Virginia Is For Families

The boxing analogy was working pretty well as American Idol had it’s biggest night of the year. This is what it’s all about and why we have been patiently listening to “pitchy” notes and half baked versions of songs we have always loved. And things were going well until the introductions when David Cook announced that it wasn’t a competition for him. He was going to have “fun”.

If losing is fun I guess he must have had a great time last night. In any case he started with I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Lookin For. And it was a solid if predictable performance. His second song was something written for the program called Dream Big. And I am sure the writers and their families were excited about his performance of it.

And his final performance was The World I Know. This was his choice and his voice was in great shape but he should have sung Billy jean again. Perhaps he would not have had enough “fun” performing the same song twice.

If he was competing he would have done it. He would have stirred the soul of the audience by singing it even better than he sang it the first time. Perhaps that would have solved the problem of singing the same song twice.

Because there is always room for improvement on this show. But he didn’t and so he lost his best chance to win the competition. And I’m not sure he even had much fun because he cried after finishing his last performance. Why did he cry? Possibly because he threw the fight. It must hurt terribly to not show everybody what you can really do.

Archy on the other hand came out to win. He wants to win. You can tell. He sang Don’t Let The sun Go Down On Me for his first number. And the nerves were evident but then he picked it up a notch and really got into it. He goes somewhere when he sings. We just hope he will keep his eyes open so that he doesn’t fall off the stage.

For his second song he did something called In This Moment. Once again we had a song created for the event and he pretty much did the same thing that he did for the first number. Except the nerves were gone. Same genre, same emotions. And the same little girls screaming at him from the front of the stage.

And for his third song David once again sang Imagine. And while he was singing I was imagining him challenging himself in the way David Cook did earlier. David C noted that he had never performed his third song before.

But Archie did a nice job. He is totally committed to that song and he can claim the prize for being the very best vocalist of the evening. It was absolutely beautiful.

But I was vaguely disappointed by the whole thing. I would have liked either of them to sing something like Billy Jean. I would have liked to see a star born right there on the stage. And I don’t think it’s ever going to happen on this show. Because a real genius is not going to give it up. He or she might tease us a little bit during the season with flashes of brilliance but then will clam up during the finale and avoid the trap.

Archy wins tonight. He will be happy. David Cook will be happy to go off and explore on his own. But he still has to deal with the tour and singing the same songs every night. Bummer. He better have his pirate joke working really well.

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David Cook

Brilliant

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Billy Jean

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Update: So David Cook is the new American Idol! And the show tonight was inspirational in a way that last night’s show was not. I am happy that America got it right in spite of the fact that Mr. Cook played a little hide and seek last night. He certainly had Simon fooled. Apologies all around!

David did show flashes of genius during the season. And maybe he DID want to win. He certainly seemed very happy after he found out about it. Maybe he simply didn’t want to see Archie disappointed. This is one very intelligent, talented and caring person.

And maybe American Idol has learned a little bit about letting these young people go out and explore their talents in ways that make sense to them. The well documented dust up between the first winner, Kelly Clarkson, and Clive Davis may have led to some discussions in that regard. And allowing Fantasia to do her thing last week certainly gives credence to this notion.

All I know for sure is that I am very happy David C won. Archie is a nice kid and he has a bright future but he is not ready for New York, New York. He needs to finish high school in a way that Jordin Sparks did not. And speaking of Ms. Sparks it certainly was wonderful to see her back after the doctor imposed hiatus. She looks and sounds great. And so does Carrie Underwood.

The show has been over for about ninety minutes and here is what it says in Wikipedia about all of this.

The program seeks to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition are determined by public voting by phone. The format features three judges who give critiques of the contestants’ performances in order to facilitate the voting: record producer Randy Jackson; pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul; and music executive Simon Cowell. The show is hosted by former children’s game show emcee and television personality Ryan Seacrest; comedian Brian Dunkleman cohosted with Seacrest in season one. The American Idol band is led by Rickey Minor. The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the US and Thursday and Friday nights in the UK (two days after the US airing). In its seven seasons, its winners have been Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks and David Cook. Hicks was the oldest winner at 29, Sparks the youngest at just 17.

Congratulations David Cook. It didn’t take someone long to add your name. And congratulations American Idol on a great show. You are showcasing our young people and their talent in a very positive way.

And the final shot of the show could not have been any better if it was scripted. David Cook’s brother looking into the camera a proud and happy guy forgetting for a moment his fight with cancer.

“That’s my brother!”

Perfect.

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We are nearly at the end of the competition. So let’s get down to business.

David A sang And So It Goes by Billy Joel. This was Paula’s choice. It was a beautiful performance of a song he probably was not familiar with and he mastered it. He has such a pure voice but he needs a song that will let him show some personality.

His second song was With You, a Chris Brown song, and David chose this one for himself. It started off a little rough but he got into it by the chorus. He could learn to do an up tempo song without too much difficulty.

His final song was Longer by Dan Fogelberg and it suited him well enough. The key change helped with the emotional momentum. David’s biggest problem is his inability to convey very many emotions when he sings. Compare him with last year’s winner, Jordin Sparks, who was also seventeen and you can see immediately a vast difference.

Syesha sang If I Ain’t Got You , an Alicia Keys tune , and Randy chose this one. She did an excellent job this time hitting the strong parts and keeping it melodic. She is confident and looks amazing.

Her second song was Fever chosen by herself. It was also a terrific performance. Her personality came across very well and it was a great arrangement.

And finally she sang Hit Me Up, a Rhianna song, It was a solid contemporary performance and ended a great night for this girl. After tonight she absolutely belongs in the finals.

David Cook sang First Time Ever I Saw Your Face a gift from Simon. It was a tough challenge and he met it with a contemporary rendition of a great classic.

He then sang Dare Ya To Move chosen by himself. I had never heard this song and did not much care for it. David was pitchy in the beginning and it went on from there but as a whole it did not work well.

The producers chose I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith. It was a good song choice for him but he hit a bad note at the end. Other than that it was a good solid performance from David if a little predictable by this point in the competition.

None of the contestants were at their very best having to learn so many songs plus visit their hometowns for all the shenanigans there.

Who will be leaving? It’s a tough choice. It seems unlikely that David A will go since he is the best singer. Syesha is the best entertainer and she should definitely stay. David Cook is the most inventive singer but he has a problem with consistency. He is like Blake Edwards in a way although their styles are vastly different.

Last year Melinda, the best singer, went home in third place. If history repeats itself David A should be leaving us. David Cook will be the 08 Blake and go home second.

Syesha will be this year’s Jordin. Lots of personality and a great voice. The entertainer wins in the end.

Will it happen? We will see!

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Well the first thing to say about reality television is that ALL people do not like it. I know a guy who doesn’t like it. Because he doesn’t have a tv and doesn’t know about it. He is dealing with more than enough reality on a daily basis.

Why would he like another load dumped on him when he is fortunate enough to be home and not slaving away at some poor paying job?

But he is in the minority. There are lots of folks who are like him and yet enjoy watching television and their favorite reality show or shows.

Two. Five. Ten. How many shows does the average viewer watch? The one I find most totally weird is The Bachelor. Beautiful women line up to be humiliated and rejected in front of millions of people. I really had no idea they wanted love so badly that they would do something like this.

I might have asked a few for a date when I was young if I had known.

But I was not rich, funny, sophisticated and handsome. Maybe that has something to do with it? There are apparently not many of those around and they are worth a lot of trouble.

But why do people enjoy watching this stuff?

Maybe because it’s a contest and we have always enjoyed watching contestants winning prizes on television. How many years has Wheel of Fortune been around?

And don’t you admire Vanna for devoting just about her entire working life to flipping letters in a charming way? She has been doing it since 1982. And the show has been on since 1975.

Not everybody can do that. If I did it Wheel would have gone off the air after the first episode. Vanna makes letters interesting. But reality tv didn’t just start with Survivor. There have been regular people doing crazy stuff on the air in an attempt to win prizes for many years.

It’s just that the flood gates opened about the time the New Millenium arrived. And the competitive spirit of the television viewer living vicariously doesn’t begin to explain this situation.

But the advance of the internet does explain a lot of it. We became involved in what happens inside the television monitor when we started living online. We started communicating with and entertaining each other instead of watching the tube.

We didn’t know we were so talented and entertaining! And maybe we are not. But it is fascinating watching us try whether we are building a blog or running around on an island somewhere half naked and starving.

My son Zachary was an extra on the John Adams series just done on HBO. Everyone who knows him made sure to watch it. And he had a really forgettable role.

We enjoy watching ourselves, our neighbors and people like us on television. We claim contestants who live in our state and hope they do well.

Maybe the novelty will wear off some day. But for now there seems to be no end in sight. Hopefully there will be tryouts for American Wrestlemania Warrior soon followed by National Nascar Survivor.

And then there are our fantasies about participating in one of these shows. But we really don’t have time to go there.

I am sorry we are being overrun with American Idol stuff but we are getting near the end and things are heating up. I started blogging because of AI and Jordin Sparks. They and she convinced me I needed a creative outlet. You need one too if you haven’t found one. It doesn’t have to be blogging.

You could paint faces on rocks and then throw them out into a lake. Then when things warm up you could swim out and practice diving until you find them all. I used to do that but not recently. I pass it along to younger readers who happen to enjoy both rock painting and diving.

So Brooke who managed to try to sing her song twice managed to avoid the hot seat while Syesha who “brought the house down” took a trip to the stool.

What is going on? If she had gone home there would be a lot of seriously upset people out there today. Oh wait. There ARE a lot of seriously upset people out there because CARLY went home after singing a dynamite rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar.

We are sorry to see you go Carly. Carly Simon has always been a favorite of mine. You mother made a wise choice in the middle of trying circumstances.

Brooke needs to go home. Personally I think she WANTS to go home. She doesn’t seem to have much confidence and the rigors of life as an American Idol (See prior post and video of Jordin on the move) would probably overwhelm her.

The show overwhelms her. Something is going on with that girl.

Maybe I’m wrong.

Maybe on her way to rehearsal this weekend her Guardian Angel will appear to her and help her out.

“Brooke. Hear me. The next time you sing live in front of millions of people you will remember your words. And, because you have always been a good girl, you will sing like Fergie.”

“Go out and buy some leather pants. And practice doing cartwheels because I am blessing you right now. Remember Cinderella? I was there. “

It could happen. And I am ready for it to happen. Because when Fergie did it with Heart it was hands down the greatest moment in AI history.

Every future contestant should start practicing singing and doing ONE HAND cartwheels WHILE you are singing right now.

And forget the gym shorts. Unless they are made out of leather.

It will take that kind of miracle for Brooke to remain in this thing much longer. And Brooke please don’t cry so much during the show. Who do you think you are? Jordin?

Sorry Jordin. Just a little joke

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