MSHBB Exclusive Cookster CD Review

If you had said to me in February, "Brenna, on November 18, you will wake up early to download David Cook's debut CD to your iPod," I would have laughed. "David Cook?" I'd say. "He of the pervy bangs and staring in girls' windows and doing crossword puzzles? That David Cook?" Oh, how much has changed in the last 10 months. We have a new president. The Pens were thisclose to hoisting the Cup. Ben Roethlisberger keeps throwing interceptions.... ok, maybe not everything has changed. But I'm living in Patriots country, while Lindsay has taken up residence in NoVa. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, MSHBB somehow became Cookster biggest fans #1 and 2 sometime around the Great Haircut of Dolly Parton Week.

So, in a MSHBB exclusive mid-November reprise, here's my track-by-track review of "David Cook," by, yes, David Cook...

Declaration - A good mid-tempo rocker. It's a good opener - catchy chorus that's easy to sing along to, lyrics about being his inspiration, you know, all the stuff that makes girls like us swoon.

Heroes - More Cookster belting. It's going to be a trend on this album. On first listen, it's certainly not one of my favorites. Next.

Light On - I wasn't a huge fan of this one when it was first released. It's grown on me, perhaps due in part to the guylinered, guitar-playing hotness he is in the video. I still think the lyrics are mildly stupid, but that bridge/soft reprise of the chorus gets me every time.

Come Back To Me - Another song about a relationship on the rocks. Cookster, is there something we should know? Anyways... you remember how Paula said "Always Be My Baby" should be on a movie soundtrack? I feel the same way about this song. I imagine this being played in that pivotal scene in one of those romantic comedies staring Julia Stiles that was so popular in the early 2000s. It's a sweet song, but I don't feel like there's anything really special about it.

Life On The Moon - This is the first song on the album that I loved upon first listen. It's a power ballad with big guitar chords and a slow build and the Cookster's delicious voice singing over it all. Lyrics are kind of corny, but I'm enjoying it.

Bar-ba-sol - Aaaaaaaand, Cookster finally rocks out. It's part bluesy, part rocky, and 100% awesome. I can't wait to hear this one in concert.

Mr. Sensitive - More belting. I worry sometimes for his vocal chords. Regardless, this is another good mid-tempo song, along the lines of Declaration. He's got a flair for the dramatic, that's for sure. I can already imagine his show involving lots of bright lights and fog machines (watch out, Archuleta and your river of fog!).

Lie - It's no coincidence that my favorite performances of his were "Hello," "Billie Jean," and "Always Be My Baby." I want Cookster to serenade me with power ballads like this one. But seriously... "Lie to me and tell me that it's gonna be all right... lie to me and tell me that we'll make it through the night..." Is he trying to break my heart? He's doing a pretty good job, if so. Maybe things aren't going so swimmingly with K-Caldwell after all. ;) Also, I get a mental image of a "So You Think You Can Dance" waltz. It could work.

I Did It For You - This one is average. It sort of sounds like the songs before it - mid-tempo again. Cookster belting. Nothing too special.

Avalanche - Sense a trend here? Another mid-tempo song, with big guitars and belting. I get images of a movie scene again. I'm starting to think he's just good at that type of song. Imagine, guys, that Paula actually gave a critique that was both sensical and accurate. Stranger things have happened.

Permanent - Ooooooooh, the wait is well worth it for this one. Piano, strings, and Cookster singing about his brother. It's just beautiful. That sound you hear? That's me falling into my puddle of drool.

A Daily AntheM - It's a song that has a "Whoooooaaaaa" chorus that Lindsay & I will obnoxiously sing along with if we ever get to see Cookster in person again. Is that enough? :)

All in all, I think it's a solid debut. It's far from perfect, but really, who other than Daughtry got it right on the first try? Kelly really hit her stride on her second CD, and I'm looking forward even more to see what happens when the Cookster is a little farther away from the ever vigilant Idol eye. If you just want a taste, download "Bar-ba-sol," "Lie," "Declaration," and "Permanent."

Archuleta also released an album this month, but out of principle, we will not be reviewing it. That song he's got on the radio is obnoxious, and besides, the CD probably has pre-teen girls screaming along with every track and Daddy Archuleta voicing his approval. Also, in what has to be a sign that the apocalypse is near, KLC also has a single on the Billboard charts.

We'll be back in January for a new crop of Idol rejects! Until then, happy holidays!

Videographic evidence

The screaming and/or singing along you occasionally hear is the voice of MSHBB.

The end of a sports movie? Or Michael Johns? You decide. (Side note: Please don't take this as an accurate sampling of Brenna's singing. I swear, I'm much better for that. You'll see that next season.)

Cookster doing "Hello." I wish like hell I'd recorded the entire song, because I'm mildly obsessed with it now, and I can't watch the video of when he did it on the show because he still had perverted hair.

Cookster doing "Billie Jean." See above re: perverted hair. Seriously, Cookster, why didn't you get a hair cut before the show started? We'd have a much more solid relationship if you had.

Spotted: MSHBB in a puddle of drool at the Verizon Center.

Hello, friends. After a two and a half month hiatus, MSHBB is back for one night only. At least until February 2009. Or something like that. When we last left you, the right person had just been crowned American Idol. Bren was blogging hours of craptastic footage, and I was eating pizza and gelato in the place where everyone should eat pizza and gelato at least once before they die. Good times. And now fast forward to August, and Bren and I were fortunate to be able to see this year's top 10 Idols live and in person in DC, before Bren makes the BIG MOVE to Patriots country.

For starters, we had AWESOME seats. We were in one of the side sections closest to the stage, in row G, which is eight rows back from the floor seats. We had a perfect view of everything...including the GIANT Pop Tart that was scurrying about as part of its contractual obligation, as the tour was freakin' sponsored by Pop Tarts. Which is like, the weirdest thing ever. Why the hell wouldn't Coke sponsor it? Or iTunes? Or any of the other products shoved in our face during this season?

So we are forced to sit through some awful crowd warmup by a third-rate Seacrest. I seriously couldn't even tell you what he said because I think we snarked through the whole thing. I think the people in front of us hated us so bad before the first Idol even came out. Bren and I can tell we're doomed when the screaming during the mere flashing of Archuleta's picture is more deafening than we can bear.

Chikezie is up first, and for serious you guys, he got eliminated way. Too. Soon. He came out totally energized and had a blast, and sounded great. He did three songs, one of them being Usher's "Caught Up" and he was awesome. He was also wearing a velvet blazer, which was so not appropriate for DC in August, but he rocked it. More Chikezie! No! Don't bring out Ramiele....

And here she is. In a getup that is wildly awesome and striptastic. You just need to see it for yourself:Right? Awesome, yet hideous. Anyway, Ramiele was one of the ones that I was over the second she made it into the top 12, but she was really good during the show. In fact, that was pretty much the theme of the night--everyone sang about 10 times better than they ever did on the show. It must be a hell of a lot easier once the pressure's off, you know? She does a couple of numbers, which I can't really remember...I think one of them was that Rihanna/Maroon 5 number that's popular right now. But we didn't hate her.

At this point, I am 1/4 of the way through my pillow-sized $4 bag of popcorn. I wanted chips with my hot dog, but the chips only came with the kid's meal and you had to get a drink with the kid's meal too and I already paid $7 for a beer, so I said F it and got the popcorn. When the guy brought it to me, I laughed at him, then paid for it. I'm dumb.

Bren and I are on our feet next, because it's Michael F'ing Johns, aka Aughtry, aka Chuck Bass. We nearly explode with delight at the sight that he is INDEED wearing a Chuck Bass scarf. Right now, we're pretty sure everyone around us hates us, because I think we're the only ones standing up. He sings all our favorite numbers from the show--the Queen medley, the Dolly Parton song that was sex on a stick, and "Dream On"--talk about getting the crowd going...

Only to be brought back down by the appearance of Kristy Lee. God. We debated if we wanted to take our bathroom/beer break at this point, or just suck it up and wait until intermission. We sucked it up. And how. I am not pleased to report that she again pulled out all the stops and did a big ol' USA-themed number to "God Bless the USA", complete with a neon flag. God.

And I have to sidebar for a minute. So we're on the Metro ride home, and we somehow managed to get on at the same time as this toolbox kid and I guess his mom? Aunt? I don't know. And they were the kind of people who are really loud, know it all talkers. I mean, I'm loud too, but not on public transportation. So at one point on the ride, the lady, loudly, asks the tool what his favorite number was, and she says her favorite was "God Bless the USA"--to which the tool loudly announces practically to the whole Metro that he loved that number too, and it gave him the chills. Bren and I barely made it off at our stop before we just busted out laughing. I'm sorry, but Jesus. I'm just as patriotic as the next person--my husband is a U.S. soldier, for Pete's sake--but the toolishness of this guy was just too much, to be combined with the fact that his FAVORITE number, out of the 30+ songs we heard was THAT number....we just lost it.

Ahem. OK, sorry for the derailment there. So up next was Carly, who looked AMAZING and sounded fantastic. The crowd really went nuts for her, which made me happy, because she just seemed so desperately to want to do this, and I'm glad she got the ovation she deserved. She reprised "Crazy On You" by Heart from the season, and also opened her set with a bang with "Bring Me to Life", which ROCKED. Good on you, Carly.

It was at this point that I got the giggles. It was the thought combination of what would happen when Archuleta came out combined with the idea of Jason Castro (crowned Weedy McPotbrownie) having to address the crowd in any way. Bren, I'm sorry if you thought at any point that I was having a mental episode.

So here comes Brooke! Rising out of the floor! Sitting at the piano! Woo! She starts off with "Let it Be", which is just as good if not better than she did on the show. She abandons the piano for her second number, to our terror--we all remember what Brooke's like without an instrument, right?--but she grabs a guitar and launches into an adorable rendition of "1234" by Feist. How cute would she have been had she done this on the show? We love you, Brooke! Thanks for not cracking on stage tonight!

So we're sure at this point it's about to be Weedy McPotbrownie. So Bren decides to make a bathroom run, thinking that by the time she got back, we'd all have been asleep from Jason's set. Do you guys want to guess what she missed? If you said "another advertisement for Idol Gives F'ing Back, complete with a U2 song sung by the six Idols who just performed", you'd be absolutely right. The only good thing that distracted me from the pictures of sad kids on the giant screen (seriously, I appreciate what they're doing, but man, I didn't come to the show to get all sad and depressed about the problems in our world) was the fact that Michael AND Carly sang together in the number, and Michael had shed his jacket to give us a better look at his Chuck Bass scarf. Aaaaaand, it's intermission.

Damn, I can't believe how long this blog is already and I haven't even gotten to the Cookster yet.

So after intermission, here comes Jason. And man, guys, his welcome in DC was INSANE. IN. SANE. The cougar next to us and her teenager daughter went apeshit when he came out. Bren and I were seriously bewildered. I just didn't think he had that kind of following I guess. We deemed his popularity in DC the biggest surprise of the night. LOL. He busted out the ukelele for "Over the Rainbow" and did a sleepy remix of "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. I forget what his third song was, but we had kind of wished it was "Hallelujah"--no dice though.

After an awkward intro by Weedy, out busts Syesha. And damn, all we can say is FIERCE. She is rocking an amazing hairdo and a dress that I could only wish I could pull off. She comes out singing "Umbrella", transitions into Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You" and finishes with a showstopping number from Dreamgirls. Go Syesha! We would totally buy her album, we decided.

Sigh. Here we go. Bren and I literally brace ourselves against each other for the onslaught we KNOW is coming with the appearance of Archuleta. And appear he does. To many, MANY screams. Rising from the floor, seated at the piano, like Brooke. What was NOT like Brooke was the cloud of FOG that engulfed him.

I mean, seriously?? FOG? LMAO. No one else got the fog treatment. Cookster better be swinging from ropes from the ceiling or something. He has a nice new haircut, looks more grownup. However, that is canceled out by the shiny red Chuck Taylors he's wearing and also by the sequins and glitter lining the lapels and hem of his jacket. He starts out with "Angels" at the piano, and I don't remember the other numbers he does except he does that awful "Stand By Me/Beautiful Girls" remix he did on the show, which, barf. GET TO COOKSTER ALREADY.

Finally. The main event. You know, I'm happy as hell we didn't have to sit through any horrifically cheesy group numbers, save for the Idol Gives F'ing Back one. I really, really enjoyed this. It was lots of songs that I liked and had heard of, being sung by people who are really talented and love music. Good show.

So Archuleta awkwardly introduces the Cookster, as is his way. Gosh. At which point Bren and I look at each other and without saying a word, are on our feet. HELL YES. Cookster comes out, resplendent in guyliner, and launches into "Hello", which we totally forgot he had done on the show. Awesome, of course. He is totally gracious and awesome with the crowd, too.

I keep yelling "SING BILLIE JEAN", which gets the cougar next to me all riled up, so she starts yelling it too. Yikes. I just kept doing it at that point to get her going. The rest of his set includes "Time of My Life" also known as his coronation song from the finale, "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing", "My Hero" and "Billie Jean". Sadly, no "Always Be My Baby", which was pretty much the only slightly disappointing thing about his set. This guy could headline his own tour right now and be totally comfortable. Spotted: Lindsay Beck, first in line to buy David Cook's album.

After Cookster wraps up, we get the obligatory top 10 group number, which HILARIOUSLY is "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna. The second that song starts up, I immediately crack up again, because picture it:: Jason Castro mumbling his way through lyrics like "Do you know what you started, I just came here to party, but now we're rocking on the dance floor actin' naughty." Yeah. That's right. So they all come out, line by line, singing the song. Michael Johns and Cookster are basically acting like fools, because really, do you think they can take this number seriously? All in all, it's not bad, and it's the only large group number we have to deal with, so YAY to that.

And there you have it! Totally, 100% worth it. Bren and I had a great time, we sat by mostly fun people, the little girl high-pitched squealing and screaming was pretty much limited to Castro and Archuleta and everyone was 10 times better than they were on the show. Hope you enjoyed our recap--we'll be back in January or February, depending on when we feel like it, haha. Cheers!

Congratulations, America...

You actually got it right for once. You weren't swayed by the judges' endless pimping, or the bright shiny objects, or a few early weeks of really terrible hair. This year's Idol actually deserved the prize.

I've said it several times throughout this blog, but I'm not sure when I decided I didn't hate the Cookster anymore. I don't know when he went from creepy, greasy, might be staring in your window guy to polished, courteous, well-spoken, good-looking, amazing performer guy. I'm glad he did, though, and I'm glad he won this whole darn thing.

I watched the finale with Meredith, my hubby, and a bottle of wine, and wanted to enjoy the whole thing without taking notes. Well, "enjoy" turned out to be a rather strong word, and I don't know if I can sit through that all again, so I'm relying on my memory (albeit with a few glasses of wine) and recaps that are much funnier than mine that I won't link to here but you can probably find if you look hard enough.

And we're off. Ryan, blah blah blah, a gazillion votes. Dumbass Matt Rogers (I really didn't like him in his year, sorry dudes) and Idol Madness contestant Mikaleh Gordon are reporting from the Davids' hometowns. Wow, this is completely unnecessary. Remember this when your DVRs cut off at 10:00 and the show is still going.

So… the top 12!!! Ten of which we'll see on tour in a few months!! Oh David Hernandez and Chikezie, you were taken from us too soon. KLC is looking as trashy as ever. Hey, it looks like Carly/Brooke/Michael are actually having fun again!!! Amanda Overmeyer is decidedly not. Wow, seriously, get her off the stage. She looks miserable. Syesha is working it. Cookster looks like he's laid back & having fun. Archuleta looks like he's going to vomit. (Again.)

The Davids sing that song from that "Superman" movie that I hate because it's sung by that guy from Nickelback that I hate. Boo.

Ok, "The Love Guru." Let's pause for a moment. About six months ago, I was really excited for this movie because it combined Mike Myers, Justin Timberlake, and hockey. However, the commercials have made me realize the movie looks painful and even if Sidney Crosby was costarring, I still wouldn't see it. That said, Mike Myers saying "Mariska Hargitay" over & over again cracked me up. Anyone else? Anyone? Bueller? Maybe it was the wine? Ok, next.

Syesha & Seal! Nothing left to say. Jason reprising "Hallelujah!" If I wanted to hear this again, I'd get it on iTunes.

FORD! Commercial featuring outtakes from previous commercials. I care less about them now than I did eight weeks ago. The Davids (especially Cookster) are especially excited to win a car. Like they don't give the final two a car every year.

The top six ladies come out to a Donna Summer medley. Amanda still looks like she's going to murder KLC. Carly is kind of kicking ass. So is Syesha, who gets to sing with Ms. Summer herself when she is led onstage by some men like she is the freaking Queen of England or something.

Carly & Michael sing a jazzed out version of "The Letter." While I'm not a particularly huge fan of the arrangement, I have to concede two things: 1. If Carly had performed with this much fun reckless abandon all season, maybe she would've stayed longer. 2. Michael kind of rocks, and I really can't wait to see him on tour.

The boys take the stage to sing "Summer of '69." Damn, I love this song. Hey, look it's Bryan Adams! If anyone but my hubby and six other people in the world watched "How I Met Your Mother," I'd make a great joke here.

Jordin saying something about an American Idol ride at Disney World? Or maybe it's a shooting gallery where you can take aim at past contestants? You know the Sanjaya target would be worn out in no time.

The Cookster takes the stage to rock with ZZ Top. Remember a few years back when Chris sang with Live and even then we all kind of thought they were outdated? Well, apparently Idol is still paying for the Beatles songbook and can't afford any current, relevant performers this year. Even performers from the 90's are too expensive. Yes, ZZ Top is kind of awesome, but really. My biggest gripe with this whole season has been the complete and total lack of anything contemporary, and just before we throw the Cookster out into the wild of the music biz, we let him be tutored by ZZ Top?

Next Brooke sings "Teach the Children Well" with Graham Nash, and all I can think of is Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute. And guys, I spent about 20 minutes last night looking for that video and couldn't find it anywhere. Seriously, it doesn't exist.

I fast forward through the Jonas Brothers.

Next we have a short recap of this year's most awful memorable auditions. Hey, at least it's not the Golden Idols again. That guy who sang "Go Down Moses" was awesome. We are reminded of the "I Am Your Brother" guy, and wow, there is he again! In that same crazy outfit! With the USC Marching Band!!! WTF?!?! This is the most amazingly awful thing Idol may have ever done. (Except for, perhaps, William Hung's CD.) OMG, Paula and Randy are going on stage. Paula is doing that same dance move she always does. Wow. This merits a link to the video so we can all watch it again.

After that debacle, Archuleta sings "Apologize" with OneRepublic, whose lead singer looks suspiciously like Giovanni Ribisi. Archuleta actually does pretty well. Why couldn't he have sung this on the show instead of Chris Brown?! Last year's Idol Jordin sings a pretty bad song in a really bad dress. Wow, girl. Gold lame just doesn't do it for ANYONE. Blake is super cute singing along with her in the audience. Go Blake. Your CD was underrated and under-promoted.

I should hate the next movie pimping adventure, this one featuring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, & Robert Downey Jr. as the Pips, but I don't, because it's Robert freaking Downey Jr., and I love him.

Carrie Underwood makes what feels like her 800th appearance on this season and sings a song I don't pay attention to in an outfit I can't even begin to describe. So I don't. I let the Fug girls do that.

The top 12 are back again - OMG, will this show ever end?!?! - to sing outdated medley #4 of the evening. And woo, the biggest star this show - THE BIGGEST SHOW ON TV - could attract is George Michael. Which is awesome... if you're living in 1986. We, however, are not. We are in 2008. We are in the era of Justin Timberlake and Beyonce and Fall Out Boy. (I never said music was better. Just different.) And instead of saying "wow, what awesome performances!" I'm sitting here thinking "did Uncle Nigel not try, or did they turn him down?" Memo to Idol 2009: save some of your money from IGFB and spend it on the finale. I want the ladies singing with Madonna up there.

Usual rambling & killing time by Ryan & the judges. (Seriously, it's almost 10:00 at this point. This shit is why my mom frantically called me last year because their DVR cut off BEFORE Ryan even announced Jordin as the winner. FOX, get it together.) Simon apologizes to the Cookster for being too hard on him. My immediate thought at this point is, Cookster won and Simon is trying to save face.

Turns out I'm right, as Seacrest FINALLY reveals that our season 7 winner is David Cook, and the dude totally breaks down. Cookster Mom and Cookster Brother are on stage, everyone is going crazy, and then I realize, this is why I watch this damn show. If Archuleta had won, I probably would've sworn it off forever, but the Cookster winning makes devoting entirely too much time during the last 19 weeks of my life to this show somehow seem somewhat worth it. Until next January, when I'm cursing at my TV all over again.

Don't go away, dear faithful readers. We have the long awaited completion of our Idol Madness poll. We're contemplating recapping "So You Think You Can Dance." And, on August 14, we'll be at the Idols concert in DC, taking beer breaks everytime KLC is on stage. And in the meantime, I leave you with this juicy tidbit and bid you good night!

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COOKSTER WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, quite the upset. I'm shocked. A full recap will come most likely Friday, but till then, I'll leave you with some of my favorite moments from the show:

• Seeing David Hernandez again. Boy got voted off entirely too early.
• "Mariska Hargitay"
• Bedazzled microphones.
• "I Am Your Brother." That shit will never get old.
• Jack Black, Ben Stiller, & Robert Downey Jr. Particularly Robert Downey Jr.
• Cookster and his guyliner and his playoff beard being crowned American Idol.
• Daddy Archuleta trying to be happy.

Full recap to come. Good tidings, all, and good night!

Tonight, on "Idol": Songs from the "Rocky" Soundtrack

Well, here we are. After months of performances both "in the zone, dawg" and "a little pitchy," "shocking" departures, and countless crazy Paula moments, we have arrived at the season 7 finale. There's an elaborate opening likening the Davids to heavyweight boxers, complete with robes and gloves and … God, this is going on for far too long. Can we get this started already?

Whoa, Luke Perry! Luke! Why aren't you on the 90210 spinoff?

Ok, so we have the Davids, Seacrest, the judges (is it me, or is Randy wearing a candy bracelet?), and another overly long segment on just how much this whole contest means. Cuz really, we don't know. Not like we've been watching this damn show for seven years or anything. There's the usual "THIS IS WHERE YOU COULD GO!!!" montage, and I swear they show Chris Daughtry. Um… does anyone remember that Chris didn't actually win? Apparently the producers are trying to forget about Taylor Hicks as much as we are. Either that, or they're subliminally trying to calm down the Cookster's fans by reminding us that all will still be ok when he doesn't win.

Seriously, enough with the boxing theme. We are told "Round One" is Clive Davis's choice. I wasn't aware Clive Davis was still alive. I'm not totally convinced this isn't a wax figure talking to us. Clive tells us the Cookster will be singing a song that represents "the yearning of a generation," aka "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2. Not the U2 song I would've chosen – that would've been "With or Without You," because, you know, I think about these things – but he does pretty well anyways. My hubby and I agree that Cookster would've been better off starting the show with "Paradise City." Oh well, a girl can dream.

C-Davis chooses "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" for Archuleta. (Is the theme of this round "Longest Song Titles Ever," or what?) Clearly they are trying to mold Archuleta into the next Clay Aiken. It sounds exactly the same as every song Archuleta has ever or will ever sing, but the judges are seriously pimping him. Wow, way to be subtle, Uncle Nigel.

Next the Davids get to pick songs from the crappy song contest. Yippee. Cook sings a terrible song called "Dream Big." It's actually better than most of the crap we see on the finale show, but it still blows. He does what he can with it, not much else to say. We get a priceless quote from Paula – something about "a song in your heart and a guitar in your hand" – and we're on to the next awful song.

Archuleta picks an even more terrible song called "In This Moment." I suppose he sounds good, but he's got these sappy unicorn puppy ballads down by now. More pimping by the judges. Wow. This is out of control tonight. Archuleta seriously looks like he's going to pass out.

Constantine alert! Excuse me while I go shower.

To kick off "Round Three," Cook sings "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. Anyone under the age of 20 (that is, anyone who votes) collectively goes "huh?" And hey, he's wearing a vest and a tie and looking quite dapper. Wow, I know Lindsay mentioned it last week, but hats off to the Idol stylists. Best makeover in years. Anyways, he starts off acoustic, and I wish he'd stayed that way. He actually sounds very good, but as your last Idol performance, it leaves a lot to be desired. Another great Paula quote – "standing in your truth." The script writers are working overtime tonight!!! Simon suggests he should've done "Billie Jean" or another song he'd already done, and Cookster respectfully disagrees. Good for you, Cookster. Despite what the judges seem to believe, we do not have a short term memory, and I think he does well by not repeating one of his earlier songs.

Archuleta apparently doesn't get that memo, and he repeats "Imagine." It sounds good, but as usual he puts me half to sleep, while somewhere in Europe, Lindsay is crying at this moment and doesn't know why. Eh. And with that, the competition is over.

So who will get to sing "A Moment Like This Now Inside Your Heaven" tomorrow night? Well, let's put it this way. Who should win? Cook, hands down. He was consistently the best performer on the show, he took risks, he's contemporary (to use one of Simon's favorite words), he can legally buy a beer, he remembers his lyrics, he's grown throughout the competition, he's going to release a blockbuster album a few months from now, and the look on Daddy Archuleta's face would be priceless. Who will win? Archuleta, for several reasons. A) Who actually votes week after week? Teenage girls. Who makes up Archuleta's fan base? Teenage girls. B) Like Blake before him, Cook just isn't cut out for the sappy victory ballad, and usually whoever pulls off that POS takes home the prize. C) Because I like Cook and want him to win. My favorite never wins.

I'll be back later in the week sometime to recap tomorrow's finale extravaganza. It's entirely too much to do in one night. Till then, cheers!

Let the Battle of the Davids begin

Entertainment Weekly is beginning the battle a little early, with this David v. David weekly match-up poll. Looking back at week 1's "Happy Together," I'm pretty sure that's when we decided the Cookster was this year's Constantine, only to finally be convinced by the "Billie Jean" cover of Year You Were Born week and the Great Haircut of Dolly Parton Week. That said, his cover of "All Right Now" in week 2 of the semifinals was kind of kick ass in retrospect.