Thursday, May 22, 2008

American Idol: Can I Have My Life Back Now?



All year long, they’ve been saying that this is the Best. Talent. Ever.—and last night, I thought maybe they had a point. That duet between Carly Smithson and Michael Johns was all kinds of awesome and my boo Jason Castro totally nailed Hallelujah.
As for David Cook’s big win? I thought he deserved it. I don’t like his taste in music (Our Lady Peace? Collective Soul? Really, David Cook? Really?) But he has a good voice and a pleasant way about him and the other contestants seem to really love him (in fact, he and Michael Johns should totally get a room.)
Of course, I don’t buy for a second that Cook’s a “rocker” Please, he’s only a rocker when compared to David Archuleta, who is about as harmless as a kitten holding a baby chick sipping a Shirley Temple. But I liked that Cook took l’il David under his wing—I got a real Courtship of Eddie’s Father vibe from the two of them. (Come to think of it, can David Cook actually adopt David Archuleta? Because getting that child away from his creepy dad would be a real happy ending.) Also, I cried when David Cook’s brother looked into the camera and said, “That’s my brother!” Call me sentimental.

Question: Was George Michael’s halting, haunted performance brilliant or weird, or both?


1 comment:

Jay Berg said...

Max: Hilarious comments! Re: that low-grad dude, Michaels, I had to rewind the DVR 3 times to understand his comment to Seacrest at the very end. He mumbled something about having a cold. Well-that would certainly explain it, eh?! His 1986 concert at the then, Capital Center, still remains in my top 10 of all time (and I've seen hundreds). However, his despicable behavior over the last 10 years has left me nauseous at worst and disinterested at best.
By the way, here is my 2 cents worth on American Most Popular, er Idol. This is my first season and I predicted weeks ago that Cook would win. Here were my observations then:
(1) This is only a popularity contest and has nothing at all to do with real singing talent.
(2) Syesha is a fabulous talent and should be the AI, but won't. I predict she will be the most successful of the contestants in the long run. She will be, at the very least, a Broadway/movie star.
(3) Archeleta has an excellent voice but his static "deer in the headlights" look is a problem for me. Of course the guy is only 17 so there is time to mature as an overall artist.
(4) Cook WILL win. However, I understand Cook has received a recording contract in the past. I'm not sure that is fair and takes away from the overall spirit and purpose of the show's concept. He will be a rock star for sure.
Now, that being said, to those people who think that David A should be the AI, get a grip. Again, this isn't about who has the best voice (Syesha actually wins that argument). It's about charisma and talent and Cook has it in spades over David A. He is the epitomy, actually, of what this show purports to be! And, my lord, what a back story this dude brought to the show! Great ending and finally, the public got it right. One last thing: Monday night on Leno (the night before the sing off), Simon admitted that he actually wanted Cook to win-because of the fact that he was a bartender and had struggled as a working stiff while David A had years to mature and experience life. Interesting that Simon lambasted Cook the next night, eh?! Was he using reverse psychology, thinking the public would then overwhelmingly phone in for Cook (I recall the same thing happen for Syesha when everyone expected her to be bounced way before she was)? Tie that in with his interesting comment on Wednesday's show last night that on second viewing it wasn't as clear cut as he thought. HMMMM. (This was interesting since David A clearly was the winner Tuesday.)