Again this week's chart is pretty static. Mostly small one digit moves across the whole chart it seems. So let's look at two interesting new songs that make bigger moves upward. I have not heard either song on local radio as of yet.
First up, Jason Mraz (in picture) moves up from #44 to #32 with "I'm Yours". He has not really made a dent in the Hot 100 since his jaunty debut single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" which peaked at #14 back in 2003. That song was from his debut album "Waiting for My Rocket to Come." Now this year, he has a new album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things." And this song "I'm Yours" is the first single off that. I like the refreshing summery beat! This is the video of "I'm Yours":
The second song of note is "Fall for You" by a solo acoustic rock act Secondhand Serenade, featuring a single artist, John Vesely. This song goes up #62 to #47, the biggest move into the Top 50. According to Wikipedia, the pseudonym Secondhand Serenade is a reference to the way in which his songs are "serenades" sung to his wife, with people around the world getting to hear the songs "secondhand", thus the name Secondhand Serenade. He actually had one song in the chart before, "Vulnerable" from his first album "Awake", which peaked at #83 last year. "Fall For You" is from his second album "A Twist in My Story". I like the acoustic piano work and clear vocals of this single. This is the video of "Fall for You":
Interesting songs debuting this week: 90.NELLY FEATURING CIA "STEPPED ON MY J'Z" 91 DARIUS RUCKER "DON'T THINK I DON'T THINK ABOUT IT" (Ex-Hootie sings Country in this one) 92 WE THE KINGS "CHECK YES JULIET (RUN BABY RUN)" and finally... at 100 MARIAH CAREY "I'LL BE LOVIN' U LONG TIME.
The Hot 100 is pretty much static this week. Nothing very interesting going on. No new entries in the top 15. No big exciting debuts elsewhere in the chart as well.
Maybe we can talk about the return to popularity of the teenage pop boy band.
First, those who play their own instruments. Not much had been heard from this genre since the heyday of Hanson in the late 90s. But now, there are two entries in the Top 10 recently that fit exactly that description.
The bigger band nowadays is of course the Jonas Brothers. These three brothers from New Jersey were born between 1987 to 1992. They hit the big time in 2007 with heavy support from the Disney Channel and their single "S.O.S." went top 20 in the Hot 100. Now their career goes into higher gear with their inclusion in the new hit Disney Channel Original Movie "Camp Rock" and the release of their third album. Last week, their newest single "Burnin' Up" debuted at # 5. Here is the video of "Burnin' Up":
The second band is Metro Station. When they hit the Top 10 a few weeks back, I have not heard of them at all. I thought they were another rap group. Their song "Shake It" is not being played on local radio. Then I learned that their vocalist and guitarist Trace Cyrus is the half brother of Miley. The song is actually very good pop, very catchy. Here is a lyrics video of "Shake It":
Of course, there are also the boybands who are just purely a vocal group. At the turn of the century, that was when BAckstreet Boys and N'Sync ruled the airwaves and video channels. However, that trend sort of petered itself out for the rest of the decade.
We have already talked about the comeback of the New Kids On the Block a few weeks back. Of course they are not teenage anymore, although based on their latest output, they still target the teenage girls market. Their song "Summertime" is still in the Top 40 Stateside, although we have not heard this song locally at all. Here is the video:
And do you know that the latest incarnation of that 80s "sensation" Menudo is also about to break into the chart limelight again? They are expected to hit the mainstream again with the hit "Lost". Also very juvenile and catchy. Here is the video:
I don't know about the teenage girls who will read this, but I think these songs all sound the same to me. Interchangeable even. Well, that said, this is still the current pop trend, and we can't argue with the charts. LOL!
The first single of Jonas Brothers' new album makes a Top 5 debut as "Burnin' Up" debuts at # 5. AS reported last week, the Jonas Brothers are quite hot nowadays due to their appearance on the Disney TV Movie "Camp Rock". There are three other songs that feature a Jonas brother. Last week's top debut "This is Me" by Demi Lovato ad Joe Jonas moves up into the Top 10.
I am also quite excited to see a familiar title back in the Top 50. Sugarland, Little Big Town and Jake Owen brings their live remake of "Life in a Northern Town" to debut at # 43. The original by Dream Academy back in the 80s was one of my favorite atmospheric songs. "Hey a mamama,,,heeyah..." Sugarland also rockets up this week from # 91 to # 19 with their own song "All I Want to Do."
Jordin Sparks latest song "One Step At A Time" finally gets its Hot 100 debut after bubbling below the Hot 100 since that big David Cook week. This song has already hit #1 on local radio charts way back a few weeks ago.
The Hot 100 hits a major milestone today as the 1000th Number 1 hit of the Rock Era is revealed to be "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry. (Listen here.) The Rock Era is that arbitrarily determined time in 1955 when "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets hit Number 1.
Fred Bronson adds more trivia about this milestone in his Chart Beat Bonus column on billboard.com, like this list of songs corresponding to the other hundreds milestones:
100: Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean (1961) 200: Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones (1966) 300: Maggie May/Reason To Believe" by Rod Stewart (1971) 400: Lovin' You by Minnie Ripperton (1974) 500: What A Fool Believes by the Doobie Brothers (1979) 600: Like A Virgin by Madonna (1984) 700: Together Forever by Rick Astley (1988) 800: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss by P.M. Dawn (1991) 900: It's Gonna Be Me by N'Sync(2000)
For the second week in a row, the previous # 1 song drops down just as its album debuts big at the top of the Billboard 200. "Viva La Vida" tumbles down to # 6 this week, while its parent album with the unwieldly title "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" debuts atop the Album chart with debut sales of more than 700,000 copies. You will recall that last week "Lollipop" dropped to # 3 just when Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" sold more than 1.2 Million copies to debut at # 1. That album now drops to # 2, and the single also is at #2.
There are three new entries into the Top 10 this week.
At # 8, it is that bouncy hit by Plies ftrg. Ne-Yo called "Bust It Baby (Part 2)". This is very much a local hit as well, already hitting the top of local FM countdowns. It was at # 11 last week.
At # 9, the Pussycat Dolls' latest hit "When I Grow Up" jumps in from # 18. I personally find this song very lackadaisal, if that word can be used to describe a song. It does not innovate, just sticks to the pop dance formula of the Dolls pretty much. So generic sounding, it could have been sung by any other girl group.
At # 10 we see the Greatest Gainer "7 Things" by Miley Cyrus. This is the second Top 10 hit of the teenage sensation. This is a big time move from # 70! This huge jump was due to digital downloads of more than 130,000.
At # 11 we have the Hot Shot debut of the chart, "This is Me" by Demi Lovato and Jon Jonas. This song comes from "Camp Rock" which is the latest Disney Original Movie hit soundtrack, featuring the Jonas Brothers. This soundtrack also has 3 more songs debuting on the chart this week like "Play the Music" by the Jonas Brothers at # 20, "Gotta Find You" by Joe Jonas at # 30 and "We Rock" by the "Camp Rock" cast, close by at # 33.
Other debuts include Rihanna's "Disturbia" (#18) and Flo Rida's "In the Ayer" (#38).
Speaking of the Jonas Brothers, it is much anticipated that the first release off their new album "Burnin' Up" will be the Hot Shot Debut next week. This song is even expected to debut within the Top 10 next week.
Confession: Despite the unique opportunity of being able to attend their rehearsal and mingle with the cast (LINK), and despite my great desire to do so, I did not think that I could watch Avenue Q again this time around, despite being their farewell run.
It was already the final week. I was able to convince some of my colleagues to go watch it. They all turned in rave reviews, as I expected (although they conspired to let me think otherwise at first, hehe). Unfortunately, I personally had no opportunity this time to watch it this time.
Time dwindled right until Saturday night, when suddenly the bright idea came up of bringing Eric and Vangie (my wife's brother and sister who are visiting from the States) to go watch it. Stoked and hopeful, I called Mae of Atlantis. She said she had only three tickets left for the final show on June 22, 8pm. Yes! Exactly what I needed. However, the seats were scattered all over the theater. Hmmm.... what the heck, I went for broke and reserved them. But Mae's condition was that I had to pick them up in the morning before 12 noon.
We all know what happened on the morning of June 22, Supertyphoon "Frank" hit very close to Metro Manila. I texted Mae, and yikes, the Atlantis office was open despite the storm! So yes, I braved the continuous torrential rains, and strong winds, and floods and EDSA from Caloocan to reach Makati before the deadline, in order to buy those precious last tickets. These were 2 loge and 1 side orchestra tickets, all separate from each other.
Now you ask me, was all of that worth it? The answer is a definite YES!!!!!
The Farewell Run of Avenue Q was very much the same show I saw and enjoyed last December. Since I had seen it before, this time I was able to concentrate more on the wit, the dialogs, the lyrics, the facial expressions, the subtle gestures -- all those funny little details that escaped my notice the first time.
The cast was as fantastic as ever. Felix Rivera was still the same idealistic Princeton and the same tormented Rob, I daresay improved. Joel Trinidad was so effortless both as the mischeivous Nicky and the controversial Trekkie Monster. The vocal and action nuances of the characters were very well distinguished, and captured with so much confidence and verve by both actors. Of course, Frenchie, Aiza and Rycharde were consistently excellent in their performances of their respective human characters.
Now the inevitable comparison of the cast newcomer Carla Guevara with the actress she replaced, Rachel Alejandro. As much I did not want to believe it, the performances were amazingly equal. There had been a consistent portrayal of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut, inasmuch that you would think the same actress portrayed these puppets in both the December and the present run. I guess I could credit that with the Directors' vision and guidance and the talent of the performers.
In whatever slight degree though, I must say, however, that Carla has the saucy edge in playing Lucy. Rachel, on the other hand, had the sweet edge in playing Kate. While Carla's delivery of "Special" was certainly extraordinary, Rachel's version of "There's a Fine Fine Line" still remains to be my overall favorite Avenue Q song performance ever (it had not been called "exquisite" for nothing).
While the December show ended with the cast singing "Give Love on Christmas Day," this farewell run show appropriately ended with a farewell song--the closing theme of the old Donny and Marie TV show that goes "May tomorrow be a perfect day may you find love and laughter along the way..." And they sang it beautifully, all their voices ringing very true and sincere.
This 8pm show on June 22, 2008 that I watched WAS the final show of the Farewell Run. I am very happy that I got to watch it, just in the nick of time. All the difficulty I encountered in getting these tickets were immediately forgotten, and the fortuitous luck of getting the last seats in the house that night was definitely much appreciated.
Lil Wayne's latest album "Tha Carter III" debuts on the Billboard 200 chart at number 1, selling more that one million copies in its first week! The last album to crack one million copies in a week is "The Massacre" by 50 Cent back in 2005. However on the Hot 100, the fortune of its lead single "Lollipop" unexpectedly goes down to # 3. Lil Wayne's "3 Peat" is the chart's top debut this week at No. 66. This week, consistently massive digital sales push Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" to #1. This is Coldplay's first # 1 hit in its career. It is very surprising to learn that the last British group to hit the top was actually the Spice Girls with their debut hit "Wannabe" back in 1997, more than 10 years ago.
Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" goes up to # 2. Unlike "Viva" which has inexplicably poor airplay, "Kissed" has both good sales and increasing airplay. Thus, this song has a very big chance to be the next # 1 song.
This chart is not very exciting. I do not particularly like "Lollipop" as I find it quite forgettable. However, Lil Wayne is really the rapper of the moment now. Aside from the Number 1 song, he actually has six more songs on the chart this week. And with his new album "Mr. Carter" poised to debut at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 next week, "lollipop" is also expected to hang on to Number 1 on the Hot 100. As of now, it already has the second longest stay at the top this year, after "Low."
I am rooting for the "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay and "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry to contest the top spot in the weeks to come.
The Greatest Gainer this week is by the Pussycat Dolls who will be releasing their second album soon. The song "When I Grow Up" rises from # 76 last week to # 31 this week.
The Hot Shot Debut this week is "Put On" by Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West. Heard it on the radio already, a pretty strong track.
The other remarkable debut is "Indestructible" by Disturbed at # 72. This comes from thier similarly titled new album which debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200 this week. This makes three consecutive albums now that debut at # 1 for this band. I have liked their deep growling sound since their first hit "Down With the Sickness."
Only 3 out of the 11 songs of David Cook remain in the Hot 100 this week. These are: "Time of My Life" (# 9), "Dream Big" (# 81, biggest dropper of week from # 15) and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (# 85). The rest drop out, so with all of the David Archuleta songs. I do hope "Time" gains in airplay some more, but realistically it seems it will dall out of the Top 10 next week.
Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" is really doing very strong, both in airplay and download sales, well and above "Bleeding Love." Aside from # 1, Lil Wayne also gets the Hot Shot Debut of the week with "Got Money" at # 13. This one features T-Pain. It seems we will be seeing "Lollipop" stay on top for some time.
The first main contender is "Viva La Vida" from Coldplay, which this week reaches the Top 3. While this makes "Viva" the highest ranked Coldplay single ever, poor airplay stats may not propel it all the way to the top.
The second main contender is "I Kissed A Girl" from 23 year old American singer Katy Perry. I found this jaunty tune very good pop music. Title reminds me of a Jill Sobule song, but this one is different. This goes up big, from #21 all the way to # 5. Further gains in airplay will push it higher up.
The Greatest Gainer honor goes to "Teenage Love Affair" by Alicia Keys. This track was the one which got my immediate attention when I first heard her excellent "As I Am" album last year. I love the passion in her voice as she sings about "a matter of extreme importance." This song goes up 89 to 66 on its 4th week in this chart.
The hit musical and puppet-show Avenue Q strikes Manila for the third and probably the last, time come June 13 to 22, 2008, again in the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati. Today is their first public announcement of their upcoming Farewell Run, and what's so special is that they have chosen BLOGGERS to be their first witnesses! Hooray for the power of cyberspace advertising!
This special rehearsal cum interview session was held at the Centro Flamenco. SJG Bldg, Kalayaan Ave, Makati at 11 am. The bloggers in attendance were organized by no less than the indefatigable Bachelor Girl. And I, as a totally new and amateur blogger, am very honored to have been invited for this particularly rare opportunity. This is definitely a first for me, and, clinic notwithstaning, I dare not waste this singular chance! Thank you very much for the generous invitation, Ms. Bachelor Girl. Thank you Dr. Abbie Sanz for covering for my clinic.
They were all there from the old cast: Felix Rivera (Princeton/Rob), Aiza Seguerra (Gary Coleman), Frenchie Dy (Christmas Eve), Joel Trinidad (Trekkie Monster/Nicky) and Rycharde Everley (Brian). And there were two new faces in the cast: Carla Guevara who takes over Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut. And Thea Tadiar who takes over Mrs. Thistleswat and Others. The cast performed three songs for us: the hilarious "It Sucks To Be Me" by the whole cast, the even-more-hilarious "If You Were Gay" by sang so skillfully by Felix Rivera and Joel Trinidad as the Ernie and Bert-inspired Rod and Nicky, and the beautiful "The More You Ruv Someone" by the vocally-bombastic Ms. Frenchie Dy, with Carla Guevara.
After this came the Interview Portion. The cast sat down in front of us and gamely entertained our questions. The questions ranged from the shallow (like Frenchie Dy's previous bouts with Bell's palsy) to the sublime ("What did you gain from the Avenue Q experience?" asked by my new online buddy and co-theater blogger Julie). While watching them in this spontaneous part, you can feel that the cast has really gelled very well with each other, and that they were having a lot of fun together.
In between, we got to know more about Carla Guevara. It turns out she was one of the auditionees before in the first run and was called because Rachel Alejandro already had other commitments this year. This is her first time working with Atlantis. She says she can relate to both her characters, and the stark contrast of these two is what she likes about her roles.
We also got to learn more about the other newbie there, Thea Tadiar. She takes over the role of Mrs. Thistleswat and Others, previously held by Teenie Chan. Thea happens to be the better half of the guy who plays Brian, Rycharde Everley. They apparently met while she was taking up her Masters in England, and got married while performing a play by Brecht in London seven years ago.
They talked about the Puppets. Marvin the Puppet Master was there. While audiences think Trekkie Monster is the most difficult puppet to handle, it was actually Lucy the Slut. This was because it was quite heavy, and she needs to flip her hair a lot, thus requiring a lot of wrist work. I learned later from Ms. Thea that one of the more difficult puppetry techniques to master is to move the mouth by moving the thumb downward in order to drop the jaw of the puppet. You can imagine how difficult this is when you see the size of the puppets!
The directors Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga were also on hand to answer questions. When asked what they looked for when casting this show, Mr. Garcia enumerated Talent, Dependability and an Obsessive-Compulsive attitude, which each member of this present cast possesses, but with varying rank each person. I was also able to ask a question about possible revisions on future editions of the play, since certain details within the book date it, like the mixtape or George Bush. Answer was there will definitely be changes in the lyrics next year when Bush steps out of office. And that the book writer Jeff Whitty already has a trove of suggestions from the numerous fans on how to update the play!
After this, the cast sang around the piano the "Theme from Avenue Q" (video). And invited us, and all of you, to join them on this their Farewell Run. We were then given the opportunity to talk and mingle with the cast members over Krispie Kreme Donuts. Felix and Sir Jojo (the pianist) still recalled our SLMC concert with the Repertory Philippines last April 16 (photos here, here and here). While I took the opportunity to promote the Voice Center of St. Luke's Medical Center, but the bad case laryngitis I had this morning was really in poor timing. Ms. Aiza even quipped, "Hindi yata sila ang tumingin sa yo a!" LOL!
So there it is. Don't miss this last chance to catch the funniest and most entertaining play staged in Manila last year. Call Ticketworld at 891-9999 or click on their website for tickets. You can also contact The Bachelor Girlbecause the shows she booked (14 June 2008 2pm and 21 June 2008 8pm) also feature her special "Spread the Fuzz" activities before and after the shows. Believe me, I was in one of those "Fuzz" shows last year, and it was a blast even outside the theater! Again, the Farewell Run shows are from June 14 to 22, 2008.
After this run, they are already slated to perform in Singapore, from October 31 to November 16, 2008. Break a leg, guys!
In my sneak preview a couple of days ago, you already know that David Cook has set a new record for the most number of titles for a single artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era (beginning Dec 1991). These are the David Cook hits that set the new record:
3 The Time Of My Life 15 Dream Big 22 I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For 28 The World I Know 42 I Don't Want To Miss A Thing 47 Billie Jean 67 Always Be My Baby 73 Hello 77 The Music Of The Night 92 Eleanor Rigby 99 I'm Alive
Reportedly bubbling under the Hot 100 are the following:
101 Little Sparrow 103 Hungry Like The Wolf 104 Innocent 114 Day Tripper 118 All Right Now 125 Happy Together
That is 4 new titles within the Top 30! Of these, it is clarified that the only official single release is "The Time of My Life." We know that only handful will remain next week, since these are basically fueled by digital downloads and not by airplay.
David Archuleta was also able to send 3 titles into this week's chart. These are: at # 36, "Imagine""Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" at # 58, and "In This Moment" at # 60.
Actually another song gained significantly because of its Idol association, and that is "Apologize" by Timbaland and One Republic. The latter guested on the Idol Finale and sang the song with Lil' David. It actually goes back up to # 18 from # 32, on its 43rd week.
Carrie Underwood's latest single "Last Name" also makes a big jump because of her performance in the Idol Finale. This song surges from # 37 up to # 19.
In non-Idol related chart news, Greatest Gainer this week goes to Coldplay. Their song "Viva La Vida" hits # 10 this week, after dropping to # 41 last week. Their other song "Violet Hill" drops slightly from # 61 to # 66.
The excitement generated by New Kids on the Block last week with their comeback hit "Summertime" seems to have been short-lived. They drop from # 57 last week to # 83 this week. Let's see if they can still turn it around. If we judge it from their contemporary Paula Abdul's experience earlier this year, her comeback "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" did not really catch fire, and that was despite Idol connections.
David Cook will set a record for debut entries on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs tomorrow as 11 titles enter the former, while 14 songs jump on the download tally. The onslaught is led by a No. 3 Hot 100 start for his original recording "The Time of My Life," (listen here) which shifts 236,000 downloads to easily take the No. 1 spot on Hot Digital Songs.
David Archuleta lands three songs on both charts, led by his cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" (No. 36 Hot 100, No. 16 on Hot Digital Songs, 71,000).
Cook's takeover of the Hot 100 shatters the mark for debuts set by Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana) in the Nov. 11, 2006, issue, when she placed six new titles on the list. The 11 songs on the chart are the most in a week by any artist in the Nielsen Music era, which began in December 1991 when the chart converted to Nielsen BDS and Nielsen SoundScan data.
His haul also marks the most placements on the list since the Beatles charted 14 songs on the Hot 100 in the week of April 11, 1964.
The 14 tracks on Hot Digital Songs also gives Cook a record for debuts and total songs on that three-year-old chart, besting Hannah Montana's total output (8) on the Nov. 11, 2006 chart, and Bon Jovi's six debuts in the May 19, 2007, issue.
This is the first week of the 2008 season that "American Idol" downloads counted toward Billboard's charts. In cooperation with the show's producers, Apple withheld reporting iTunes sales of those songs until the week of the final episode.
Cook's debut album for 19 Recordings/RCA is due in the fall.
"Lollipop" by Lil Wayne and Static Major returns to the Number 1 slot giving way to Leona Lewis and Rihanna for the past three weeks. I personally do not like this song, finding it too syncopated. It did not really catch fire on local radio so I barely hear it. But this feat of returning to the top after three weeks out is impressive. "U Got It Bad"by Usher had 4 weeks between its peaks at Number 1 back in 2002.
Talking about Usher though, while his song "Love In the Club" is still strong at # 4, his new song called "Love in This Club, Part II" featuring Beyonce and Lil Wayne (again). This song is a ballad this time, and quite good actually when I hear it on local radio. With his big move up from #63 up to #18 this week, it is strong contender for the top 10 next week.
The Greatest Gainer in Sales this week is earned by Welsh singer Duffy with "Mercy". This moves up fast from # 66 to #27. From what I hear in her Channel V ad spots, she exudes a Macy Gray vibe in her voice. Hope to hear her better soon.
Yes, believe your eyes, that picture above is really Jonathan, Joey, Danny, Donnie and Jordan -- The New Kids on the Block! They are actually on this week's Hot 100. In fact, these guys (hardly new and hardly kids now, all pushing age 40) are even the Hot Shot Debut with their new song "Summertime" which debuts at # 57 this week. I had not heard from since the early 90s. Who would have thought they could stage a comeback after 15 years or so??? It would be interesting to track the chart fortune of this song.
This is one time I am so happy to be so wrong! Last night, I thought the signs all pointed to a victory by David Archuleta. But in the tradition of good televison drama, there has got to be one last twist. In this case, the tables turned 180 degrees the other way and Ryan Seacrest announced the next American Idol to be David Cook! The miracle I held out for last night was fulfilled!
(These pictures of David Cook's transformation in the course of the show c/o ew.com. This was during Dolly Parton week when his hair, and ultimately, his entire look changed.)
The entire two hour program leading up to that pivotal moment was a very good and entertaining show. The very first number was a duet of Chad Kroeger's "Hero" by the two Davids and both of them gave it their all. Fantastic duet! I want a copy of that song.
Then it was practically a revival show featuring singers who had their heyday in the past. The first unexpected guest was Seal, who sang with Syesha. Then it was Donna Summer who sang with the Top 6 girls. The Top 6 boys were joined by Bryan Adams. David Cook sang with ZZ Top. Brooke White sang with Graham Nash. Finally, the Top 12 preceded a spot number by George Michael (who sang a dramatic "Praying for Time"). Great show for all these people, it was so good to see them all in good voice.
Only David Archuleta broke the pattern by singing with a current band, One Republic, with "Apologize". Carly Smithsen and Michael Johns sang "The Letter" (again!) together. Jason Castro sang his sterling moment "Hallelujah" solo. Guest spots were also given to the Jonas Brothers (who sang "S.O.S."), Carrie Underwood (who was looking mighty glam in her mini dress) and to Jordin Sparks (who showed no signs of her vocal fold polyp).
Of course, the highlight was the last two minutes, when the winner was finally announced. I felt that everyone was totally shocked about the result. Very surprising why Simon had to apologize for his negative comments to Cookey last night. Did he have an inkling of the result? He was announcing his choice of Cook on talk shows just before finals night. Were his negative comments planned to be the trigger to spur Cook fans to work overtime on their voting? Well, enough of the speculation. As a testament to his versatility, David Cook sang the final coronation song "The Time of My Life" quite well.
(picture c/o ew.com)
So how now with David Archuleta? I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him. He was given very high expectations last nights with all the pimping, including the "knockout" assessment. He must be feeling more down than he should. He was very much primed to win from the beginning. Let's hope he does not take this loss too badly.
So on it goes. Ryan announced they will be back in January. I guess this happy unexpected development will spur interest in the next Idol. We will be watching...
Ok now, this is it. The finals of this whole season that we have been blogging about since January. The boxing theme used in the beginning was a bit lame in my opinion. David A. is only 100 lbs, when soaking wet??? Hahaha!
The first round: songs chosen by Clive Davis. David Cook is up first. He was given a fantastic song -- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2! I may be wrong, but isn't this the first time a U2 song is being sung on AI? And Cook really gave it his very best. Beautiful rendition. Fantastic last note! As Simon put it, "Phenomenal!"
David Archuleta was given "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". Now, while this is a pretty good song, this has already been the nth time that this Elton John hit has been sung on the Idol stage! I remember Bo Bice was also given this same song also by Clive. Jasmine Trias also sang this song during her season if I recall, as well as others in the earlier seasons. Ok, enough about the song. David A. sang it very well indeed. Gave it the Idol glory note at the end. He sang this to win!
The second round: Contestant's Choice from Original Songs in the Idol Songwriting Competition. The less said about this round the better. For me the David Cook song "Dream Big" sounded fresher and bouncier, but it really sounded too light given the importance of this occasion being the Finals night. In any case I liked the way it was rendered by David Cook.
David A's song "In This Moment", while really awful, even yucchy, carries on the sentiment and style of the previous Idol coronation songs "A Moment Like This" and "This Is My Now". But he did not really sing it very well in my opinion, very tentative. Maybe it was because of the awkward song structure. And the line "in this moment" sounds like ""From This Moment" by Shania Twain. I can only take so much of "no one can take it away!" -- so repetitive! Must have sung that line 5 times. I shudder at its corniness.
The third round: Contestant's Choice. David Cook chose Collective Soul's "The World I Know". I liked the rendition as always. But after he finished singing, I also felt that that it lacked the feeling of grandeur expected from one's final song of the finals of a siging competition. I decided that David Cook just wanted to take the opportunity of this Finals night to show what kind of performer he could be.
In contrast, David Archuleta obviously plays so hard to win . He chose his best performance of the season, John Lennon's "Imagine". He injects it with a few more runs than he did before. It was still very good, but I wished he could have chosen to sing something else. But of course, it is also good strategy to go with a sure thing. And this song was "a sure thing".
David Archuleta really played good strategy tonight and he is really in this to win. I personally want David Cook to win. Cook is really more vibrant, more creative, more exciting and more versatile. On the other hand, David Archuleta played it very boringly safe, sang all ballads tonight. Not even an attempt at variety. I think this is all he will amount to after this season -- cheesy melodies and lyrics. But I think based on the history of how people have voted on Idol before, I think the winner will be, unfortunately, David Archuleta. But, that said, I am still holding out for a miracle.
the majestic 
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There is just you, the sun, the sea, the sky and the sand. 
