Two surprises on "American Idol" last night. The show finale is a time to showcase possible numbers for the tour. I usually hate these numbers. But - in advance of introducing George Michaels with a new song - first the Top 10 women (plus Amanda Overmeyer), then the Top 10 men, then both performed George Michaels' songs. They all looked sharp - especially the men, in black suits - and it was fun to see contestants coming back (especially the men, including Chikezie, David Hernandez, Michael Johns, even Jason Castro), and I thought the men really did a nice job with a favorite of mine, "Father Figure" (which of all things I associate with Jesup, Georgia). "Faith" and "Freedom" also weren't bad. It's almost enough to make you want to check out the tour. We had missed two other highlights, Stephanie and my colleagues tell me: David Cook singing "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Top, and Carly Smithson and Michael Johns singing "The Letter" (Stephanie had seen the two of them singing U2's "One" and Spencer Davis Group's "Hold On" on "Ellen" a couple of weeks ago - hot duo!)
The second surprise was the final outcome: David Cook beat David Archuleta. We've been David Cook fans all along, but I really believed Archuleta would win. Only 16, he had a great voice, was confident but not cocky, and usually picked great songs. Cook - whose rock style I preferred - peaked mid-season when several weeks in a row - he re-did - using others' models - pop classics into rock songs: "Billie Jean" being the highlight. Still, Archuleta was probably better than Cook the last week or two, and I felt he fit the profile of an "Idol" winner more. Cook, I believe, would probably have hit records without winning "Idol" - maybe even more so, without the "Idol" producers' constraints. So I felt bad for Archuleta, even though I personally preferred Cook.
To see the George Michael medley by the "Idol" contestants, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKDHpNvPIxc
And to see Cook and Top perform "Man": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oj6EQPPY24
The second surprise was the final outcome: David Cook beat David Archuleta. We've been David Cook fans all along, but I really believed Archuleta would win. Only 16, he had a great voice, was confident but not cocky, and usually picked great songs. Cook - whose rock style I preferred - peaked mid-season when several weeks in a row - he re-did - using others' models - pop classics into rock songs: "Billie Jean" being the highlight. Still, Archuleta was probably better than Cook the last week or two, and I felt he fit the profile of an "Idol" winner more. Cook, I believe, would probably have hit records without winning "Idol" - maybe even more so, without the "Idol" producers' constraints. So I felt bad for Archuleta, even though I personally preferred Cook.
To see the George Michael medley by the "Idol" contestants, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKDHpNvPIxc
And to see Cook and Top perform "Man": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oj6EQPPY24
As a special bonus, see Johns and Smithson's sizzling two-song performance on "Ellen": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yct-zMznEs
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