Fantastic!

Last night, I complained that the fix was in for David Archuleta to win American Idol, but how wrong I was. In an instant (precisely one instant after my Tivo cut off, grrr), this entire season was redeemed when relative underdog David Cook swooped in and took the victory. I let out a celebratory “YES!” and for the first time in several seasons, I was pleased with the Idol coronation.
All season long, I resisted jumping on the Cook bandwagon. I lamented his unfortunate hair stylings (still do), cited a lack of authenticity, and generally mocked his emo trappings. But ultimately, in the finale, he won me over, and heck, better late than never. On Tuesday night, he stepped up and made his claim to the stage, and clearly, America responded.

Of course, it’s very likely Cook’s victory came from a massive backlash against Archuleta. I don’t think I was the only one dismayed by the total lopsidedness of Tuesday’s judging (heck, even Simon apologized for it), and I wouldn’t be surprised if millions of people were galvanized to vote just to ensure that certain wrongs were made right. Still, I never thought Cook would win. Despite the various rumors that surfaced throughout Wednesday (the producers like Cook more than Archuleta, Dial-Idol predicts Cook, Archuleta fans may be complacent, etc.), I felt this was all Fox-generated hype to keep us interested. Maybe that’s why I was so pleasantly pleased when it all turned out to be true.
And thank God. This win felt like a win for all of us who had to endure a season of adult-contemporary schlock that was somehow hailed as brilliant when it clearly wasn’t. Had David Archuleta won, it would have signaled the true death-knell for the franchise. He would have represented everything wrong with this season, including but not limited to a stultifying predictability. Cook’s win, however, reminded us that Idol could still shock and electrify us (metaphorically, of course), and at the very least, it gave me hope that this outcome was a symbolic gesture of the show getting back on track.
Or maybe I’m looking too far into it.
I’m sorry if I’m gushing. I’m just so happy. I sincerely thought Archuleta was going to win. I don’t want to kick him while he’s down (surely his father is doing that for him), but I was absolutely horrified at the idea that the kid might win. All throughout the lengthy finale, there were reminders why an Archuleta victory would be so abysmal. Take, for instance, the soulless duet with OneRepublic. How is it possible that two people could be singing the same song, but only one can inject any sort of emotion into it?
More telling, however, were the Guitar Hero commercials, featuring both finalists dancing around in their underwear à la Tom Cruise in Risky Business. David Cook — or the Cookie Monster, as my friend Caty likes to say — played the part nicely, seamlessly taking on the role. Archuleta, on the other hand, was awful. Not only was he unable to lipsynch, but he bopped around like a middle-schooler playing an adult. Granted, there’s a huge difference between seventeen and twenty-five, but still, the entire comparison reminded me that one finalist had star power, and the other simply did not.
Speaking of star power, there were plenty of celebs popping up all night. Jimmy Kimmel gave a funny roast to spice things up; although, it wasn’t nearly as pointed and hilarious as his “Idol Gives Back” bit. Seal, Donna Summer, Z.Z. Top, Graham Nash, and a scarecrow-esque Bryan Adams also took the stage to sing with the Idols, but in each case, I wound up hitting the fast-forward button (Brooke’s performance actually was nice, but c’mon, I had two hours to get through. I couldn’t sit and watch ALL of it). Meanwhile, Mike Myers did his best to keep me far away from his new movie, and the Jonas Brothers, well, they sang, but I skipped it. Oh, and Carrie Underwood popped up on the show AGAIN, this time wearing some strange combo of a short business suit and a robe. It kind of looked like she’d gotten tangled up in some draperies right before stepping on stage.
In the audience, there were other luminaries: Teri Hatcher, Janice Dickinson, Lori Laughlin —  you know, big names. There were more celebs, but a) I can’t remember them all, and b) I probably fast forwarded over a few too.
Far and away the most impressive star to grace the show, however, was George Michael (the real one, not the Bluth). The iconic singer of ’80s performed for the first time on network television in what seemed like ages, and honestly, he was great. Singing “Praying For Time” (which Carrie Underwood covered back on “Idol Gives Back”), George Michael held the audience (both at the Nokia and in my living room) rapt. All snickering kind of faded out as we listened to this powerful performance. And believe me, there had been some snickering (especially in the wake of David Hernandez whispering the word “naked” just moments prior).
The return of George Michael reminded me that while he’s become the butt of so many jokes over the years, he really is talented and due for a comeback. Also, the entire time, I kept imagining how David Archuleta would have sung the same song but completely sucked any emotion or relevance from it. And that’s what separates a star from a singer.
Gosh, I can’t really think of anything else even though I know there’s plenty more. I’m gonna kick myself once I post this. I’ll be wanting to add one comment after another after another. Ultimately, I was thrilled with the results; although, the song they gave Cook to sing was amazingly awful, even by Idol finale standards. I truly loved the very end of the show though when David’s bro looked at the camera and proudly said “That’s my brother.” We couldn’t hear his voice, but it still remained such a warm, touching moment.
Oh how joyous that such a dreary season can end on such a high note. Huzzah!
What did you think about the outcome? And how about the finale?
P.S. — not to be overlooked were Carly Smithson and Michael Johns, who were fantastic in their duet together. Why couldn’t they have sung that well during the show? Could you imagine and Carly- Michael finale? Now THAT would have been good TV.