Tonight was the first of a two-night finale and the last chance for the Idol finalists to secure your votes and the right to be named champion of Season 7 of American Idol.
The Idol producers tried to instill a bit of drama to the proceedings by painting a prize fighter motif the likes of which we haven’t seen since the last Mike Tyson – Lennox Lewis bout—they even brought out Michael “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” Buffer to introduce the final competitors.
And those competitors were the Davids—Cook vs. Archuleta…youth vs. experience …balladeer vs. innovative rocker…you get the idea.
Ryan brought of the contestants, announced that David A. won the coin toss after last week’s show giving him the option of going first or second—he chose second, and then asked the judges what the boys need to do tonight. As usual, Randy and Paula offered nothing while Simon told them they need “a desire to win and you have to hate your opponent”—and then the boys ignored Simon and gushed over each other.
Finally Some Singing!
Round 1: Industry legend Clive Davis picks the songs
For David Cook, Clive selected the U2 anthem, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. And for David Archuleta, Clive chose “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Sir Elton John. To help the boys learn their songs, Idol brought back Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Fifteen minutes into the show, David Cook took to the stage for the first performance of the night. His version of the U2 classic was similar to other Cook classics—he started off mellow and built to a nice crescendo. Without his trusty guitar around his neck, Cook ventured around the stage and finished up on the catwalk behind the judges. Randy liked Cook’s work, Paula played with the song title and told him that he “may not have found what your looking for, but we sure have”, and Simon finished off the judging by calling the performance “phenomenal”. Looks like Cook’s put a little pressure on young David A.
Sitting on the stairs at the back of the stage, Archuleta squinted his eyes and tried his darndest to provide a little originality to the great Elton John/Bernie Taupin classic. Archie did a nice job of singing the song, he even added a few runs that made it somewhat enjoyable, but his dance moves were very awkward—he can be thankful that “So You Think You Can Dance” doesn’t begin until Thursday. Randy called the performance “flawless and unbelievable molten hot”, Paula said she had chills up and down her arms and played with the lyrics again saying “the sun is never going down on you”. Simon acted as though he was going to rain on the Archuleta parade by reminding everyone how easy it would to get too wrapped up in the emotion of the night, but then surprised everyone by saying that it was David A.’s best performance of the season and then declared Round 1 for Archie—who was in tears on the stage.
New Songs
Round 2: Songwriter’s Choice
David Cook selected “Dream Big” by Emily Shackleton and David Archuleta chose “In this Moment” by Ryan Gilmore—don’t worry if you haven’t heard of either of these songs because no one has…they were part of a group of ten songs written for Idol and the winner will record their choice as they first release.
Cook grabbed his guitar and rocked out to his song. The song had a nice sound for him—he gave it a bit of an edge, modulated the rhythms, and sang very clean. Randy hated the song, but like David’s performance; Paula credited him for helping us get to know an unknown song; and Simon called it what it was: “a lightweight song”. He liked the end, but didn’t think it sounded like a winning moment—which I’m sure made Emily Shackleton feel good. He said that Cook did well for what he had—which is kind of like Paula’s “you look really great tonight”.
No big surprise with Archie’s song—it was a ballad that gave the teenage finalist the opportunity to close his eyes and sing his little heart out. Like Cook’s song, this wasn’t a great song, but Archie sang it well—although I was getting a little nauseas listening to the sugar sweet lyrics…”I want to be in this moment”…OMG! Can’t anyone write a song that actually sounds like a pop song and not something you’d hear at a funeral?! Randy wasn’t crazy for the song, but he pulled out his “you could sing the phonebook” complement and Paula essentially echoed Randy’s words. Simon thought Archie picked the better song and then gave Round 2 to him—more tears from Archie and a look of utter fear crossed his face.
Someone’s Last Song
Round 3: Contestant’s Choice
For his final song of the evening, David Cook decided on “The World I Know” by Collective Soul—a song he has never performed before while David Archuleta recycled “Imagine” by the great John Lennon.
Cook grabbed his acoustic guitar and gave his all for your votes. I wasn’t familiar with the song, but I kind of liked it—it was a bit mellow, but had an obvious emotional feel to it—as Cook finished, he was holding back the tears. Randy gave him props, Paula babbled on and gave him a standing O. Before giving his critique, Simon told everyone that he thought Cook was one of the nicest contestants and then said his song choice was bad—he should have went with “Billie Jean” or “Hello”. But Cook said he agreed to an extent with Simon, but said he opted to go new vs. retread and was happy with his decision—what was he supposed to say?
So with everything pointed toward an Idol crown, Archuleta stood at center stage, squinted, and sang to his legions of fans. The crowd loved the song and so did Randy who anointed Archie the best singer of the season and the American Idol. Paula claimed to be speechless—probably the most sensible thing she has said all season. With tears filling his eyes and a look like he was going to wet his pants on his face, Archie listened as Simon confirmed that David A. leveled David C. with a knockout punch in Round 3.
With three rounds of singing in the books and the voters at home feverishly dialing for their favorite David, Ryan led the finalists off the stage and introduced Season 2 champion, Reuben Studdard who sang “Celebrate Me Home” against a backdrop of Season 7 highlights. It was probably the best performance of the evening and one that showed that Idol winners actually have talent.
So if the American public votes the way the judges saw it, there should be little mystery when Ryan announces the winner at the end of tomorrow’s two-hour finale which will serve as a reunion of sorts for the contestants who were booted from the show during the season.
Tune in tomorrow to see more filler than a hot dog factory and maybe even a few guest stars you wouldn’t expect to see at an Idol finale. There might even be some memorable songs being sung—you just never know what is going to happen when you combine Fox, American Idol, and a fickle public.
Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…
Charlie
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