night…
and David COOK came out in RED trunks last night..

Please let Dialidol be right.

Nice number with Donna Summer. Loved it.

Oh yeah…Syesha is fiiiiiinne.

It would help if they gave Syesha a microphone that works. Thank you Donna Summer.
And Carly was sensational in that group number. In fact they all were. That was pretty good.

I loved the David duet! I actually thought their voices were really nice together and I want to hear it again. And probably many agains. But I may have only heard my David, too, lol. DCFTMFDuet! He looks as if he’s having a blast. I’m so glad. Have fun, baby!

Oh, gosh, the girls bored me all over again. That’s why I’m typing now.

Did anyone catch David A totally miss his dance steps during GET READY? He was NOT singing either.

Come on David Cook. You earned this night. Seize the confetti. it belongs to you.

Seize the confetti, lol, BlankSlate. Carpe Confetti.

That is some wide vote margin. Doesn’t it have to mean. . .I’m afraid to say it, but please. . . .

Whew! Nice job on Hallelujah, and he got the note at the end. But, wow, he was so nervous he was shaking there at the end, I thought he was going to drop the mic! Wonderful crowd reaction- so take that, Idol producers!

Michael Johns looks gorgeous
Not my favorite constestant but he looks beautiful

Can Amanda look any more bored with this whole thing? Love Carly on the group sings, she is awesome. Syesha/Seal was really bad, really awkward. Loved the David/David duet, great harmonies.

I’m shocked. SHOCKED!

Idol is having sound problems!!!

Goood lawd. Who’s doing the sound over there at Fox? Lou Ferrigno?

Loved the Guru plugs, and Seacrest dancing. So far, so cheesy.
It’s a 2 Velveeta block night so far – and it’s not even half way thru yet!

As for Jason – GREAT job. He shoulda been in the top 3. Love that kid.
I sure hope he can get a deal like Elliott & do his own thing, ’cause he’ll be spectacular
in the right genre. My daughter says he’s H A W T!!!

So he’s got the 13year old vote, which is nice.

If David A “wins,” all I can say, Spritely and all is… Caveat Emptor. :{

Sanjaya is in the house
IS Danny Noriega really there or not?

Jason was amazing. I think he was completely overcome with the emotion and feeling of the song and the night. They gave him the star treatment with that song and he LOOKED like a star. Beautiful. I wish he would record the whole song for iTunes. Hallelujah for Jason!

I’m in AZ reading the commentary….thank you!! Any word on the “biggest star” ?

Carly and Michael are great together! I really wish the contestants got chances to sing in settings where they’d be in *their* element, like small clubs, or coffee houses, or blues clubs, or whatever. I wish they could get off that stage and perform without any judges and just doing what they love to do. (Now I want to see Cookie sing with C & M. Oh, hell, I want him to sing with everybody and sing every song.)

OMG, David with ZZ was sooo cool. Excuse me, too much fangirling, lol.

Is it the top 10 or top 12 for the summer tour?
And that means it’s….?
Names, please

Sligh! lols I had his cd sitting on my coffee table …it almost looked like the same picture. Loving this final show. So great to see everyone again.

Is this ending in 5 minutes or an hour and 5 minutes?

Melinda was in the audience too!

I just know DI will be right… the vote percents Ryan gave are almost the exact same percentage that they’ve predicted on DI. Cook for the win!

David Cook is a STAR.

How old IS Bryan Adams anyway???

And there has ben some funny stuff so far – none of it planned I don’t think…..Archie catching the shaving cream?!!?!? Cookie couldn’t stop laughing and that was HI-larious. Ryan rocking out on the sid steps and getting caught???!?!? A riot. Amanda looking like sh’d rather be anywhere else?? Priceless.

I’m enjoying the crap out of this so far…..

sparkles, I noticed that the percentages matched DI also. Will be interesting to see if that is how it turns out. I would have thought the voting would have been closer, more like Reuben v. Clay.

DC’S LEGS! LMFAO.

/Cooktardedness

Michael Johns was amazing on that Bryan Adams solo! His voice is incredible.

I am glad he got much deserved screen time after his shock elimination. He looks incredibly HOT too.

The Michael and Carly duet was also the bomb! Gosh I can’t wait to see those two on tour, I hope they keep doing duets together..

“Bryan Adams (born Bryan Guy Adams on November 5, 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician and photographer. Active for three decades of rock music.” (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

We have another hour of this?

OMG Cookie with ZZ Top. That was SMOKING.

*cooktarding*

Is tonight the most fun of the season or what?!

Three words:

Jason. Stool. Love.

Top l0 for the tour, BlankSlate.

Omg, the guitar hero ad! lol! Boxer-briefs!

Wow Carly and Michael were awesome together!

Davic Cook got his own Guitar Hero commercial? wow

OOOOOOMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGgg

Was that David Cook doing the Tom Cruise Risky business dance????

PMPDLMBO

Oh, and ARCHIE with a wallet chain? WTF???!!! lol

mj
Are you changing your prediction knowing the breakdown? I feel sure Cook is gonna be the winner. Are you sticking with Archuleta?

The. Most. Fun, majordude. I’m loving this!

David Cook fronting ZZ TOP
So darn awesome
Those bent knees
Those moves
SMOKIN!

Holy Moly. between the DC/ZZ Top HAWTNESS and DC’s commercial for Guiltar Hero. WHOA…

Trina, I wrote SMOKING without seeing your message
Guess we are both on fire!

JONAS BROTHERS
This is what the little ones love?
How did they get permission to stay up this late?

Tell me you are not sitting there with tears in your eyes and in a state of pure unadulterated joy. This is so much fun.

I am never erasing this show.

Who put Jordin in that unfortunate dress???? She looks like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz gone glam.

@mj – You STILL need more pipe for this site!

I loved David singing Apologize! I thought he sounded better than the real thing. THIS is the type of stuff he should have done during the competition.

I GETCRANKED– I thought she was dressed in Saran Wrap. That was hard to look at without wincing.
Could that really have been David Cook in the commercial?? I thought so but then… I thought… HOW COULD HE DO A COMMERCIAL already?
If it’s him, this tape is never going away
Cook in Underwear
HELP ME MAMA

Is there a post Idol show on E?
You’re right, MJ.
I LOVE THIS CHEESY SHOW! :}

Can Carrie U get anymore naked? Seems every time I see her the skirts get shorter and shorter and more boobs show….she’s turning into Shania Twain.

Somebody needs to shoot Jordan’s sttylist!

Attention Carrie Underwood. Storm from X-men just called me and wants her outfit back

OMG they just did the Guitar Hero commercial with Archie too! LOLOL!
This show is the cheesiest and I am lovin’ it tonight. So glad I DVR’d it.

wow i have never been this nervous about idol in my life …… i cant wait for this to be over !!!! GO COOKIE!!!!

i hate group numbers but George M is always v cool

Ugh, it is true, they really did bring in George Michael.

David Cook is the winner! Did I jump the gun?

What is with Paula crying listening to George Michael?
And George Michael just slowed the show down
Stop him
Crown COOK and let me smile
let me BREATHE

I think I’m going to die laughing tonight!!!!!!!!! Poor Archie! I can’t believe he did that commercial too! *howls*

Between that commercial and the Guru, I think he finally hit puberty!

@Gary – don’t jinx it.

George Michael gets the red light treatment
Rickey is going to love this!

As far as the Guitar Hero commericals I am SOOOO Glad that Cookie’s was shown FIRST! YAY!

What did George Michael do to deserve an 18 minute song? Is this the biggest star in the world Nigel (or whoever) was referring to?

Isn’t there just 4 minutes before the end of the show?! Where’s the announcement?!!!

Observations:
Somebody style Carrie. She’s getting more naked with each hit record….did you see Simon’s face?
Jordin is the teen bubble gum queen…that’s what winning Idol will do…but hopefully she’s getting experience being with Alicia.
George Michael sounded great! Great performance by Michael.

If FOX really wants news tomorrow, they can run long and all the DVRs cut OFF and no one knows who wins! HA!

Then this poor blog would be hammered when everyone flocks to the net for a recap!

YES!

Woooo Hooooooo Congratulations to Cookie – I amsofrigginhappy!!!!!!!

What a season! Fantastic job to all the idols. I’ll have two CD’s to buy from this season, Jason’s and Cooks!

Lots of ups and downs but ended as it should have.

im crying!!! happily though lol

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all the David Cook voters. We did it!!!!!!

God bless Carrie and her clothing stylist, Hugh Hefner.

yay!!

OMG He did just what I knew he would, included ALL the idols with him. He is awesome!

Too bad for Cookie….19E and BMG will ruin his career….do you know ONE male finalist that has had a hit career under 19E? Better that he finished 2nd or even 3rd.

That was just about the best thing in this world! So blissed out right now! =D

Awwww @ David’s brother saying ” That’s my brother” at the end!

Congrats Dave Cook! I hope David A finds success also. It would be a shame for that talent to go to waste.

booooooooooooooyaaaaaaa!!!!!!! DCFTMFW !!!!
yeaaaaaaaaaah David Cook

and congrats also to david A for a greatly fought battle

all the best to both of them

DCCCCCCCCCCC!!!! cooooooookie

I love David Cook! It couldn’t have happened to a better guy!

SQUEE!!! I laughed, I cried, I reverted to an inner fangirly in myself that I wasn’t sure existed anymore.

I was SO DELIGHTED! What a blissful moment! I’m just bouncy now! No sleep tonight for I’m too delighted! And, rats, I have to be up at some ungodly hour!

Archie moved away from Cook really fast though….I was expecting him to linger around a bit.

That was just THE BEST. Period.

YAY COOKIE!!!!!!!

Another season comes to a close.

David Cook – your American Idol.

Gratz to all the folks out there who voted their butts off yesterday & made this happen.
This is YOUR victory. Relish it. You made it happen.

Archie fans? Don’t despair – he can get his vocal chords looked at, healed up, and start his career that he’s worked for for half his life.

MJ – great job. God Bless, girl. You rock.

So – anyone going to the tour shows? The coverage begins… oh, say… tomorrrow?

Tonight is David Cook’s. Well done.

Congrats David Cook. I have a feeling DC will be very successful. Good luck to DA. Overall, I enjoyed this Season. Good group. Cant wait for the tour.

Too bad for Cookieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.19E and BMG will ruin his careerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.do you know ONE male finalist that has had a hit career under 19E? Better that he finished 2nd or even 3rd.

Daughtry signed with them.

I am so happy right now I am crying like a baby!!!!
As to the perception that a male winner can’t be successful, when was there another male winner that was actually commercial?
And….apparently there is a first time for everything. DC is the first person to perform first in the finale and WIN!!!!!!
Great work, Cookies!!!!! I am so proud to be a word nerding cooktard.

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
YEEEEEEEsssssssssssssssssssssss

Way To Go DAVID!!!!!! David you so deserved this!! I am so happy, still crying!

Thank you for everything MJ and you know what I mean!!

WOOOOOOHOOO!! There is a GOD!! 12 milion votes? Don’t be pissing off us Cooktards!

DC and ZZ Top
DC and Guitar Hero
DC is the American Idol

This was an awsome night!

Question?- the Guru was from Hairinmysphincter- exactly where is that?

Mariskahartigay to all.

Ok Jason just on my local Tulsa Fox. Jason was soooo happy for David!

A few other things. Jason will be playing *drums* with the guy from Oklahoma here at the BOK. Says Brandon (maybe Green?) and Colton Swon live together and that he (Jason loves OK!!) (This concert should ROCK!).

Chickezie (sp?)..says… David Cook EARNED this, he is just so amazing, he EARNED this.

KLC:… so proud of both of them. She bought a horse in Durant Okla, and has been here quite a few times, has friends here.

Waiting on them to talk to more…..

Too bad for Cookieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.19E and BMG will ruin his careerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.do you know ONE male finalist that has had a hit career under 19E? Better that he finished 2nd or even 3rd.

We shall see….

Woooooooohooooooooo! Go Cookie!! He deserved it. He worked so hard and took so many risks.

America got it right.
Simon and Randy got it wrong.

They were interviewed on the TVGuide red carpet pre-show, and frantically back pedaling.. “When we saw it on TV, it was no longer a knockout.” They must have seen the votes.

Can’t wait for the tour.
Michael and Carly were so hot.
Can we trade Kristy Lee for Hernandez, that boy moves well.

just got home b/c went to my mom’s to watch finale on the big screen. i am posting my recap/comments now, then going back to read everyone else’s so if i basically repeat what everyone else has already posted, sorry!

omg, first of all, YAAAAAAAAY!!! cookie did it!! thanks to ppl like us who stayed up the entire FOUR hours last nite voting.

i am so damn excited and fangirly i can hardly stand it!

best fucking ai finale ever imo… mostly in part to finally have my pick win the whole thing…

zz top duet was fucking great, loved every second of it and then some!

i am a big bryan adams fan so it was nice seeing him… ditto for robert downey jr…

was it just me or did castro look nervous while doing halleluah (sp?)? his hands were shaking so much i thought he was gonna drop the microphone. i love him tho, he defintely brought alot of comic relief to this season.

love mj and carly together.

the 1R/archie duet was nice.

ryan on the magic carpet thing was cute as he almost flew right into the audience.

simon apologizing to cookie at the end was VERY classy and he totally redeemed himself to me 2nite after i was super pissed last nite for throwing him under the bus and calling it a “knockout.”

best part of the show? duh, cookie w/ confetti coming down!

2nd best part: cookie’s guitar hero commercial. one phrase comes to mind: sex on a stick! i could watch it over and over (and prolly will!)

going to see him in august, can hardly wait, lower level, front row, possibility of me needing a medic is high.

lastly, can i just say i totally love u guys? tho at this moment, i pretty much love any and every thing! i feel like we are one big cookie family and i wish we could all have a huge group hug (and sing!)

Come to think of it. I think Simon’s reverse psychology makes all these happen, whether he meant it or not. To me, it’s the case. If the David Cook nailed at least one song (say, with some glory notes at the finish of a cheesy ballad) and Simon declared David was the winner for at least one song, I wouldn’t have voted like crazy.

crap i knew i was gonna leave something out… did amanda have to look so fucking miserable? i may be in the minority but i’m glad she didnt make it to top 10.

I love Cookie!! He so deserves this!

Thanks Cookie fans, WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DCFTMFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh please, Simon played us for all he was worth. He knew yesterday that he needed to get the Cook fans riled up, and rile he did — how many of us would have voted for four hours had Simon called it a tie last night? Not me. I think we have Simon to thank for the win. Seriously.

Loved everything about the show. Everything.

I’m so friggin’ happy I can’t believe it.

Would Haley Scarnato have gotten an invite if she wasn’t dating Blake?

OMFG!!! I am bawling like a baby!!! This is what I wake up to!!! DC FTGDMFW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DCFTGDMFW!!!!!

Hernandez is HAWT!

I love that he got to sing the naked part.

But it made my mind wander……

Oh– Did you guys see Jason Castro go FLYING in the beginning when the flames went off behind him?

Hilarious.

I’m on an adrenaline High right now…….It was AMAZING!!!
I’m so happy for Cook!!

After about an hour, I stopped caring who won although Cook will be a decent winner. Even though I love Archie’s voice, he’s better off coming in second.

I’m pretty sure the judges and producers are very happy with the way things out. I think Cook would have won even without Simon’s comments but probably by not as many votes. It’s hard to know if the whole thing was a set up. My brain hurts from so many conspiracy theories, so I’ll assume it wasn’t.

The finale was just ok, dawg.

has this sight been down or am I just too UP??!

Simon’s apology was the writing on the wall for me that David Cook won
The timing was too precious
He knew he was too cold last night
and now
David Cook will go on to be the star he already has become
and already is
And Sally: don’t be negative on this wonderful night of nights
There has never been a contestant on AI like DC
The guy has it all
Heart
voice
Soul
talent oozing out of his pores
Finally, finally, finally
Never change, DC
You are what life should be all about

This is the stuff that dreams are made of!!!!!!!

DC, YOU DID IT!!!

YOU ARE THE AMERICAN IDOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy!!

Too bad for Cookieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.19E and BMG will ruin his careerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.do you know ONE male finalist that has had a hit career under 19E? Better that he finished 2nd or even 3rd

Nah…they wont be able to fit a round peg in a square hole…he is unique and he unique sounding…they couldn’t make him sound like bland boring pop if they tried in a million years!!!!!!!!.

sohappysohappysohappy!!! I want to go out and set off fireworks and honk horns and scream my fool head off. And now we have the enormous fun of watching what happens next.

Kudos to DA for being a brave and gracious runner-up. It can’t have been easy to have to stand there in the crowd.

“My brother.” Soooo cute. Perfect poetic ending.

Now for the music to come. . .I can’t wait, but at least finally I will be happy during the waiting.

And hell, yeah, never piss off the Cooktards, lol.

David Cook fronting ZZ TOP
So darn awesome
Those bent knees
Those moves
SMOKIN!

Okay, the little bent knees jig thing totally reminded of the moment in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” where Clooney’s character comes out with that stupid ZZ Top-ish beard and dances a crazy Kentucky jig. Prob. alone on that one, though…

Mariskahartigay to all.

Heh. That movie looks horrid, but I thought DC and DA made the bit funny.

My heart was beating so hard! It was actually ridiculous! Woo hoo David Cook! I didn’t see the pre-show but knew the minute Simon apologized that Cook had won.

Thanks for a great season MJ!

MJ – THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE!!!

You made the season for me.

also gotta add….

did anyone watch the pre idol show on tvguide channel?
kimberly caldwell as a date? um… no please!

i did not see danny, was he there?

oh yes and RYAN of all people dancing! hehe, twas cute.

Great win for Cook, and a great win for Idol. Cook is the white male winner they have always wanted. He is a better singer than Daughtry, more personable than Daughtry, and is single (yes, that will help fuel the interest in him, tabloids are gonna love him). I think he has the cajones to stand up to the 19e machine and fight for what he thinks should be on the CD, and win. Looking forward to his CD, it will be awesome.

On another note, I think Archuletta was amazingly gracious and quite admirable this past week. I loved how Cook gave him his due motioned him to join him at the end of his coronation song. Let’s hope he finds the right direction to take his CD.

I would have voted for eight hours, hell I would have voted for days!!

What a moment that was. What an absolutely wonderful moment that was!!!

DC you were born a star!!!!

I had a hunch it was going to be him! When they asked the GURU Mike Myers for prediction, he said: “C. Foam.”
Did you guys get that?? lol. But I am soo happy for Cook knowing my votes counted!

Did y’all notice how truly HAPPY Simon and Paula looked when David Cook was announced as the winner? Like they really wanted him all along.

LOVE THAT COLDPLAY song on Itunes, y’all.

I think Taylor was the only Idol they did not show or mention at all.

I am a HUGE George Michael fan, but hated those bug glasses.

Congratulations to you, Mr. Cook. You seem like a great guy, and really made me into a fan over the course of the season. You deserved it!

and another thing…

as for the “biggest star” rumor.. well it was clear:

biggest star = david cook!

ZZTOP – DAVID COOK A.EFFING.MAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ummm, why was George Michael there? Most boring moment of the night.I would have rather heard another verse of “I am Your Brother” than sit through 20 minutes of boredom. Geez! I kept hoping the sun (behind him) would go down on him.

Yes yes yessedy yes! So cool! Wooo!

Once again, America got it right.

YES!

Oh and, I thought the finale was the best finale ever. Really great stuff. Not a lot of filler, just the kids and the guest artists singing brilliantly.

What a show!

Have the top 12 come on stage for the coronation song in the past?

I’m so very happy for David Cook, well deserved. And I wish the best of luck to Archie as well. Personally, I thought he looked slightly relieved when they didn’t call his name.

I’m off to go find a clip of David Cook asking Kimberly Caldwell out on Idol Tonight. I caught it but I missed some of what he said.

ugh! why her? Why not Mandy Moore??!!

I saw Cook ask Kimberly out to dinner. He said it was because she said such nice things about him all season long on Idol Tonight. As I said before, I think it was sort of for the cameras, everyone. Be calm.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m off to go find a clip of David Cook asking Kimberly Caldwell out on Idol Tonight. I caught it but I missed some of what he said.

Soo none of my business, but I would rather he date Lacey Schwimmer! Isn’t Kim C. supposed to be pretty b*tchy?

Anyway… I loved George Michael and my husband really liked the song. Overall, a great night by all (although Amanda really could lighten up just a teeny bit).

Still so psyched! Yeah David Cook!

CONGRATS DAVID COOK!!!!

Loved him with ZZ top!!! He looked so fitting with a rock band!!!

I saw Cook ask Kimberly out to dinner. He said it was because she said such nice things about him all season long on Idol Tonight.

Total ‘for the cameras’ moment. If David Cook is anything, it’s private about his personal life. Plus, it finally puts to rest all of those Lacey rumors.

Now, on a bigger subject – WOO HOO! The right guy finally won. And that guitar hero ad…nice legs, cookie.

It was a pretty good finale. Hated the movie promo. LIked zztop, donna summer, george michael, carly and michael duet. Enough of the bad audition people brought back for the finales. I knew cookie had won as soon as simon started his spiel, trying to cover his sorry behind. NOthing better then seeing all that low class pimping gone to waste. I wonder how many guns they had to hold to the guys heads to get them to do the underwear bit? rofl. Not sure winning idol is worth that lol. I thought carrie looked and sounded great. Shes doing much better performing. My dvd recorder quit working so this is the first finale I havent been able to record My fav finales were season 4 and 5 but this one was good.

Actually, they’re rerunning the pre-show and I just saw it on television again. She’s been very complimentary to him this season, actually so have the other two hosts of the show, they always seemed to lean slightly toward Cook. I thought it was a cute touch that he gave her the flower too. Archie looked so flustered, lol.

The single that they should release is:

Time of My Life (studio)
Dream Big as B side (studio)
The World I Know (Live) *Bonus Track

Actually Dream Big sounds a lot better than Time of My Life, young boys will like it as there is this vibe in it that young boys would like.

Overall, a very good finale!

Congrats to David Cook! Very well deserved! I think he’ll hold the title well.

Time of My Life (studio)
Dream Big as B side (studio)
The World Knows (Live) *Bonus Track

I’ve been kind of hoping to get All I Really Need is You as a b-side.

Haley and Blake? I thought I saw her there but Haley with Blake? Blech.

I thought the ZZ Top and DC performance was fabulous. I thought Archie did a really good performance with OneRepublic. The group songs were fun to watch but poor Brookey, she looked so awkward dancing.

regarding the coronation song… i liked dream big better i guess b/c he put a little rocker spin on it.. but u know what the dawg says…
dude could sing the phone book! =)

Thank you for this fabulous blog, MJ.

The best part of the show for me was getting to see Cookie perform with a real band, ZZ Top.

Could Archie have been more gracious and pleased for his friend? I think not. Nice kid. Love him.

Reminder: Let’s not spend pages and pages fantarding about who Cookie is or isn’t dating, ok? That’s fansite stuff. Please stick to talking about the show.

Thank you for this fabulous blog, MJ.

Thanks everyone, for a great season! I’m posting videos out front right now…

The camera man was giving us upskirts of Carrie…ok I didn’t cover my eyes!

So another season has passed! Hopefully the momentum will give a ratings boost at the start of Season 8! Maybe we’ll see some people from here on the show next season as well! (I know at the very least Sarah would make a great finalist)

MJ, THANK YOU!!!!!!

I cannot wait for the TOUR to begin!!!

All in all it was a very good final. I would have cut out the pips, and the guru, but I enjoyed all the idol singing bits, esp. D D duet, Cook ZZ, Arche & One Republic, Brooke and Graham Nash, and Michael Carly.
I am beyond shocked Cook won, in a good way.

I thought no one was to know the results ahead of time, so why did Simon apologize?

David Cook Wins!!! The idol that magically transformed from raw talent to professional recording artist, he is really the BIGGEST STAR OF THE NIGHT.

Happy Together
All Right Now
***Hello
Day Tripper
**Eleanor Rigby
Day Tripper
***Billy Jean
Innocent
*Little Sparrow
***Always Be My Baby
***Music Of the Night
*I’l Alive
***All I Really Need Is You
-Hungry Like A Wolf
**Baba O Riley
***The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Dare you To Move
***I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing
**I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
*Dream Big
***The World I Know

His performances above showcased a true artist, with few bumps (-), okay( ), good(*), amazing(*), spectacular and a hit(***).

The genuine artist, “the phoenix” that rises out of the ashes of AI criticism, and was always brave to take a risk, week after week after week, his fans heard him and is the BIGGEST STAR that american idol has ever had!

Congratulations to all the top 12. I wish David H. had made it on the tour. I really like his voice. I’m glad Cook won, but, I would’ve been happy with Archie as well. Guess my half a dozen votes really helped, huh? NOT!

Haven’t read all the comments yet so excuse me if I repeat someone else but. . . . .

All the Dial Idol naysayers — Dial Idol didn’t merely pick the winner.

The difference between the 2 Davids was 11.8 per Dial idol. American Idol announced a 12% difference tonight.

Spot on !

“week after week after week, his fans heard him and is the BIGGEST STAR that american idol has ever had!”

No pressure there for Cook. Let’s give him a few weeks before we start the countdown for the eventual 7xplat albums. I think he’ll need that much to pass Carrie.

I enjoyed the finale show. Syesha was unbelievable. She’s gorgeous. Can’t wait for next year! Kudos to mj. Great website!! Had lots of fun.

Yes, the right David won.

Jason’s Hallelujah was the performance of the night, IMO–so deeply emotional. I mean, Jason, shaking–and to the extent that he couldn’t hold his mic still? That’s a lot of intensity, and not what is generally expected of him. (And he hit the note he missed the first time around, too!)

Thanks for the awesome site, MJ–can’t wait to see the clips, so I can catch all the moments I missed!

Did you notice Simon and Paula hugging when it was announced? Paula was jumping up and down. Simon was grinning from ear to ear. Hm.

I loved the interaction during the coronation song of the top 12, they all looked so genuinely happy. And seriously, I don’t think there could have been two nicer finalists, they were always giving props to each other and tonight, I was so pleased with how gracious both Archie and Cook were. Classy guys all around, congratulations to both.

Congratulations to David Cook and all his fans here, especially our video star MJ! (Anyone else got the Buggles’ song running through their head right now? No? ‘kay. Thanks. Bye.)

AI needed Cookie to win and manipulated the show in every conceivable way allowed by the FCC to reach that conclusion, but I am far happier for DC right now than I am disgusted with AI — and, as a Castronaut still bearing the tire tracks from Nigel’s runaway bus, that is really saying something. Seriously, I think Cookie just saved the franchise and gave a huge boost to Sony BMG. The best part of his win is that it gives him more clout when he goes into the studio. The worst part is that TIIC won’t let another male rocker win next season, no way, no how.

Although Cookie was my second or third favorite this season after Jason, I am far happier with his victory than any of the previous six. I think he has a strong, soulful, supple voice just made for recording. I also enjoy his personality and am actually looking forward to seeing him all over my TV. Did you catch his awestruck glance upward as he walked onto the stage at the beginning of “Hero”? What a sweetheart.

Okay, I’m watching on the west coast now and have to say I heart Jimmy Kimmel and have since his humble start as Jimmy the Sports Guy on the Kevin and Bean show on KROQ, the radio show that also gave us Adam Carolla, Richard Cheese, and MTV DJ Kennedy. Simon’s parents are Rosemary and Satan Cowell? Please make Jimmy the new AI host.

Of course Simon knew who the winner was, why else would have apologized for being disrespectful. He always wants it seem like he is the only that is right. Didn’t he announce DA the winner last night. I voted for DA but I think DC is great and was a very gracious winner.

Well, for me, that was a fantastic ending to a really enjoyable season. I’m spent, so I can’t say much now, but some random thoughts:

George Michael was pointless, although..
I actually dug the GM medley

I give it up to DA for doing a great job in that very same medley. And, Jason looked extra fabulous in his black suit.

CHIKEZE!!! He was fabulous for a few moments there too.

I have already tried to extract a promise from MJ that she’ll put Simon’s apology on loop and make it the site banner tomorrow lol.

Both of the finalists handled themselves so well tonight, and they’re both so gracious.

I have to admit (along with many of you) I got a little weepy at the crowning of the winner. That was an emotionally charged moment which was totally amazing for a reality tv show.

Wow – did Amanda hate being there tonight or what?

I believe the top finalists showed us all tonight how much fun their tour is going to be. Hopefully, I’ll get to go, because I think it’s going to be a really fun event.

Thank you to all of you fabulous commenters for enhancing my experience this season. The people here at this blog make it way more fun to watch the show.

Thank you to MJ – for being the greatest blogmistress ever. You and Slezak (The Wonder Twins of AI fandom) definitely called this one. I look forward to all of the tour recaps, which make the summer at MJ’s so much fun.

ETA: Sometimes I hit the submit button too quickly: My beloved Brooke – how I’ve missed you. You looked and sounded fabulous tonight.

See you all in the morning, have a great night.

Did yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢all notice how truly HAPPY Simon and Paula looked when David Cook was announced as the winner? Like they really wanted him all along.

Yes I noticed this too. Even Randy, which surprised me. Simon has been saying for several weeks Cookie was his favorite that he wanted to win so I can see why he looked so happy.

Little David was such a sweetheart tonight. I hope he does very well too.

Aw…I thought the Brooke/Nash duet was lovely. One of the best of the night IMO. And I love her lack of rhythm. It just adds to the sweet dorkiness that is Brooke.

Could that George Michael song gone on any longer???? Geesh.

It was nice to see Archie’s genuine affection for David C. Having Daddy banned was good for him. I thing Byrd and Minor were allowed to give Archie real advice.

I am happy that for once the good guy won. Good guys can finish first.

I still can’t believe it. Woo-hoo!!!

David Cook with ZZ Top was Awesome Baby!!

Lol I tried to come here after the show but couldn’t get on the site.OMG finally my fave won! :clap_tb: I’m so happy for Cook he so deserves this.Good Job Cookie :jittery_tb: .He was awesome tonight loved him with ZZ Top and his guitar hero commercial was cute.I’m looking forward to buying his winner song and his cd.Good Job Cookie fans :blink_tb: wow a 12 mill difference in votes shoot!

Hi. do you have a streaming video of Brooke’s duet with Graham Nash? I really liked it, it was very intimate. Definitely the kind of performances I see Brooke doing in the future.

Watching this for a second time.
Really thought ‘Teach Your Children’ was terrifc. Too bad it got buried behind the awesomeness that was ‘Sharp Dressed Man.’
Graham Nash stepped back and let Brooke have that vocal. And she sounded great.

You know what I am most looking forward to in the next few days? (Well, besides all the Cook appearances!) is watching all the people who predicted Archie a winner because of last night eat crow. I have no problem if you prefer Archie over Cook, we all had our favorites, but to select one over the other because of one night’s performances (particularly when Cook’s performances weren’t anywhere near as bad as people kept playing them out to be).

Anyone know when Cook will be on Leno? Is it tomorrow?

OMG!!!
The 7 hours I spent last night voting and harrasing you guys here was so worth it!
I couldn’t stop crying when DC was anounced the winner. What a truly fabulous ending to a great season.

AMAZING!

Thank you, mj, for this site. It’s been a great part of my first time AI experience. Hope you’ll keep track of David’s upcomincg media appearances as well.
I’m so happy right now, it’s ridiculous.

Wow! I can’t believe that Cookie won. I havent stopped smiling. :happy_tb: My heart was pounding so fast while I was waiting for the results. I truly thought that Archie was gonna pull it off. They seem like two great guys. Like someone commented earlier. Nice guys can finish first. Way to go David Cook! You are the Bomb! :clap_tb:

I hope David Cook gets to rest for awhile, he would be in a press junket fever for weeks and weeks. Then the tour, when will he start making the album, make him record a studio version of ALL I REALLY NEED IS YOU and release it on radio, and everyone will be happy.

Congrats to all the Cookie fans!
He so much deserves it and I Agree the right man won. He will be awesome for the franchise and sell bazillions of records for sure.
Good for him. I am happy for all of you Cookie fans.

I am also happy I got to see a bit of my favorite Michael.
He and Carly did a great duet tonight. HOT as mj described it for sure. I am so proud.

Go Cookie!

This was probably the best Finale AI has had (minus the Mike Meyers bit). I was very pleased. Everything went so smoothly at the end and I do appreciate what a class act David Cook is. I was also happy for David A. He is not the loser as I see so much success in his future.

Adorable Jason had his solo! What an honor that was, and he did such a sweet and moving performance.

I loved the tribute to Gladys Knight. She has always been a friend to AI. It was very funny.

It is good that Amanda will not be on the tour. However, David H. proved he deserved to be in the TOP 12. I believe AI will be getting some assignment work for him.

DC and ZZ Top were great!!! DC’s funky chicken dance was awesome!

I am one freakin’ happy camper!

I’m happy for David C. He may not have been my first pick but I’ve enjoyed him all season and think he deserved to win. David A’s a good singer and obviously has his fans who can be proud of how he did.

I thought the show was probably my favorite ever of the finales. I loved the group songs (especially Michael’s solos), Michael & Carly’s duet was so good and yes it was hot, and ZZ Top & DC. Interesting that Jason sang alone but he sounded very good. I thought Brooke’s duet was also nice as was DA’s duet with One Republic. The ones we fast forwarded through were Jordan, Carrie, and the Jonas Bros as well as Renaldo. The band was pretty funny but he sang way too long. I wasn’t that impressed by George Michaels but enjoyed Donna Summers & Bryan Adams.

Loved seeing Michael. He looked and sounded so good. :wub_tb:

what i loved the most about tonight was how gracious both cookie and archie were. congrats to both of them.

The Michael-Carly duet was good, just a little over produced. A stripped down arrangement would have allowed their vocal to be more gritty. Carly should have sung ‘The Letter’ on the show.
I thought MJ sounded better during the start of ‘Summer of ’69.’

One who stood out for me was David Hernandez because he was one male who could really dance during the group numbers.

I am VERY happy for all of the Cook fans. He is one special guy – he was the leader of that group and I think really deserved to win. David A did really well too and he should be so proud. For me personally – I loved it, that Jason got a solo and I got to see his beautiful smile and his little dorky butt galloping all over the stage tonight.

Now that was a good finale! Of course, it’s always more fun when your favorite wins, and this time, I feel pretty confident that Cookie will do very well post-Idol. I know, I’ve said this before (cough*taylorhickstheinvisibleidol*cough). But DC is something special. I’m still smiling.

My favorite moment? DC with ZZ Top… the best thing I’ve seen in an Idol finale since Bo sang with Skynyrd. Out-freaking-standing! I’ve watched it three times now and love it more each time. He starts out all cool and stuff, and then it sort of hits him what he’s doing and he grins! So cool. Cookie’s a decent guitar player, actually.

Love it, love it, love it.

Night night.

Loved the depths of emotion that Jason pulled from his soul. I know MJ, you thought he shouldn’t reprise but I have to say he sang with more full-body emotion this time. It was a highlight for me tonight! Melinda’s close up said it all!

Congrats to David Cook and all the Cook supporters for voting your buns off!
Guitar Hero Commercial – Cook :smoke_tb: Archuleta hmy_tb:
lol!

It was a blast tonight! It made me more excited for the tour!

One of the better finales, IMO, right up there with Season 5. I think it helps that the final 2 are both great vocalists and that there were numerous good voices in the Top 12 for the group numbers. Last year’s finale was the biggest waste of time. Nice to see the contestants get featured spots this year again. I could have done without the lame Mike Meyers movie promo, Renaldo, the Gladys Knight number that was way too long, and Carrie Underwood (sorry, but they drag her out way too often- would prefer to see one of the other past winners for a change…) I didn’t mind George Michael, but he needed to cut his song in half, it got repetitive. I missed the montage of eliminated contestants that they usually do, and why didn’t they have Reuben sing the elimination song?

One question: How come Michael Johns showed so much charisma and enthusiasm tonight when he couldn’t drum up half as much the whole season?? He pretty much carried the group numbers on his shoulders tonight.

I was a huge David Archuleta fan all season, but I am very happy for David Cook! He is a true star and will be huge! After “Billie Jean” I knew he’d be in the final with my boy David A, and a better guy couldn’t have won it. Archie looked great too and he should be very proud! I will be buying both cd’s when they come out. I absolutely loved tonight’s episode — as cheesy as it was, the music was phenominal and it was so fun to watch! Also, I respect Simon after his comments to Cook. I really like him and loved watching him on Jay Leno and Ellen this week! He is ovbiously the most sane judge of the three.

Anyways, congratulations American Idol on a wonderful season finale.

Both Davids were so nice also tonite. Fantastic.

Layla- let’s keep track of DC… He MUST be coming to Europe at some point!

MJ please keep this updated with the appearances & all!

Having hung with you for three seasons now I have to say–

You have the best Idol blog by far! Thank you MJ for your very even handed commentary and your ability to shine through the ridiculous bs.

Thank you!

I toned down the fantardyness, and just hung here and commented a bit.

Always you’ve been fair. Even to those of us who went off-the-chart fangirl.

Appreciate it much and I look forward to next season!

Oh and–Woooo David Cook! Can’t wait to watch the publicity tour!

One question: How come Michael Johns showed so much charisma and enthusiasm tonight when he couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t drum up half as much the whole season?? He pretty much carried the group numbers on his shoulders tonight.

Maybe you just didn’t notice, Mocha. I saw it during the season but I was focusing on him. I always thought he was the spark to their group numbers and they needed him after he was gone.

IMO a great night of entertainment . I could have done without the George Michael marathon song but I pretty much enjoyed the rest. Donna Summer was terrific , I was pleasantly surprised. I loved Jason’s solo and IMO Carly and Michael were mucho fantastic . Michael Johns is a star and if someone doesn’t sign him it would be a shame ( loved him tonight). He , David Cook and Carly had great stage command tonight. I pretty much loved the whole cheesy ball.
David Cook and ZZ Top was soooooo good. I think he may be the most versatile winner yet. That boy can sing so many genres . I may be wrong but I think that he will leave Daughtry in the dust . Congrats to DC , on a job well done. And to Randy and dry bag Simon na na na na na na . :clap_tb: :thumbup_tb:

Wow. I can’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve yet fully grasped the fact that David Cook just won American Idol.

What a great show. I liked the fact that it was mostly about the contestants this time around. Some cheesy parts yeah, but some really great parts too.

I’m really happy and excited, but I still don’t completely believe it. Wow.

Gosh, am I the only one who didn’t enjoy Carly and MJ? She gets on my last nerve with that screaming.

How cute were the Guitar Hero commercials with the Davids? I loved them!

I think the results were as they should’ve been. They’ll both have great careers.

I can’t remember a season where the top 12 were so darned happy for the winner. They were all very bouncy and happy. It is also pretty clear that M Johns is real close to DC. They had tons of sily grins at each other.

As for M. Johns, I get the feeling he will be signed by 19E. They have kept him busy, much busier than past finishers in his finishing place. ( You can’t listen to “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” without knowing this guy can be something special)

Congratulations to David Cook. He will make a fine idol. His grace and dignity becomes him.

The show was great in spots. I loved Brooke tonight. I liked Jason. Donna Summer might be a bit wobbly but she still has the pipes. I could have done without some of the girls singing about hot stuff.

Amanda should have stayed her ass home. I am pissed about this. She knew it was a cheesy ass show when she auditioned. I don’t like her performing like she smells something, or has something odorous on the bottom of her shoe and is having a hard time dislodging it. This is why I actually do like Cook and Carly. They embrace the cheese and they are more likeable for it.

Loved the guitar hero commercials. Move over Tom Cruise, Archuleta’s in the house, lol. I am proud of him. After reading comments attributed to him about last night, I think he knew he didn’t win, and was at peace with it. I think last night was a revelation to him, he was freer than I have seen him since auditions, and that makes me glad. Have a house full of people counting their pennies to see him on tour. Me too.

I adore Michael Johns. Nothing more, just adore. Carly too. I think I have a girl crush on her. Her exuberance since being freed from the show is fun to watch.

Chikeze, I gotta say, there wasnt quite enough of him tonight, but the little bit was good.

I am glad they didn’t trot out anyone quite so old they dated Noah. I guess they are learning a little.

I guess the rumours of idols of the past in a group medley was just that. Too bad. My biggest complaint is that I would have rather seen a duet with Syesha and Ruben, or Elliott, or Ace. Besides the duets with the finalist influences the focus should be kept on the idols, past and present. That was the only complaint. That, and that Seal needed a larger size trousers, Jordin needs to leave the reflecto dress in the store, and Carrie needs to stop dressing like she’s auditioning for the Pussycatdolls……the mosh pit prolly knows if she waxed or not.

Good show, good season. The voters always get it right.

thank you to all the word nerds who got him to this victory!! he supplied the amazing talent and we were the ones who believed in him since day one and carried him all the way to the finale and #2 spot!! what a helluva team we made!!! only GREAT things to come from mr. cook and I AM READY!!

word nerd #613!!

A huge congrats to David Cook for the win!!! He will make a fantastic Idol.
Also, a huge congrats to David Archuleta for a fabulous competition.

Both will be stars and have made us all proud!

The finale, IMO, was the best in 7 seasons and the final 12, IMO, were the cream of the crop. This was truly the best season ever!

Can’t wait to watch the Idols on Larry King Live Friday night.

Ok! Ok! I’m a believer! I thought love was only true in fairytales! Now I’m a believer!

I was really steeling for DC’s loss, and I still believe he’d be cool with whatever happened.

BUT it was immensely satisfying, I fully admit, to watch that impassioned, good lookin’, straight-shootin’, hard singing, creative, generous and hip-as-all-get-out kid win the whole enchilada!

The last couple of days have been very good for the guys I’m pulling for on and offstage. And I’m gonna try and stay positive about David Cook becoming the first truly great artist, in my book, to come out of the Idol machine……

ps. The show was surprisingly fun too, for the most part. A friend visiting from afar who didn’t know anything about it said she’d watch a couple minutes and got completely hooked. by the end she was crying and cheering right along…..

Give or take a whiskey-voiced nurse who looked like one of the producers was holding a gun to her mother’s head, tonight showed us what the most talented top 12 in AI history can do — sing joyfully and entertainingly — freed from the stress of the competition and Nigel’s unnecessarily demanding outside distractions. However much TIIC might fine tune the show for season 8 — and I’m sure it won’t be nearly enough — their first priority should be to nurture the talent. One way to accomplish that is to strip away all the time-wasting, schedule-busting promotions that sucked all the passion out of this season.

Does anyone else think the special attention for Jason, Johnsy and Carly tonight might mean they will be signed by Sony?

In the brief history of Idol, the final 2 hour special has often been just kinda stinky. This year was at least entertaining, Other than Amanda everybody was having a real good time. Watching Brooke attempt to dance…..priceless. Season 5 was also pretty good becase it had Elliot….If Elliot were there to sing tonight, it would have been complete.

A big congratulations to David Cook, his fans, and his voters (WOOT! yeah, that’s ME. lol). He is deserving, and I am just so glad that the right person won. The winning moment was a perfect ending to a fantastic season.

To be honest, I wasn’t ecstatic about Jason reprising Hallelujah. Like mj, I think “moments” should be left alone and never revisited. With that said, it was still one of my favorite performances tonight. I love Jason, I love Hallelujah, and I love them even more together.

I can’t wait to hear more music from Cook, Jason, and Brooke.

What a great night!

Loved the show, and I’m so proud of David Cook, and all his fans who went to voting…for a very deserving winner.

Go, Cookie, go! I look forward to your fabulous career.

Thanks, MJ, for your fabulous site.

That was all kinds of awesome. To borrow another poster’s words – I am utterly blissed out right now.

Congratulations David Cook, in my opinion the finest contestant this show has ever had. Congrats to all the fans who worked so hard. And thank you again MJ for another fabulous season on the blog!

Loved the pure class and heart and talent in both of these finalists. All of the top 12 showed what an amazing group of voices we were treated to this year (well…excluding Amanda who looked like she’d either been blackmailed into this or heavily partaking of heavy liquids shortly before the show).

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Simon so happy with a win, in fact all three judges. Reverse psychology indeed, but I don’t think for a moment it was needed. I can’t wait to see just how high into the stratosphere David Cook may reach…what a ride this will be!

ETA – I had to laugh at the beginning of D&D’s Hero duet…before Cook walked out you could here a distressed voice in the background shouting “turn the f*cking music up!”. Ahh, the joys of a live show. lol

Does anyone else think the special attention for Jason, Johnsy and Carly tonight might mean they will be signed by Sony?

I thought there was a lot of attention on Kristie Lee as well, she got to start out several of the group numbers and was featured front and center. I could see them picking her up, as the country singers all seem to be successful, even the ones that don’t sing so well.

To be honest, I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t ecstatic about Jason reprising Hallelujah. Like mj, I think à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“momentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  should be left alone and never revisited. With that said, it was still one of my favorite performances tonight. I love Jason, I love Hallelujah, and I love them even more together.

In all fairness to Jason, singing Hallelujah wasn’t his idea. From what I understand (lurking here and there) he had a different choice, but Nigel decided Jason should sing Hallelujah instead. I think you have to admit he made the most of it!

Ok, I have to ask this – WHO did they believe was the biggest star in the world! I like Downey, I really loved George m in the past but they cannot be the biggest stars in the world, no way? Oh and I cracked myself up today searching for the “clue” and I know I got it but I sure didnt see a Virgin Airlines codename on tonight. Not really important – I really loved most of the show tonight and am very glad David C won, I was just wondering about that.

Eeeee!!!!!! :clap_tb:

I got home from work late and just now finished the show. YAY!!! It’s nice to have voted for the winner for once!

I thought that overall, it was an entertaining finale. Of course, I was really glad that David Cook won. He deserved it. And I’m really looking forward to the tour with David Cook performing last & rockin’ the roof off the place.

Most perfect ending possible. Thank you America!!! Yay David Cook!!!

Ahhh show, you got me again

Does anyone else think the special attention for Jason, Johnsy and Carly tonight might mean they will be signed by Sony?

Randy did say on an interview a few weeks ago that he thought 5-6 would be signed this season.

This is how I see it…….

1- Cook
2- Archuleta
3- Mercado
4- Johns
5- Smithson
6- White

Those are in no particular order. I’m not so sure Castro will get a deal, at least right away.

What’s with Amanda Overmeyer ? She looked like she could eat nails. Who rattled her cage ? Geesh , maybe she would be better off back at her nursing career instead of pulling in a nice paycheck touring around the country with a group of friends. She was Cruella DeVille tonight . I hope she changes her disposition before the tour or it’s gonna be one hell of a tour ( literally).

Amanda doesn’t go on tour. Only top 10 go on tour.

I don’t give much credibility to Randy’s comments about the # to be signed to contracts from this season. I don’t think he has any inside information. I don’t see Syesha, MJ and Carly all getting signed, and definitely not all by 19e. 19e is very selective about who they take on. I remember it was a big deal when they took Daughtry and Pickler a few years back, usually they only take the top 2.

Congratulations Cookie! You did it!!
Both Davids are first class acts in my book and deserve huge careers and tons of praise.

Loved every single minute of the AI finale. The energy was great and the surprises just kept on coming.

Favorite moments:
DC and ZZ top playing together.
Guitar Hero commercial ala Risky Business. Genius!
The commeraderie between the idols, especially the top 10. Very genuine affection for each other.

Thank You Simon for apologizing to David Cook. It was humble, heartfelt and much appreciated.

Thanks to MJ for all her hard work and letting us vent.
It was a Super-Sweet AI Season!!!

Layla- letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s keep track of DCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ He MUST be coming to Europe at some point!

MJ please keep this updated with the appearances & all!

Hi Thea,

I am so appreciative of MJ’s BLOG…she rawks!

Gosh, am I the only one who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t enjoy Carly and MJ? She gets on my last nerve with that screaming.

Thank you skylight for your opinion. I just wanted to hear Michael’s terrific voice. I am a minority here, but I never really connected to her.

Regarding Brooke’s duet with Graham Nash…priceless. Nash had all sorts of compliments about her on his Red Carpet interview. It was probably a highlight in his life. Brooke was in her element.

Donna Summers and Bryan Adams were right on tonight. Very enjoyable.

Thank you, MJ for all the work you do in making this a wonderful blog.

Congratulations to David Cook! Well deserved win. And congrats to Archuleta as well. Winning the title doesn’t mean he is less of an idol. Both Davids, IMO, will do very very well in their respective genres. In my 4 years of watching this so called cheesy show, this is the best season finale. From last week until the last minute when Ryan announced the winner, the excitement was slowly killing me… both were very good. Cant wait for their CDs…..

George Michael’s song wasn’t that long, LOL! You all are used to the abbreviated songs on Idol. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice for such an exciting night though.

George sounded great considering that he has a cold. It seemed that he really had to concentrate in order to sing it though. A similar version of Praying For Time is part of the Unplugged concert which you might see on MTV sometime.

My mom has not voted all season but she was moved to vote for Cook about 100 times last night after Simon’s comments. You would think that Simon would know better than to make comments like that, unless he’s doing it intentionally.

COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE!!!!!!
Wow. Is this what it feels like to be on the winning team? After rooting for Bo, Elliott, and Blake, I am finally excited about the winner. Early on, I had my disappointments, losing Amanda, Carly, and Michael, but I have grown to appreciate Cookie. I see big things for him, and hopefully he will benefit from the same generosity TPTB extended to Daughtry. As for my beloved Amanda, I think she was probably reminding herself that “This Too Shall Pass”, and “just 3 more days till the Whisky”. I know Amanda isn’t everyone’s fave, but I love her anyway.
Congratulations Cookie!!!!!!!!

Ok, I have to ask this – WHO did they believe was the biggest star in the world!

Sumidol, I think Nigel was referring to our Jason. Who else got a solo with superstar lighting? [/sarcasm] Seriously, though, I envy you your tour tickets after tonight’s show.

I’ve been an Anglophile since I saw the BBC version of “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” back when I was a teenager, but I object to the fact that Nigel and Co. import British guest artists whenever possible. It shows a regrettable lack of imagination. The George Michael of 2008 is not the biggest star in the world. Of all the folk singers in the world, Nigel picks Graham Nash — ? — the Brit from CSNY (and the Hollies) — to duet with Brooke, who was in fine form, by the way. I love me some Sealhenry Samuel, but they could have been creative and used a Seal hologram from his dreadlock days to duet with Jason on the other “Crazy.” Worst of all, Nigel’s concept of good American music is Bryan Adams, Donna Summer and ZZ Top.

I”m glad that Cook won, but, for some reason, I wish they wouldn’t have given out the margin of the win. I kind of felt sorry for Archie, who had a tremendous night last night.

Wonder how Rickey is holding up?

I think Amanda is upset because she doesn’t get to go on the tour. And, really, what’s the point of having a top 12, when only 10 get to go? I never did understand that. Still, I would’ve loved to have seen David H. make it. I think his voice is awesome.

USA Today posted an article about PrompterGate.

If ArchuD2 had won, I think this story would be huge.

I think the story is a tempest in a teapot. It is more like somebody trying to create a story.

LOL I somehow missed archie with the wallet chain. that was so darn cute.

What can you say? My heart-throb, my crush, my idol is now officially America’s Idol.

DA – go well young man, you will have a fine career.

DC – thanks for the thrills and chills, the excitement, the anticipation, the come hither eyes directed (solely) at me, your charisma, humanity and humility has shone. Thanks for reintroducing me to my 20 something self. You made me a believer.

Beyond happy.

I personally think they’d make more signing Jason than Brooke. Sorry to disagree with the Jason haters, but, they look at the bottom line, which means dollar signs. Jason has consistently sold on ITunes. You know they are looking at those sales.

Too sleepy to read all 5 pages!

My fav moments:

Simon eating crow! LOLOL. Good on’ya Simon. Not so good if ya realized that oops, Cook was gonna win after all and ya had to make nicey.

Cook and ZZ Top! Too much fun!

Brook and Graham Nash – I was a major CSN&Y fan in the 70s.
Nice that Nash graciously let Brooke have the spotlight but would have loved to hear some of his harmonies. I would love to see Nash be a mentor to some of these kids. I bet he’d like to do it too.

Jason!
Over on Castrocopia there’s a clip of his little sister pretending to interview him in a crowd. She’s got the same lovely eyes. Some great genes in that family.

Syesha and Donna Summers.

Carly and MJ

Not-so fav moment:
George Michael. Ehm…just wake me up before you go go George.

You know what really struck me was how Cook was being big brother to Archie…just watch the body language. They are so different in style but I’ll bet Cook will be watching out for young Archie on the tour. I think Archie is going to loosen up and have some fun on this tour too. Now the lads just need to lose papa A and teach Archie about life, heh, heh.

I think Cook is going to be the ‘intelligent’ rocker Idol. He’s smart, well-read, innovative, yada yada yada.

Anyway, for all my whinging about the last few weeks, I was relatively happy with this finale. I even thought Mike Meyers was pretty funny. Better that then the stupid boxing stuff.

Congrats to both Davids – they’ll both do well.
Hope they all have a blast on the tour.

I am not dissing Brooke cause I like her, but I think they will make more money signing MJ & Jason. I love both those boys and had them as my second fav all season. Man this year did have so much talent and I will be buying alot of cds.

What to say… I was gutted night before last after what they did to DC. I thought AI could not have reached a level so low. I texted my lil fingers off for him. I hope TPTB won’t ever treat the contestants this way again, and I am referring to the horrible boot for MJ and the bus over Jason, and the train over DC. C’mon, these guys made the show this year, they deserved MUCH better.

Simon, Thank You. I don’t know if that heals all yet, but it did help & I know that took alot of guts for you to apologize to David on national tv. I know you love our boy cause I saw you and Paula hugging ecstatically, she crying, you laughing & grinning.

DC & DA’s Hero, was just beautiful. *sigh*

DC singing with ZZ Top was just HAWT. *sigh sigh*

DC in the Guitar Hero commercial. ummm HAWT.

Wow David, Dream Big and see what happens???!!! :clap_tb:

Cook did it!!! Rockers rejoice!! I’m totally stoked and loved the whole show. Loved Jason singing Hallelujah and DC rocking with ZZ Top. I even enjoyed the cheesy group numbers but I have the luxury of being on the west coast and already knew I was going to love the outcome. I think the right David won but Archie is a class act and I wish him the best.

DC’s Guitar Hero ad is the best commercial I have ever seen. And it wouldn’t be a show without a Jason moment. What was he doing running around the stage after that group number? LOL. He never fails to grab my heart and make me laugh.

Jason was running because a huge flame of fire fell right behind him, and, almost caught him on fire. He needs to have those dreads insured!

Im so excited for this year’s contestants. I think that Jason Castro would be a good artist for an album. I liked his itunes recordings. Brooke, hmmmmm. I love her dearly but I wish she would be stronger. I feel like she would break easily and go nuts when the going isn’t that tough yet.

Congrats David! I was so confident he would win when I saw DIalIdol Predictions. I didnt get any sleep thinking about DA vs DC…but Im glad America got it right.

Love ya David C! and Good luck to DA, JC and the rest of the gang

DC is so my favorite winner since Kelly. He really worked for it, giving good-to-great performances almost every week and he’s just so all-around talented: great voice, creative, talented musician. He’s the total package. I liked that he wasn’t afraid to show some emotion when he won too. None of that “too cool for this” crap. Honestly, it really was a great top 2, even if I didn’t like having it forced down my throat by TPTB. DA isn’t my style, but he’s undeniably talented and seems like such a sweetheart and the Davids are adorable together. That Love Guru thing would’ve been totally lame without them, but their reactions made it hilarious.

This was totally the best finale ever IMO. I was entertained by every minute, except George Michael (seriously Nigel, what was that about?!?!). I really liked how it was back to being about the contestants, after last year’s finale in which the top 12 appeared for a grand total of three seconds. The group numbers were fun and well-balanced, and I love how most of them cheese out. I LOVED Jason’s Hallelujah. When he started, I didn’t think it could be as good as the first time, but the emotional intensity of the second verse was just amazing. He seemed SO into it. I’ll definitely be buying his and DC’s CDs, and maybe Brooke and Michael’s. I wish David H. could be on tour. He’s fun and he’s got a great voice.

I liked this year’s contestants but I felt like the FINALE Show was not as good as other finales. Plus, the performers were Bryan Adams and George Michael who probably are using the show as a way to promote their new album or show.

I was expecting BEatles for the “greatest artist”. sheesh. too much expectations…

I liked how Simon apologized but I think the judges assumed too much. They didn’t look at the whole picture and decided on the final 2 performance (and almost declared DA as the winner). I actually imagined DA and DAdchuleta crying “foul” while Cook was singing his coronation song

19E should sign Brooke White and Jason Castro. Some folksy artists would be a great addition to their pool of talents.

Brooke’s pre-AI album has reached #6 on the iTunes pop charts with no radio airplay and zero promotion. This girl’s music is very in right now, she’s very marketable, personable, comes across as very articulate and intelligent in all of her interviews… if she gets to work with the right people… she can be a real star.

You know at first I thought Jason touching HALLELUJAH again would be a mistake. If they couldnt find someone to sing with Jason, I would have preferred him doing a song he hadnt done before, but scratch that. Jason was beautiful tonight. The emotion he puts into this song is wonderful and hey, he got that note at the end..atta boy JCas! He also looks extra yummy in a dark suit.

I thought MJ was also in fine form, I enjoyed his singing.

Brooke did a fabulous job on her duet. I liked it lots.

Like I mentioned earlier, this season rocked! This blog rocks!

Ah, what a finale! I woke up this morning and realized it wasn’t a dream and Cookie did win! HOORAY!

Then I realized American Idol was over. Done. Finished. Then I wasn’t sure what on EARTH I was going to do with my time now since this damn show seems to consume not only my Tuesday and Wednesday, but every day thereafter.

Bring on the tour!!!! I’m going on my first tour experience so I’m SO excited. I don’t know if I can wait until September. I may have to go to another one.

Thank you SO much MJ for another great season and your awesome site. I’d be entirely lost without you.

I also wanted to add, Jason cracks me up on stage. He’s the epitome of cheese and I think he loves it. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but during the group numbers he would mouth the words as someone else was singing a solo. I found that entirely hysterical.

he’s one of the main reasons I went ahead and bought tour tickets. The other won American Idol last night.

Bring on the DC interviews…and the epitome of cheese coronation song that David actually sang nicely.

You know coronation songs almost seem less AWFUL when the person you want to win gets to sing it!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t give much credibility to Randyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s comments about the # to be signed to contracts from this season. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he has any inside information. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see Syesha, MJ and Carly all getting signed, and definitely not all by 19e. 19e is very selective about who they take on. I remember it was a big deal when they took Daughtry and Pickler a few years back, usually they only take the top 2.

MJohns & Carly have already hinted that he’s “got offers” and I don’t think they mean 19E. Rumor is that Mjohns will be produced by the Amy Winehouse crew, which would be a good match. Syesha could be signed because if the rumors about her going to Broadway with the Wiz are true, she’s going to need rep.

MJ Thanks for an awesome site for everyone to come to and get the latest updtes on Idol and to vent, cheer, and cry. You rock!

I want a Jason album NOW!

Do we know what Itunes is putting up yet?

Oh and I don’t put much stock into anything Randy says. He’s a molten hot idiot.

First of all I thought the finale was one of the best shows AI has put together for a finale perhaps ever, it was fast paced the 2 hours flew by for me and of course the ending was icing on the proverbial cake. I like Mike Myers, I will see the movie Love Guru, I mean I have to find out why Mini Me is coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs eh?

In terms of signing, I would have tended to agree that 19e would usually only take the top 2 but the way Simon Cowell was salivating over Michael Johns at one point, I swear I could see the Dollar signs in Simon’s eyes one night, I would have thought that Simon Fuller would share a similar view and I seem to recall Michael saying something about visiting the offices at 19e and really liking the vibe there……….which is not to say however that someone wouldn’t give him a better offer he couldn’t refuse.

If you were Canadian you may have missed those great Guitar Hero commercials……..too funny.

Do we know what Itunes is putting up yet?

They are already up for David. I posted about it in the Time of My Life thread.

Best moments: I loved George Michael and good to see him back on stage after years of fighting drugs and other personal problems. Did anyone notice the ring on his left finger? Is he married???? like Elton John is married??

Donna Summer is always my fave, and yeh, she was a little wobbly, but you know she does not perform a lot. She’s just now starting to tour after years of being away from it.

The Gladys Knight hologram was hilarious….loved the PIPS!

Can somebody tell me what has happened to Carrie U? Has she gone “Hollywood”? Those short-shorter than short dresses it was like the camera was trying not to get too close for fear of showing her private parts….she looks way different, thinner and paler….voice is really good (almost screaming though) and strong, but my god, she has really changed!

And no Amanda was not top 10 material….as much as I like her personality, she just. cannot. sing. at. all.

David H and Rami are karaoke material. And Carly needs to stop scrunching her face….Simon warned her about that….and the judges on Tuesday were way over the top calling David A the winner of Idol. Was that a psyche – out?

Does anyone know what the closest finale vote was? Or the biggest margin one? Thanks for the info if you have it.

Might I also add that I felt like David A took Cookie’s mantra to heart to just go out and have fun and that he really looked like he was having a ball last night, he seemed more relaxed and confident than he had all season IMO. I think he enjoyed tackling material a bit different than he usually did. I also thought he seemed almost relieved to have not won and apparently a few others have agreed with me.

Best finale since Season 5, I think. I was proud of both David’s and Simon for apologizing. Glad to see that Jeff A. was not a sore loser. He seemed pleased. I was afraid he would think 2nd place wasn’t good enough for his son.

I thought Ryan would mention that Carrie Underwood joined the Grand Ole Opry on May 10. Loved her song. Loved Brooke. And Carly and MJ together.

Just heard that Adam Cook was not there last night. I noticed that they didn’t show him, so I hope he’s not worse. Wonder if he did fly to L.A. and was too sick to attend or if he didn’t get to go at all.

Since Syesha was third and Jason was fourth I wonder why Syesha didn’t get a solo. I’m not complaining, I love Jason but if they were going to let fourth place do a solo, why not Syesha?

I thought Bo was going to sing. I was afraid Fantasia was going to sing. hehe
Not one word about Taylor. I don’t think he was invited and Italy was his excuse not to be there. I hate that they treat him like that.

All in all enjoyed the show and tivoed it so I can watch it again.

I was stoked when I saw Bo in the audience and waiting for him to perform as had been “promised” and disappointed I didn’t get to see th at.

Adam Cook had to stay home to watch the show from his house because of his illness. It had been recommended that he not go to AI.

Thanks Jovi. I had hoped that Adam could be there.

The best man really did win last night And his true artistry shone through right to the end – the coronation song is cheesy but the DC spin made me enjoy listening to it. I don’t expect him to produce much music like this but if it’s forced to be his first single I don’t think he’ll suffer for it. He also really is a true class act, bringing the rest of the top 12 on to the stage to share his moment with him.

And if the evening wasn’t good enough, Ryan and the producers listened to me when I yelled into my television to bring David’s mom onto the stage to give him a big hug when the emotion overwhelmed him; and Simon finally admitted he isn’t always right when he acknowledged making a mistake in calling it a “knock-out” for Archie.

I really hope we don’t see anything from the Archie camp crying foul. The boy doesn’t deserve that. He’s very talented and will no doubt do very well, but most likely in a niche such as easy-listening or Christian rather than in mainstream. He was just out-performed by a more contemporary and original artist.

mj – this has been so much fun. I expect to be back here to see clips of interviews etc. but this may very well be my last comment for a while. So thanks!

Well, can I just say how wonderful it is that David Cook won! yay. Never underestimate a fan base huh? I was hoping against hope, but when I heard the vote spread percentage was the same as DI I felt a little more sure. I almost want to worship at the Dial Idol alter!!

I am so psyched and in awe that he won by 12 (TWELVE!!!) Million Votes. It was funny to watch Simon backpedaling huh? And his apology – well done and absolutely on target. He was rude and hurtful the night before.

I loved ZZTop – David was in great voice. I am embarrased to say that I liked the gaggy coronation song because of who was singing it :biggrin_wp:

MJ – you are a great hostess. I’ve been around since Season 5, reading EVERYTHING, and sometimes adding my 2 pennies. I was having a hard time getting in last night, so I went to bed but this is the first place I came for the celebration party!!

AND, don’t forget everyone – David and David on Larry King on Friday night and all of the rest of the contestants on Monday night.

I can’t wait to see where David Cook takes his win – I wish him the best – he is a deserving and gracious person both publically and privately. He has my respect.

I have come out of lurkdom after two years to wonder why no one noticed the awesome dance moves Ryan busted last night……………….

Back spinning, correography, leaping among the dancers. Does that boy have talent, or what….?

OK, I haven’t read the other comments yet but:
highlights for me include Seacrest nearly gliding off stage on the stupid guru pillow; just seeing zztop standing their w/ the guitars & beard always makes me smile; Robert Downey Jr as the pip who just glides offstage; Brooke’s duet as she looked like she was about to burst into tears – I think it had to be the pinnacle of her life so far; Jason’s solo, of course; marching band joining Renaldo – hysterical; didn’t know Carrie Underwood is shopping in Renaldo’s closet.
My DVR cut out just as Cookie was saying his thank yous so I totally missed the coronation song and all that.
Why was Randy wearing Captain Kangaroo’s coat?
Did anyone see that Jason nearly went up in flames at the end of the opening group song? They all end in their pointy pose – the fireworks go off – and then you see Jason running around in the back of the idols, then sort of walking it off, and then – slowly – getting back into his pointy pose. Couldn’t believe it.
Right guy won. Hope Archie wasn’t locked in a basement dungeon by his dad. Can’t imagine the emotions of Cook’s family to have one son reaching such a life-changing goal while another son is dying. Cookie will be able to make sure his brother’s kids are taken care of.

How did I miss the guitar hero commercials? Both of them? I even zipped back and forth on the DVR and re-watched sections of the show last night and STILL missed those….

I don’t blame Amanda for being so upset…I wonder if some other opportunity will knock for her?

Does anyone know what the closest finale vote was? Or the biggest margin one? Thanks for the info if you have it.

Jovi, the closest finale vote was definitely between Ruben and Clay. I had read the difference was about 130,335 which is said to be .005 difference. Yet, hearing it again on Rewind, Ryan said 1,335. However, the phone situation was a mess, so I really don’t know that Clay lost. Best not to touch that!

The difference between Fantasia and Diana was said to be 2%. I believe that is what I read on Wikipedia.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-05-21-idol-red-carpet_N.htm

Was reading this article and saw this:

Ruben Studdard (Season 2), on the other hand, will be prepping for his wedding day. He walked the carpet with fiancà ©e Zuri McCance, who was sporting a hefty diamond. They got engaged a year ago in Las Vegas, after seeing Phantom of the Opera, and have set a date but won’t tell. “She’s my best friend,” Studdard said.

Did anyone else know Ruben was engaged? I hadn’t heard that!

Loved this:

Graham Nash said he and finalist Brooke White (whom he called “a young Joni Mitchell”) rehearsed Teach Your Children just once before performing Wednesday. She told him it would be her father’s (Brad White) dream to have his photo taken with Nash. “We’ll take care of that tonight,” he said.

That was one of my favorite moments from last night.

Great finale. The Guru was a waste of time. I wish they’d cut out that kind of garbage.

But the result was perfect! Congratulations, Cookie! Can’t wait to buy your music!

Please correct the totals if I am wrong!

A lot of comments posted and many more to come, but I thought I would drop mine in here.

First, thanks to mj for running a great Idol site. And kudos for her much deserved recognition for such.

This finale certainly skunked (as we used to say) last year’s finale. Lots of good stuff in this one. (Truth in commentary. I still consider AI 5 finale the gold standard. That opinion has not changed.)

Ryan dancing, ok, pogo-ing, was priceless, especially catching his breath on the stairs. He has always been a favorite of mine. He is the glue of this show. No question.

Best performance/All-Idol category: David and David “Hero”. Just wonderful

Best performance/Idol and Dinosaur Guest: Brooke and Graham “Teach Your Children” Runner-up: David C and ZZ Top. Them boyz rocked!

Best Guest – I dunno Renaldo? No one much impressed me. George Michael’s “Praying for Time” was gorgeous, but out of place.

Worst Guest Non-Idol – Mike Myers. Get the hook! Painfully unfunny.

Worst Performance/Idol-Related – Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks. Ok, maybe it was just the clothes. Those two bore me to tears. Both outfits fell deeply into What-Were -TheyorTheirStylists-Thinking territory.

The group numbers did not suck and I enjoyed both sets of guys and girls.

Special Performance Award/Group Category – Michael Johns who both looked, and sounded, totally hot.

Best commercial: The two Risky Business knock-off’s. Hilarious.

Taylor Award for Eff This Whole Enterprise: Amanda Overymeyer

Congrats to David Cook. Nice guy. Talented. I hope he does well. Ditto to David A. May your road be traveled without your ever-present, ever-annoying father.

Last comment/question. Am I correct that all the former “winners” were there except Kelly and Daughtry? :rolleyes_tb:

Peace out. :cool2_tb:

REALLY enjoyed this finale! Highlights for me were the hysterical Pips, Carly and Michael, Brooke and Graham, and Jason. Was on pins and needles to see Jason sort of redeem himself, from the media trashing he took after MTM. LOVED seeing Melinda give him a standing O and shake her head in amazement. And David’s tearful reaction to winning, then pulling it together to sing the cheezy song, and gesturing for the others to join him on the catwalk– very emotional for me. Do I really have to wait till August to go to the tour? I think that tour will be hot, like Season 5. Heard Jason say he may play drums on tour behind Cook– with all the talent, they can have their own band up there. MJ, thanks a million for the recaps, clips, and enjoyment.

p.s. — re: the post about the mosh pit getting a “personal” view of Carrie, I agree; what has happened to her???? Did not like the outfit at all. She is so lovely, and I really liked the song, but “my mama would be so ashamed” is right.

I have never cried for an AI winner before but last night I was balling for DC. I have never been so happy to see someone win a cheesy TV show in my life. America got it right. A rocker won American Idol! Woohoo!!

He is a gorgeous, talented, and amazing man and I can’t wait to buy David’s album. I love him! I”m going to buy tickets for the tour now..

As for Jason, I just wanted to say I was actually happy to hear him sing Hallelujah again. It made me cry all over again. It was sang with more intensity and feeling. I actually think that Jason got a better intro than half of the other contestants, something that lots of my other Castro-fans don’t. They let Jason sing by himself maybe they couldn’t match him or who knows but he was the only one that got to sing a solo and to me that’s an honor.

As for being signed: Money does talk. I doubt seriously 19E will sign Jason but I do think that he will get signed by someone.

OH and DC’s Guitar Hero commercial was…HOT!

Wonderful write-up of the night, MJ — especially on the coronation.

I am psyched about the way it turned out. Except maybe for George Michael’s glasses.

Just watched David with ZZ Top, I just love that performance.

I did NOT like Carrie’s performance or outfit at all. Ugh.

A review of the finale of Idol show #7 which was overall pretty good .

Duets- I really liked ZZ top and Daivd Cook and how they let him sing -thier no diva thier. The next one I liked….
I liked Brook and Nash G it was sweet and only rehearsing once explaiins the raughness.Nash also not a diva and llike ZZ top put the spotlihgt on the contestant.
Non duet-Jason C-hedid a nice job just something bugs me about the song so the enjoyment in it was just not thier.I think both Brooke and him will gain something from the tour either expeariance or confidence.

The first dig-Jason C “pullling teeth to interview him”
The second digs “Left to soon” I have a feeling they wanted Carly and MJ in the top 4? I enjoyed seeing Micheal Johns again and wished he would of brung it more like last night durring the compitition than he may have gotten farther.I am in the minority but Carly Still seams screamy to me and still do not get her and seems not to connect.
What I learned the judges and producers are idiots and this year the manipulation was very obvious..They got thier final but not thier top 4 in a nasty way……..

Congrads to the winner——David C———

Extended Guitar Hero commercial with David Cook:

http://community.livejournal.com/davidcookai7/221239.html

One thing is for certain. This finale topped last season’s by a mile.

It is so refreshing to read the latest Carrie snark. What happened to the performer who was too wooden and robotic?

Me thinks the one performer who got short changed was Kristy Lee Cook. She lasted longer than MJ, yet got no solo last night. MJ was front and centre of very song he was in. Weren’t MJ and Carly pimped enough during the show?

I think AI owed Jason that solo given the way he was treated during his exit. And he absolutely shone on that vocal. Too bad the camera didn’t flash to Simon when it was over.

Right after Cook was pronounced as winner, the camera did show JeffA in the audience standing and applauding. That was before the judges’ reactions were shown. Interesting edit job.
Had heard ‘Apologize’ on the radio, never took the time to find out One Republic was the band behind it. Has anyone bought that CD?
And Archie’s duet with Ryan Tedder was quite illuminating.

I thought that was a good finale last night. So much better than last year because they kept the focus mainly on this year’s contestants as I feel it should be:

Favourite things about the night:

1) Two very classy guys – for the last few months, the judges and TPTB have been acting like asses and some of their fans have managed to act even worse, but the two David’s have been class acts throughout. Nice to see that you can compete and still be on friendly terms.

2) Syesha and Seal – they were smoking hot (and that was a fab dress for Syesha)

3) The Pips – Since Gladys is still alive, I can support this kind of re-writing of history and those guys were hilarious.

4) One Republic and Archie – that was amazing. They suited each other so well. Nice note for Archie to go out on proving that he can more than share the stage with a current pop act on a hit song (which has vaulted back into the Top 25 of iTunes this morning).

5) ZZ Top and Cookie – Sure, the band is a little old school (formed in 69 and last hit was a while ago), but it was obvious that David was having fun singing with them. I wish they had done their patented guitar spin, though.

6) Donna Summer Group Number – That was simply terrific. The girls looked great (finally, somebody figured out how to dress Carly) and sounded in good voice. Amanda was hilarious. Donna Summer was off the chart. The woman still has it. I loved her handing her mic to Syesha. A Diva who is not a diva. Yay!

7) Bryan Adams Group Number – Another fantastic group number and Bryan seemed to really enjoy all the cheese of the performance.

Ryan dancing – he is such a good sport.

9) Michael Johns – he was everywhere. Do you think they are going to sign him? LOL. The producers did much better picking songs for him than he did.

10) Oops. I’ve run out of room in the top 10. But I want to mention Brooke singing with Nash (so great for her), Jason with his solo (allowing him to prove the critics wrong), Randy wearing red (that made me laugh, dude has no fashion sense, but at least he is consistent) and all the top 12 back.

And Congratulations to Cookie!

Things I did not like:

1) Jordin’s dress. Seriously, she needs to fire that stylist. Like somebody said on Pulse, she looked like she was wearing a golden teapot.

2) Simon apologizing. Dude, just own your opinions even if you are proved to be dead wrong. It comes off as cheap and pandering. Plus, it telegraphed the ending. Way to suck the suspense out of the show. Simon’s ego knows no limits.

3) Mike Meyers bit went on too long (but it was cute when he tried to shave Cookie and the two David’s collapsed in laughter).

4) Carrie singing, again. Seriously, she’s fantastic and the song was great, but does she have to be on 10 times every season?

5) That coronation song. How do they manage to get worse every year. I couldn’t believe that Magic Rainbows. Gah!

I missed my subway stop this morning and 20 minutes were added to my commute and its all David Cook’s fault. Why? Because I was so stoked about his win last night I was online way later than I should have been (and the night before way later than I should have been because I was voting for him and posting here) so I fell asleep on my train and went way out of my way. Ah, well, he’s well worth it.

This clip below I think is a revelation about Archie. He seems relaxed, comfortable and much more articulate than in any other interview I’ve seen him do. I think he was truly relieved and will do better without the burden of this win, I’m not sure he would’ve been able to handle it without losing part of what makes him (Good Lord, I sound like Paula, let me shut up now.)

My Fox Utah

Here is the link to Brooke White and Nash I do not think thier was a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_TYVwHmJVI

Dorothy Lucey, the entertainment reporter for my local Fox L.A. affiliate, phoned into the morning show, Good Day LA. She was at the show last night and said that George Michael was not Nigel’s so-called biggest star in the world. GM arrived terribly late so his song was not fully rehearsed, and Nigel didn’t realize it would run so long. She said GM actually bumped the “biggest star in the world,” which was . . .

. . . Iron Man?

Loved the Guitar Hero/Risky Business commercials! Absolute GENIUS!

You know my husband became ENRAGED at the opening because Archie was wearing a t-shirt?! What was the deal with that anyway? He was one of the few contestants that wore a jacket from the very beginning. Visually, I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it was right either. What could possibly have been the purpose of that?!

Season 5′s finale was amazing and ever since they’ve been going down a notch. I don’t think many would disagree. Season 5 was special all the way around.

I didn’t get into it like I have in previous years. Donna Summer can still sing but, seriously. Bryan Adams…always have enjoyed him but, come on. I loved ‘Apologize’ and I was impressed with Syesha on everything she sang. She has real stage presence and we have not seen the last of her.

I like the song ‘Praying for Time’ but George Michael looks like a vampire and I couldn’t get past it.

Jordin has really learned to own the stage. She did really well and I realize I’ve been too hard on her since last season. Loved the shot of Blake in the audience mouthing the words along with her.

Then, when DC won and he started crying. Gawd, I lost it. I’m used to seeing him have it all together. I am really, really happy for him and I’m looking forward to both of these guys’ albums in the coming year.

MJ, thank you for this site and for all the great information, spoiler-y or not, you gave us. And for always keeping it real.

My husband actually watched parts of it with me (he hates Idol) and even he said that as pretty as Carrie is, as nice a voice she has, he couldn’t pick her out of a group of 10 other blond singers. Heh. I think when they mentioned Carly & MJ left too soon, it was more indicative that Kristy and Syesha should not have gone so far, rather than Brooke or Jason…

Yes, the least they could do was give Jason a solo after the way they treated him. But, didn’t that song go to the top of the itune’s charts after Jason sang it before? TPTB were probably thinking “money”.

Great show and looking forward to music from David and David.

Why didn’t Syesha sing Donna Summer’s ‘Last Dance’ instead of ‘Fever.’ That would have been the perfect song for her.

mj – I don’t know if you care, but if want to correct the song title of the Gladys Knight song for the archives, it was actaully “Midnight Train to Georgia”.

deleted – too long!! I’ll try again…

I am still wondering if Jason got the solo because of his fan base and the things they did to show their love. I admit I sent in two donations to IGB on his behalf. And a post card or two… Having 150 balloons delivered to the studio may have shown the love. Oh, and Jason did beat out David C. and David A. in votes that one week.

Congratulations again to David Cook! This has to be a bittersweet time for his Mom. I don’t want to say anything else.

Can we get the videos and songs on i-tunes and are they on their yet? Please let me know. Thanks.

First off love your blog

Im sooo glad i set up the dvr to tape 15 mins longer, just a gut feeling this was gonna go over!

Love the show, all and all I am very happy…was in tears last night when they said cookie won…LOVE HIM!! Was in tears again today at work when I was watching the clips again!!

Some things about the show, Digged the hero’s number with the two Davids. Thought the Mike Meyers thing was dragged out a bit but had me cracking up when he tried to shave Cookie

Thought the Syesha number with seal was pretty good, some messy parts but not bad and that girl can sing…plus she looked hot and has great stage presence

Loved Jason singing Hallelujah again and seeing him shaking and so sincere and looking into his eyes…./melt

Liked the girls singing however im with alot of you and wanted to kick Amanda in the ass and boot her off stage…my god could she be anymore obnoxious?!?
LOVED ryan dancing on the sides, that gave me a good chuckle!

Carly and Michael singing….love these two and love them singing together! Would of liked it if it was more raw and the music wasnt bailing so loud in the background, but LOVE THEM!

Jimmy Kimmel had me cracking up and OMG it was Sanjaya…that made my daughters night..she loved him last season haha

Loved the guys singing with bryan adams….my he has aged, i feel old now

LOVED david cook and zz top!!! BRooke, she was greating singing with Graham Nash!!

OMG i almost missed the guitar heros commerical!!! was letting the dog out came back and was like holy crap is that cookie with no pants!!!! Had to rewind and pause and /drool and /swoon

Jonas Brothers….another event that made my daughter VERY VERY happy!

Renaldo…was cute but dragged out and an excuse for me to get up and get a drink

Loved Archie with one republic…he should of sang that song during the competition

Jordan sparks, loved her but she sooo could of done without that dress…it did nothing for the girl!

haha Love the gladys knight bit, downloaded that to my ipod

Carrie Underwood, well i was scared i would see her underware…was that a dress or just a shirt? and those upshots of her had me scared a little, but that girl can sing! love her!

George michael…omg dragged out…way too long but was nice to hear him sing

And finally Cookie wins!! I was crying and screaming and so darn happy! And to see his family and how classy of a guy he was to include archie in his singing….awww I love him!!!

All in all loved the show, and im beyond happy that cookie won, he deserved it!!!

Thank you, MJ, for putting up with this crazy Cook lovah. I’m so happy that my favorite finally won.

Does anyone know if there are mp3′s anywhere of the group songs, duets, etc from last night?

Had heard à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Apologizeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ on the radio, never took the time to find out One Republic was the band behind it. Has anyone bought that CD?

Yes, I have it. It’s a pretty good pop/rock album. It can drag a bit in the middle, because a lot of the songs bunched in there sound really similar. But overall, it’s pretty good. My favorite song, by a comfortable mile, is “Come Home.” It’s just one of those I identify with, and it is GORGEOUS.

I love 1R’s sound. They’re probably my favorite band right now. They’re about to release the third single from the album (“Say (All I Need)”), so while “Apologize” has definitely been a smash (and scared Ryan Tedder into worrying that the song would make 1R a one-hit-wonder) and what catapulted them to the top, there are some other great songs on the album too.