Big David Climbs to the Top of American Idol
David Cook, who earned comparisons to Chris Daughtry all season, ended up going one better than the chrome-domed chart topper.
The 25-year-old former bartender (emphasis on the “former”) was named the winner of the seventh season of American Idol Wednesday night, besting velvety voiced runner-up David Archuleta by 12 million votes despite the massive amount of fawning the judges did over the 17-year-old ballad specialist last nightand the really unnecessary amount of criticism Simon Cowell directed at Cook, who more than held his own.
“When I went back home and watched it, it wasn’t quite so clear-cut as we called it. David, I will take this opportunity to apologize, because I think I was verging on disrespectful to you,” Cowell, who apparently reads the comment sections on all the blogs, told Cook before the big reveal.
“You’re tryers, and you’ve both given it your best. You’re both nice people and, for the first time ever, I don’t really care who wins. I think you’ve both done terrific,” the Brit said.
“I’m honored and proud to be sitting here,” Paula Abdul said “This is anything but a finalit’s the start of the destination of your career.” All right.
A record 97.5 million voteswith, as Ryan Seacrest teased at the beginning of the broadcast, 56 percent going to one David and 44 percent toward the otherdecided this year’s contest, which for most of the season seemed to be in Archuleta’s pocket, at least as far as voter appeal and basic vocal skill were concerned.
But Cook, with his piercing gaze, garage-rock vibe and a deep, raspy timbre that is equally suitable to the sort of records Clive Davis is gonna want to make, hung right in there, going from dark horse to obvious contender to fan favorite.
When Seacrest announced the news, Archuleta, if not relieved, seemed perfectly happy to finally turn the spotlight over to his fellow David, secure in the knowledge that his star is only going to rise (and looking more composed than he usually did after a round of gushing accolades from the judges).
Tears immediately made their way into Cook’s eyes, and then the stoic, shrug-favoring rocker had to cover his face and take a moment while the emotion flooded through him.
“I started this seasonmuch to Simon’s chagrinas the word nerd and I’m absolutely at a loss for words,” the new American Idol said. “Thank you guys. This is amazing. Thank you.”
The finale concluded with Blue Springs, Mo.’s favorite son crooning the winning ballad from this year’s Idol songwriting contest, “Time of My Life” by Regie Hamm.
Then, although the homebound audience didn’t see it, the man of the hour was reportedly supposed to shout , “I’m going to Disney World!” when asked what he was going to do next.
Really. (Albeit because Idol producers Fremantle Media and 19 Entertainment have licensed the rights to build the American Idol Experience, an attraction opening in January 2009 at the Orlando theme park.)
Actually, there were quite a few Disneyfied touches in this Idol finale, which for the most part was thankfully light on audition-round horrors and shameless promotions (oh, there were some, of course) and heavy on tasteful collaborations, big-ticket performers and celebratory pop, as befitting a show that supposedly exists to better the state of the music industry.
From ABC (owned by Disney) personality Jimmy Kimmel yukking it up for the crowd to Disney Channel heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers making that crowd scream its collective head off, the Mouse House had a larger than usual presence tonight.
Perhaps because it’s looking to lure the kid-friendly David A. into the fold? (Miley sure would make a great prom date…)
Otherwise, some highlights of tonight’s two-hour sendoff:
- Jason Castro, who some called a breath of fresh air and others referred to as this season’s Sanjaya, reprising his touching cover of “Hallelujah.” The difference: Castro takes us over the rainbow, while Kimmel jokes about valet-parking his car and wondering how much to tip Sanjaya.
- The surprisingly unscrewy duets: Syesha Mercado joining Seal on “Waiting for You”; Brooke White stripping down (acoustically) for Graham Nash, who embodies the sound she was striving for all season; OneRepublic with Archuleta; Cook and ZZ Top; Donna Summer and Bryan Adams doing the medley thing with the top gals and guys.
- A ’70s-era clip of Gladys Knight singing “Midnight Train to Georgia” with some oddly recognizable Pips: Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. A shameless promotion for the upcoming comedy Tropic Thunder, but hot just the same. And all money earned from downloading the video on iTunes goes to charity.
- Seacrest opting not to get too fancy when announcing the results and getting to the point with class and respect.
Lowlights:
- The admittedly shameless promotion of the upcoming Mike Myers flick The Love Guru, which would have been acceptable if only the movie didn’t appear so disturbingly unfunny.
- Making the Top 12 wear all white during the opening medley. Are they supposed to be pretending they’re in heaven? Or driving ice cream trucks?
- Could Amanda Overmyer have wanted to be there less?
On the fence:
- David A. and David C. doing their best Tom Cruise-in-Risky Business impressions in dual commercials touting the jam-tasticness of Guitar Hero.
- George Michael. We weren’t too bothered by the ballad, but it would have been more fun to see him in “Faith” mode.
While viewership has been down overall this season, off about 7 percent from last year, plenty of people have remained enthralled with the star-making going down in this corner of the country.
Last night’s performance showdown attracted 27.1 million people, a clean victory over the last two thirds of Dancing with the Stars’ three-hour finale overkill, for which 20.1 million viewers tuned in to see Kristi Yamaguchi hoist the mirror-ball trophy.
As always, it will be interesting to see how many fans this year bet on one of two Davids and watched him ride all the way to the finish line.
Idol BTS: The Davids Are the Goliath
Both are totally swoon-worthy, and both are totally capable of making the audience go ape-dookie. This is the lesson learned after being in attendance at tonight's taping of American Idol, where David Cook delivered his best performance yet (a standing O by Randy J!) and David Archuleta proved that despite whatever nightmare of a stage dad he may or may not have behind the scenes (you know you've heard it, too), the kid is impassioned and sincere and up to his hair follicles in talent. (You can't help but feel for him.)
So here's how the competish is shaping up: David and David as the two seemingly unbeatable Goliaths. And the dark horse? Jason Castro, says me! The kid is, as a certain Lost castmember just told me recently, "pure sex and pure talent." Whether you see the former or the later the following remains true: The votes just keep pouring in for the dreadlocked crooner.
Meanwhile, if you weren't one of the hundreds of crazed audience members rocking your Simon for President and I Love David posters tonight, here's a little BTS fodder to make you feel as though you were there…or at least read a post from some kind (and obsessed) soul who was…
Limo Alert: Minnie Driver and Paula Abdul nearly ran me over! Minnie on my way in…Paula on my way out. This is what you get for trying to beeline through the VIP entrance and exit, FYI. Not to be advised without full-body armor! Minnie was giddily squealing with her girlfriend—"No one is excited as we are!"—before skipping to the AI stage, and Paula hugged my mom, which means she's alll right by me.
VIP Section: During the taping, Minnie Driver and her friend were sitting right next to Teri Hatcher (with her daughter, Emerson)…There wasn't much interaction between the two TV starlets, but Emerson did ask Randy to pose for a photo, and Simon gave Minnie his highest form of an intimate greeting: the double air kiss.
They Can Just Get Along: Just so's you knows, Simon and Paula were actually…wait for it…friendly. They chatted and laughed quite a bit during off-camera moments, and dare I say Simon actually seemed a bit affectionate toward her? Next week: Stand by for monkeys to fly out of my keister.
Also Spotted: Ramiele and David Hernandez were sitting next to each other in the audience, and Ryan had to fill David's seat when he took too long getting a soda during a break…David Cook came into the crowd after his performance (during the break) to give his family some nice big hugs…and Whitney Port from The Hills was spotted—but not with any other Hills castmembers, as far as we could tell. Guess her new fashion job is not all that life consuming after all!
Who is your favorite after tonight? Comment below!
—Additional reporting by Korbi Ghosh
Emily the Strange - The First Movie Adapted From a Sticker?
Emily the Strange was created by Santa Cruz skateboarder Rob Reger in the early 1990’s to help promote his company Cosmic Debris Etc. Inc. Before becoming a cult counterculture icon, Emily began on a sticker that was passed out for free at concerts, record stores and skate shops to help promote Cosmic Debris. I give you this back story because I think it’s very important to establish that Emily The Strange will be the first movie ever to be adapted from a sticker. And I remember a few years back when people thought it was strange that DreamWorks was making a movie out of a line of action figures.
The character is a goth looking 13-year old girl who is usually accompanied by her four black cats: Sabbath - the troublemaker, Nee-Chee - the schemer, Miles - the creative, and Mystery, the leader of the group. The franchise has a considerable merchandising catalog, including clothing, stationery, stickers, and accessories, very popular with the Hot Topic crowd.
Dark Horse Entertainment president Mike Richardson will produce the film, which is currently on the hunt for a director. Richardson says that the filmmaker choice may in turn dictate what format will serve the story best: live-action, animation, or a combination of both. I can’t really imagine Emily the Strange as a live-action movie. May-be they could do a mixture using the Sin City approach. The story is said to be based on one of the four Emily the Strange young adult novels, which will be published next year by HarperCollins. Not much is known other than it will offer up some backstory on the character, and will feature her four cats.
The project is also not yet set-up at a studio. Universal, who is producing the comic book company’s Hellboy series, has a first-look deal.
source: The Hollywood Reporter
TV in comics update: Buffy, Angel, The Stranded and Serenity
Angel: After the Fall - Issues #1 through #3
As much as I’ve loved having Buffy back with an eighth season, I had mixed feelings when I heard Angel would be coming back in comic form (and following canon.) Firstly, Dark Horse passed on obtaining the license for the series (a thing I believe they later admitted regretting), meaning the two series would, again, not cross-over into each other. Secondly, I had my own assumption of what happened after the events in the televised “series finale,” and I knew they were going completely away from that (not that I felt I was right, mind you, just that they were going for a far-out-there world that could really only work in comics).
I’m happy to report that I was totally wrong to think this series would suck. So far, at three issues in, I’m hooked and loving it. The writing is on-par with what we’re used to from the televised show, if not better. The shockers thrown at us early on make fans of the series hungry to read more. It would be difficult to discuss this series with anyone without giving away some sort of spoiler. If you’ve been wondering if the series is worth picking up, definitely give the first three issues a try. They may be hard to find, though, as I’ve had to go to the comic store on release day mornings to get a copy before they sell out!
The Stranded - Issue #1
This series bears mention because it’s something a television network put out, Sci Fi, along with Virgin Comics. other than that, it’s not television related … yet, at least. I do wonder if the network is trying a new approach by releasing a comic book first, with a show based on it second. So far I’m not sure they could pull it off with the effects intact.
The first issue definitely has me interested to see where they are going with the series, and has a kind-of anime feel to it, though in the theme and not the art.
Serenity: Better Days
This one nearly flew under the radar for me, and I’m glad I caught wind of it early enough to keep a lookout for it next month. This is another series that will be co-written by the man him self, Joss Whedon, and at least according to my contacts at Dark Horse, is considered canon in the Firefly universe. The series is only set to run for three issues, just like the previous series, Serenity: Those Left Behind (which, sadly, I never picked up but plan to.)
’Better Days’ takes place in the Firefly timeframe, even though its title indicates it’s more movie-related. Somewhat more specifically, the series takes place “before the movie and before certain people were iced.” Look for the first issue on March 12.