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Finale - Judges got it wrong!
05/20/08
11:35:16 pm, Categories: AI Season Seven While I certainly think that Archuleta had a solid night tonight, I think that the judges are definitely giving young David a false sense of security. By no means do I think that the night was a "knock out" and I think when push comes to shove that Cook may even have gotten the better of it.
Let me clarify.
Round one - Simon proclaimed this round to Archuleta, but based on what exactly? He flubbed at the beginning of the song and really seemed (unles there is a stevie wonder version I have never heard) lost somewhere in between the Elton John and George Michael version of the song. He hit most of the notes, but if I am comparing his "tone" I would prefer either John or Michael. While I think "Don't let the Sun" is one of the great all time rock ballads, Cook did a better than reasonable job on a very cool "contemporary" U2 song that will reasonate better with the thirty and under crowd that votes.
Round two - Neither song was outstanding, which is not unusual for the coronation songs... but of the two I could see the David Cook song selling as a contemporary top fourty pop song (in the Goo Goo dolls sort of way)... whereas the David Archuleta song would get lost on the easy listening charts. Simon seemed more concerned that the Cook song was not "typical" of the coronation song... which is exactly why it will probably draw more votes. If there is one thing people hate about American Idol and the final performances, it is the sappy coronation songs.
Round three - At this point of the night, Simon Cowell was simply being rude for no apparent reason. Again, his issue seemed to be that David Cook did a song he had not performed before rather than do a repeat as is typically done. Never mind that his version of the Collective Soul song was easily the most inspiring of the night. It didn't fit the mold. Granted, David Archuleta does a nice job on "Imagine", but all it really did was guarantee that Archuleta would show no other side to himself but singing sappy ballads.
Bottom line - I think the judges (especially Simon) got caught up in the moment a little too much and couldn't see the forest for the trees. One contestant stepped up and showed multiple sides of himself, while the other was predictable. One contestant was original and showed a pair while the other played it safe. The entire basis of the show (with the whole boxing anology) implied that the contestant who took chances, went the extra mile, and pushed things to the limit was ultimately who would win. If that truly becomes the criteria, then it was a knock out. Unfortunately for Simon, it was his David who ended up on his back.
1 comment
round one: i thought this was cook's best of the night. archie also sounded good, but i gave it to cook.
round 2: i think simon had this one right. both gave solid performances, but cook's performance was not a 'wow' performance. i was left not remembering any of the song or melody. david a's song wasn't great either, but it did give him more opportunity to show off his superior vocals.
round 3: both were good, but archuletta was better.
overall, remembering that this is not a song writing competition, not a song rewriting competition, not a contest in musicianship. it is a singing contest. superior vocals win the day, and archuletta clearly has the better voice.
archuletta is like jordin sparks last year. she won, not because she had better style. she did not. she won because she had the strong vocals. same this year. cook has far more style, but he cannot compare with the kid in singing ability. i think cook is just as good as daughtry and miles better than bo bice. and i think david a. has as good a voice as clay aiken, which is very good.
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