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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
5/20: Top 2 Idol performance show, Josiah Leming signs deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Idol” is playing up the “boxing” metaphors to the hilt, aren’t they? You’d think they were going to have to sing “Eye of the Tiger”!
In the end, it was one of the better top 2 performance shows. But we know who came out to really win this: David Archuleta. Cook was solid but could it be that Archuleta wants this victory just a bit more? Archuleta’s pick of that very self-centered song “In This Moment” says everything. He wants that moment tomorrow night. And you know? He might just get it.
Personally, I still prefer Cook but it’s hard to be upset if Archuleta takes it home. He has earned this. And we can always rationalize that, like Daughtry, Cook doesn’t need this win to succeed.
Good news for Cook fans: he seems to be comfortably ahead in dialidol.com. Maybe all that Archuleta pimping by Simon fueled the Cook lovers to dial heavily. But dialidol doesn’t include text messaging votes, which might push Archuleta ahead.
[And “Dancing With the Stars” had its results tonight, too. Early favorite Kristi Yamaguchi won, the second gal to win it in six cycles.]
And surprise! Ruben showed up at the end to sing “Celebrate Me Home.” Woohoo!
Cook’s first song (“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2,” Clive’s pick) - A great song choice for Cook, who can do spirituals well. He opens strong and brings some Bono-like swagger as goes onto the stage behind the judge’s table. In this case, I really wanted him to sing the entire song, not the truncated “Idol’ version. Good job. Randy: “It was a great way to start this dual of 2007. (huh? 2007?)” Paula: “David Cook has arrived. Amen, amen. You are in great voice tonight.” Simon: “I can see you at top of this show. Looked very tense and emotional. Taking that together, it was phenomenal.” A/A-minus
Archuleta’s first song (“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John, Clive’s pick) — Clive has given Archuleta a calling card song that Clay Aiken did five years ago. That’s going to be tough to top. You have to wonder if Clive picked it on purpose to see if he can match Clay. But with that tough comparison, it’s clear he doesn’t have the vocal depth of Clay. It’s another solid Archuleta performance but didn’t knock my socks off. I gave it a second listen after the following effusive comments and yes, he does a wonderful vocal job. Maybe the song is just a bit overdone for me, hard for me to feel moved. Randy: “Doesn’t matter what happens. This is one of the best performances all season. That was flawless and unbelievably molten hot.” [Huh?] Paula: “My heart’s still pounding. The sun is never going to go down on you.” [Is Paula going to make comments based on the song titles all night?] Simon: “It’s very easy to get overexcited tonight. Last week, you were okay. I thought tonight’s performance was arguably the best you’ve done so far. Round one goes to Archuleta.” B-plus
Cook’s second song (“Dream Big,” songwriter’s pick) - He adds his vintage grunge feel to a song with an incredibly mundane message. Musically, he picked a suitable song from the dreck for him. He did about as good a job given the circumstances. Randy: “The song was just okay for me. But you were singing your face off.” Paula: “It was a great way to take a song we don’t know and fall in love with it.” SImon: “It was a bit of a lightweight. The end of okay. You made the most of what you have. It didn’t feel like a winning moment for me. That was a 6.5 out of 10.” A-minus
Archuleta’s second song (“In This Moment,” songwriter’s pick) - This craptastic ballad feels interminable. This is not to be mistaken for “A Moment Like This.” And it won’t be. I’m hoping one of those sorority girls grabs Archuleta’s ankles. “I want to stay in this moment,” he sings. “Nobody can take it away.” Well, except the voters. I do have to give him credit. He felt the song, believed the lyrics, sold it well. Randy: “The song I wasn’t crazy about. You are so in the zone, you could sing the phone book.” Paula: “Another heartfelt performance. It’s like pure magic.” Simon: “I loved the egotistical lyric. Fantastically self centered. You chose the better song. Much more in keeping with the night. Round two goes to David Archuleta.” A-minus
Cook’s third song (“The World I Know,” by Atlanta’s Collective Soul, contestant’s choice) - He saved the song from last week. It’s a lovely tune but is it a showstopper? I’m not so sure. He slows down an already thoughtful, pensive tune. He does a lovely job but that wasn’t a great way to end the night for him because it simply didn’t hit that emotional punch (using the silly boxing metaphors.) Randy: “That’s the sensitive side of David Cook. You can make this record and get by. Very nice job dude.” Paula: “I looked up at you and you’re standing in your truth and delivering unbelievable songs with integrity… I truly applaud you.” SImon: “You are actually one of the nicest, most sincere contestants we had. I thought that was a beautiful song but I’m going to be honest but the wrong song choice for you. What you should done is sung ‘Billie Jean’ or ‘Hello.’ ” “For me, it’s a progression. Why do something I’ve already done?” Cook said. I give him points for doing something new. B-plus/A-minus
Archuleta’s third song (“Imagine” by John Lennon, contestant’s choice) - Archuleta plays it safe with what he thought was his best performance. Can you blame him? He’s in it to win this and goes with his strongest, um, hook. (I know, I know, stop the boxing metaphors!) Strategically, he wants his teen fans to text, text, text, and this should properly inspire them. Subtle and powerful. Positions him well for the victory. Randy: “You are so good tonight. You’re exactly what this show is about.” Paula: “It’s the culmination David. You’ve left me speechless like when you first sang the song.” Simon: “We’ve taken a little bit of stick, this competition. This show is about finding a star. I think we’ve witnessed one of the great finals. In my opinion, David, you came out here tonight to win. What we have witnessed is a knockout.” (Okay, Simon did the final boxing metaphor, not me!) A
Tonight’s show will feature three songs each: one picked by Clive Davis, one the songwriters’ competition winner and one pick by the contestant. David Archuleta will reprise his “Imagine.” He will also perform last, winning the game toss. (He looked to his dad in the audience for guidance.) Surely, Jeff Archuleta knew that the ultimate winner sang second five out of six times.
Is it smart for Archuleta to do an old song or to go for another one? It’s the safe choice, that’s for sure.
-As for the National Enquirer rumors about Jeff Archuleta trying to sign a side endorsement deal for his son have not been substantiated in any more reputable pubs.
And here’s a cool factoid from the story:
The average age of songs sung this year (31.5 years) is the oldest to date and six years older than those in 2007, according to Idol database whatnottosing.com.
MJ also says each David got to pick their favorite out of the top 10 vote-getting songs in the songwriting contest. Good idea!
Tomorrow’s finale will reprise that Celine/Dion live/dead duet with another live/dead combo. They tried to do that with a dead Marvin Gaye and a live Mariah Carey for “Idol Gives Back” but for whatever reason, couldn’t do it. Ryan Seacrest interviews Nigel Lythgoe on his Los Angeles radio show.
-CMT reports that Carrie Underwood will perform her latest single “Last Name” on the finale.
-Scores of former “Idol” contestants converged at a pre-finale party in Los Angeles. EW reports that Ace Young sang five songs.. Among others seen:* Jon Peter Lewis, Chris Sligh, Chris Richardson, Brandon Rogers, Kevin Covais, Justin Guarini, Gina Glocksen, Nadia Turner and Bo Bice.*
-And if you want to chew over a fresh topic— ew.com did a poll for most over-rated “Idol” this year and Jason Castro won, followed by Archuleta. Agree? Disagree?
-Josiah Leming, the talented Tennessee kid who lived in his car and just missed the top 24, has signed a record and publishing deal with Warner Brothers.
-USA Today has a survey broken up by age groups. Cook wins handily, 71 percent. Teens are the only ones favoring Archuleta 58-42. Cook’s strongest demo is 30-39, who supported him 78 percent. And while the rest of us plebes didn’t get any time with the Davids, USA Today (with its 2 million plus readers in print and many more online) got a few quotes.
“I’ve tried not to pay attention to what everybody has been saying. I’ve just wanted to stay myself. I didn’t want anything to get to my head,” Archuleta says, although raves for Imagine in the semifinals had him concerned he might be seen as peaking too early.
Cook says he was fortunate to avoid early scrutiny. “I kind of liked coming in without all the buzz. It allowed me a couple of weeks to find myself,” he says. “Each week, my goal was just, ‘Don’t take last.’ So now I’ve kind of run out of options.”
Lythgoe in the story also said instruments are here to stay, and so are the judges and host.
-With “Extra,” Cowell thinks Cook will win, though it will depend on song choice tonight, he said. He also pulled his punches on Fantasia’s “hot mess” performance last Wednesday: “Fantasia’s a great girl. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. And whether you liked it or hate that performance, at least it was something you could talk about and that’s what I miss.” True—it was hard not to take your eyes off of Fantasia!
