Virginia Is For Families

How did I miss this?  I don’t know.  But it’s funny and maybe somebody else missed it too.  So here it is.  David Cook, the American Idol winner, is being interviewed by Kimberly Caldwell and takes the opportunity to ask her out.

That’s the first time I have ever seen that done. There have been some marriage proposals go down on live television.  But this is much more serious!  A request for a date is a major opportunity to be rejected and there is no silver lining.

Do I have to explain that?  So moving on here is the video.   I was trying to catch up on David’s activities and he has been to the Walmart deal and the Tonight Show.  You can see those here if you are interested.  But this is the one that is most fun imho.

4:39 of Billy Jean by David Cook. How long will it stay up? Who knows. But it’s here now and I would like to share it with you.

It’s a treat. Very nice. The guitar riff at the end is cool.  David didn’t come up with this version but  he saw that it was good and he’s a talented guy.

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She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don’t mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Gonna dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Gonna dance on the floor in the round

People always told me be careful of what you do
Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
Be careful of what you do ’cause the lie becomes the truth

Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

For forty days and forty nights
The law was on her side
But who can stand when she’s in demand
Her schemes and plans
Gonna dance on the floor in the round
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
Do think twice

She told my baby that’s a threat
As she looked at me
Then showed a photo of a baby cries
Eyes would like mine
Gonna dance on the floor in the round,

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
She came and stood right by me
Then the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room

Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice

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After watching David’s videos without all the AI distractions I believe he can easily come out with an album that will have at least three or four major hits on it and go right to number one on the charts and stay there awhile.

Watch Eleanor Rigby around 2:23 and witness him blast off. He leaves the American Idol stage and the AI program at this moment. It’s a music video. It’s another world. And he can’t contain himself after it is over. “Rock Out when you hit the chorus” Randy says. “Brilliant” Simon says. “You could win this entire show.”

Here are some of his performances on YouTube. Please let me know when they stop working. it won’t be long most probably.

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You know what? Rather than just putting up David Cook video’s and coming back a few days later to find they have turned into somebody’s Little League game here is the link to David Cook videos.

I can’t keep up with this stuff.

Here is a nice article about David. He’s a pretty cool guy and smart too.

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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