My first-ever attempt to Live blog last night was an interesting experience. Between frantically trying to take notes and not miss anything…I missed some stuff! It also kept me from taking in the show as a whole. I’m re-watching the show today, and have to say kudos to the producers for putting together a highly entertaining show. I’d have to say this year was as at least as good as the fine Season 5 finale two years ago.
I’d been predicting a David Cook win for a few weeks. I figured he’d been picking up fans for awhile, including those of the eliminated Idols. He was knocking it out of the park with creative and versatile performances, while the assumed front-runner, David Archuleta, had a hard time leaving the comfort of his big ballad box. However, I had no idea how big Cookie’s fan base had become. After Tuesday’s Archie triple-whammy–delivering show stopping performances, receiving the pimp spot advantage and securing the judges stamp of approval–I thought the casual vote would give Archie the win. I completely underestimated the fan base. Cookie’s lead going into this thing must have been HUGE.
What were the judges up to Tuesday night? One poster here suggested that the negative judges comments for Cookie were an attempt to close the very wide gap between the Davids. Maybe Simon was simply trying to motivate the fans of his favorite contestant by using reverse psychology. Or, perhaps Simon was merely disappointed in his favorite, and blurted out the truth for once. Who knows. Too much time on the grassy knoll makes my head hurt. All I know is, at the end of Tuesday’s broadcast, what appeared to be a decisive win for Archuleta threw the Cookie-loving segment of the population into a tizzy. The stage was set for a nice buzz-creating “upset”. Good for ratings, good for the show. But bad for Simon, who had to apologize to Cook in order to save face.
However, for those of us who’d been watching this race closely, it wasn’t that big of an upset. We knew–as he sat at the top of Dial Idol and the iTunes charts–that Cookie had people. We just didn’t know quite how many.
Ya’ll know it. I’m happy with the outcome. Cookie played a great game. It was thrilling to watch. He was the stealth Idol. Who saw it coming? Well, I did a little. I jumped on the Cook Train at “Happy Together”. But at that point, most peeps were focused on The Chosen One, David Archuleta, and the so-called plants, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns–who seemed destined to go deep. Cookie came from behind and pwnd them all with his strong musical identity, smart song choices and confident performances. While Archie started off big, in the end he couldn’t match Cook’s maturity and experience. But, despite his youth, Archie didn’t give up the fight. In the end he proved to be a tough and gracious competitor. Archie needs more life experience to inform those beautiful vocals. A big door has just opened for him. When he walks through it, the opportunities to grow will be limitless. Take them Archie!
After re-watching the finale I realize I was a little bit of a cranky-pants in some my assessments last night. That’ll happen when you’re live blogging and trying to keep your website up at the same time!
Although they weren’t entirely on the same page, Syesha Mercado and Seal weren’t really the hot mess I thought at first.
The girls group number: Donna Summer did look a bit creaky, but she’s still got the chops. Her new single “Stamp Your Feet” could be a club chart success. The girls danced and sang their faces off–just what a big production number should be. Poor Amanda Overmyer looked really out of place. I missed Ryan Seacrest jumping into the number and dancing like a dork the first time around. That was all kinds of awesome.
Archie and Cookie sang a duet. They were OK. The song was not. Me no likey Nickelback.
The guys number was all kinds of off key and awkward until the Davids took the stage. Even then, the vocal blending? Not so hot. Things improved considerably when Bryan Adams showed up. Still, I love the big numbers. The singing! The dancing! Even when it’s bad, it’s good. The finale had plenty of them, keeping me way entertained.
OMG. Carrie Underwood forgot her pants!
I read that Brooke White and Graham Nash only rehearsed “Teach Your Children Well” once. It showed. Still, singing with Nash must have been a thrilling moment for Brooke.
Even with the element of surprise taken away, Jason Castro’s performance of “Hallelujah” was simply stunning. The second coming of Sanjaya/John Stevens? I don’t think so!
So glad the producers kept the trainwreck audition nonsense to a minimum this year.
Carly Smithson and Michael Johns were all kinds of Hot. Too bad they didn’t play the game better. TPTB: We really thought you’d last longer! Here, have a duet.
David Cook jams with the Z. Cook is cool ’cause he’s game for everything. He seemed to be having a blast.
David Archuleta did a nice job with One Republic. Maybe there’s hope for Archie on the Pop charts yet.
Forget the last few tedious weeks, where the kids were freaking out and wearing out. Idol Season 7 had some great moments, some fantastic performances. Taken as a whole, this is a real talented bunch of kids. Thankfully, finale week brought back the energy, and the season ended on a high note. I do believe a few of the contestants will move on to very successful careers.
Bye Season 7. As always, I’m a little sad it’s over.
