The Champ

I'm shocked! America got it right. David Cook won American Idol. I know that my support for this year's champ makes me unpopular with women and humans under 16, but Cook's musical creativity coupled with his dynamic voice made me take notice early on in the competition. The guy can flat out rock. I'm looking forward to his first CD.

American Idol Results

America got it wrong. Carly should still be on the show. Good grief! Who's gonna be next? Archuleta?

AI Predictions

Based on last evening's performances (not on how much I like them overall), here are my current American Idol rankings:

1. David Archuleta
2. David Cook
3. Syesha Mercado
4. Carly Smithson
5. Brooke White
6. Jason Castro

The only real surprise last evening was Syesha's rendition of Rock N' Roll Too Many. It was the first time that her vibrant personality has really shown through while singing. She gives great interviews but seems a bit detached on stage.

I love Brooke, but she sunk herself. You can't forget the lyrics at this stage of the competition. I'd say that either Brooke or Jason are going home tonight.

Several weeks ago I said that my two favorites were the two Davids. I stick by that. They are both head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. I find humor in the fact that Cook's CD was the number one seller on Amazon (ironically beating out the new release from last week's vocal coach Mariah Carey) until pulled by AI officials.

Good Day

We're in the studio all week with Phil Cross, so I'm not going to be very good about posting. Last night, Trey and Kassady started soccer practice. Their practices are at the same time, so Lori dropped Trey off at his field and then ran Kassady over to her practice. I got out of the studio in time to catch the last half hour of Trey's practice. He told me that he's made up his mind to play more aggressive. And, he did. He pretty much dominated the practice. It seemed like he was one of the shortest kids last year, but now he's the biggest kid on the field. Kassady did her thing, too, according to Lori. This includes running around the field laughing with/at the person dribbling the ball, falling on purpose, and occasionally kicking the ball.

I did catch American Idol last night. TiVo is a great invention. Thumbs up go to David Cook. He is the most creative contestant on the show. His musical arrangements are incredible. I'm liking him more every week. I read on Drudge Report this morning that they had to rush him to the hospital following the show due to extremely high blood pressure. Not good. David Archuleta was brilliant, as usual, and Michael Johns, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, and Jason Castro turned in good performances. I have to tell you that the more I hear Castro's voice the more I like it. And Brooke White is just plain likable. She has this folksy lilt to her voice and an engaging personality. This has been a great season, so far.

Idol Chat

Amidst all the wannabe American Idol judge blathering that abounds in the blogosphere, let me add my two cents worth:

• The winner of this year's competition will come from the guys. They consistently bring it every night.
• I'm glad they pulled out the Beatle's songbook last night. I forgot how many great songs Paul and John have written.
• I want to offer my thanks to America for finally getting Danny Noriega off the stage. He had a great voice, but I couldn't stand his constant posturing.
• Last night Chikezie rocked the house. Who knew? That was a great rendition of "She's a Woman". It was a little schizophrenic, but what else do you expect when a Nigerian tries his hand at bluegrass. My favorite of the night.
• I'm finding myself liking Jason Castro, in spite of his dreads. I enjoyed his performance last night.
• David Cook is a great rocker. He hasn't had a bad song yet. He's my runner-up at this point.
• Carly and Brooke both did a good job last night. Carly kind of reminded me of Bonnie Raitt in her take on "Come Together". Brooke sang one of my favorite McCartney songs, "Let It Be". A little bit pitchy, but nice. I predict that they will be the last women standing.
• Amanda Overmyer may be the only woman who can beat up Chuck Norris. She's a little scary. From Mulberry, IN. Who would have thought it?
• I, like half of America, can't help rooting for David Archuleta. While up to this point he's been the most consistent, last night was awful. He's only going to survive this week's cut based on his performances up till now.

Everything else was awful or forgettable at best. This is a pretty good season, though. Definitely entertaining.