David Cook Wins American Idol!

The top 2 Davids, Archuleta and Cook respectively, gave a stand-out duet performance of Hero. I was a little surprised by how great they sounded together, but they are both excellent musicians so I guess I shouldn't be to amazed.

My husband (David also) and I talked about how it would have been good to see Archuleta perform songs like this before. I think it would have shown people more of an edgy side.

After viewing the 2-hour show last night the suspense had built and when Ryan Seacrest announced that David Cook had won we all yelled out, "YES" in unison and started clapping and cheering for our Missouri boy. I'm not sure that he was expecting to win, but he definitely deserved it!

David Archuleta Performing the Beetles Imagine-American Idol Finale

Although this was such a beautiful performance, I would have liked to have seen David A. choose a song that he hadn't performed before. Either way, it was nearly flawless.

David Archuleta Singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"-American Idol Finale

David A. really brought an impressive performance to the finale with this one. It's interesting how he seems so in his element while singing, but then when he is receiving the judge's feedback he looks like he's extremely nervous (not that I wouldn't be in front of 7,000 people) and almost ready to pass out. DA seems like such a nice kid and is such a talented singer. His vocals are pretty hard to beat. Even though American Idol is a "singing competition" (as Simon keeps reiterating) I think it's a little more than that in the end.

For example, when Taylor Hicks won a couple of seasons ago, he obviously had a lot of fan support, but I've never heard one of his songs played on the radio. Elliot Yamin, who finished 3rd that season has had some pretty identifiable songs though, and is arguably a bigger star than Hicks.

American Idol Finals Tuesday Night 7/8c-American Idol Mania

It's hard to believe how quickly this season has flown by! It all comes down to the 2 Davids, Archuleta and Cook. Although I admit that early in the season I was rooting for David A., I'm now cheering for David C. In addition to being a fellow Missourian, David Cook has impressed with his originality and vocal maturity. It's hard to compared the 2 because their styles are so different. Judging from the screaming preteen fans Archuleta has, I predict that maybe he will win. I think it will be close and I don't believe it will matter much if David Cook comes in second. His talent and ability to rock the house are going to take him far. In fact, I think he might even give Chris Daughtry (one of my favorite Idol contestants) a run for his money. Only time will tell, but I'm looking forward to Tuesday night's performances.

David Archuleta's Top 5 Performances of 2 Neil Diamond Hits

David Archuleta is consistently good each week (in my opinion). I found his performance of "Sweet Caroline" to be refreshing. I would still like to see David sing something a bit edgier, but he may be smart sticking with what he does best.

America was a smart choice as well.

David Archuleta's Top 7 Performance of When You Believe

Once again, David A. accentuates his strengths. . . nice falsetto too! Technically speaking, David is pretty close to perfect. I will never tire of his smooth vocals (or sweet face).

David Archuleta Singing Smoky Mountain Memories-American Idol Mania Top 9

Dolly loved David (along with all the screaming fans). It's pretty cute how he still gets embarrassed from all the teenage girl attention. David is just so likeable and humble and I loved this performance! It was a great song choice for him. His voice is just so smooth and pleasant to the ear.

Tonight's Top 9-Dolly Parton Week on American Idol Mania

Tonight's Idol should be interesting. Dolly Parton week should add a unique twist to the Idol contest. I'm sure Kristy Lee Cook is looking forward to the country focus, since that's what she does best. Assuming that the contestants will all be singing Dolly songs, it should be interesting to see who can come up with the most original arrangements and really make the song their own. Dolly Parton has such a unique sound, I'm curious to hear her advice for the contestants.

Don't miss the Top 9:

David Aruchuleta, Brooke White, Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns, Ramiele Malubay, and Syesha Mercado.

Carly Smithson Singing Total Eclipse of the Heart-American Idol Mania Top 10

Okay, you could say I've never seen an ugly baby. Hopefully you're not tiring of my commenting about all the cute baby pics last night. That said, Carly was so cute with her big curly hair. What I want to know is, where did the curls go? Her hair is so straight and shiny now. She almost didn't look like the same girl, simply because of the hair.

I thought Carly rocked Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart last night and I disagree with Randy. I think she has a great rock voice if that's the direction she wants to take. Either way, this girl can sing and I hope that, even though it wasn't maybe her best performance last night. . . she deserves to be around for a good long while on Idol. We wish her the best tonight during the Idol elimination. I really felt for her last week when she was in the bottom 3.

TMI about her trip to the bathroom. Sort of reminiscent of Ryan's (unappreciated) comments that totally embarrassed David Archuleta about his earlier trip to the restroom. That's getting a little too personal for my taste. Hopefully Ryan learned from it. (SMILE)

Was it me, or was Randy Jackson on a bit of a rant last night? He just seemed impossible to please. Oh well, maybe he was having a bad day.

Here's . . . Carly

David Arculeta Singing You're The Voice On American Idol Mania Top 10

I loved the video of David and his little sister dancing when they were little. I'm not sure who the girl was sitting by his father last night in the audience, but it doesn't sound like (judging by the shrieks from the young girls in the crowd) he'll have any trouble getting a date for prom, if he even gets to go. Hopefully he'll still be on Idol at that point.

Even though this wasn't my favorite performance for David A., I think a lot of it had to do with his song choice. Although he sounded pretty good vocally I would like to hear him sounding more current.

I'm not worried about his security at all though. When Paula said, "You could sing the phone book and we'd still love you" I think she was right on the money. Looking forward to a great show next week David A!

American Idol's Top 10 Will Perform Tuesday at 8/7c

Here are America's top 10 Idol Contestants:

Brooke White, 24, Mesa, AZ.
Carly Smithson, 24, San Diego, CA.
Chikeze, 22, Inglewood, CA.
David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT.
David Cook, 25, Blue Springs, MO.
Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX.
Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR.
Michael Johns, 29, Buckhead, GA.
Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL.
Syesha Mercado, 21, Sarasota, FL.

My take on the top 10 is this: I think, so far at least, David Archuleta and David Cook deserve to be in the finals. Cook has been consistently solid and his sound is well-defined. He's been very successful at infusing his style into a song.

David Archuleta simply has a fantastic vocal instrument. With the exception of 1 tough week when he forgot the lyrics to a Beetle's tune, his performances have been "right on". Some are saying that he is getting boring, but I disagree. He is so charming and especially talented at connecting with the audience, particularly when he sings ballads. I think he knows this and, while at some point I think he's going to need to prove that he can sing an uptempo song, I believe he's doing the right thing sticking with what he does best. . . for now, at least.

Unfortunately, I don't see Kristy Lee Cook or Ramiele Malubay sticking around much longer. And, although she is a vocal powerhouse, because of her position in the bottom 3 last week, I'm a little nervous about what might happen with Carly Smithson. If she can manage to stick it out until the end, I think she's capable of giving the 2 Davids a run for their money. Song choice is going to be especially important for her at this stage in the game.

I'm also interested to see what Brooke White and Jason Castro's performances will hold in the coming weeks. I don't see any danger of them leaving this week and have seen glimmers of great potential in both of them. Although her vocal range is more limited than Carly's, she has proven with her piano-playing performance of that she's got what it takes. Jason, I think, is more of an acquired taste. He is pretty quirky and has some mannerisms that are entertaining to watch, but I've been very impressed with a couple of his earlier performances when he played his guitar. He seemed so comfortable and just like he was really enjoying himself.

Be sure and check back daily for updates and please share your opinions.

David Archuleta Performing In Star Search As A Boy

David Archuleta's Near Perfect Top 11 Performace Of The Long And Winding Road

I've recently heard some criticism of David Archuleta's love for the ballad. I think it takes a great singer/performer to capture the audience the way he does when he sings a slow song. Listening to him sing is NEVER boring to me and I'm sure that thousands of others would agree! According to Simon his performance "was a master class." I couldn't agree more!

David Archuleta Performing We Can Work It Out-Top 12

Guy's Song Choices for 80's Night

Chikezie Eze
"All The Man That I Need" - Sister Sledge/Luther Vandross
Danny Noriega
"Tainted Love" - Soft Cell
David Archuleta
"Another Day In Paradise" - Phil Collins
David Cook (favorite performance of the night)
"Hello" - Lionel Richie
David Hernandez
"It's All Coming Back To Me Now" - Pandora'sBox/Meatloaf
Jason Castro
"Hallelujah" - Leonard Cohen
Luke Menard
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!
Michael Johns
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" - Simple Minds

American Idol.com

Top 8 Guys Wow Judges and Fans Last Night!

The girls really have their work cut out for them this year. After watching the top 8 guys perform last night I couldn't believe that so many of them gave incredible performances. Although he didn't wow the judges as much as last week, David Archuleta continues consistently crankin' out show-stopping performances. He sang Phil Collin's "Another Day in Paradise." Last night his vocals were great (as usual) and he definitely infused the song with his own unique style. I enjoyed his piano playing too, brief as it was. As Randy Jackson would say, he "made it his own."

David Cook gave THE performance of the night (in my opinion). In case you missed it, he sang Lionel Richie's "Hello." I will work on getting a video on here ASAP. Other standouts of the night included Jason Castro's smooth performance of "Hallelujah." Leaving his guitar behind, I think he really proved that he can sing and he always seems to enjoy what he's doing! Simon was even impressed calling it "absolutely brilliant."

Finally, despite unflattering recent reports that could have potentially eliminated him from the show David Hernandez gave a strong performance of Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now."

David Archuleta Performing Bryan Adams' "Heaven" During Hollywood Week

David Archuleta's Impressive San Diego Audition

David Archuleta Amazes With Imagine

Here it is...the incredible performance that confirmed David A. as the performer to beat.

David Cook American Idol Rocker and MO Native

Although I agree with Simon that David Archuleta is the one to beat this season, there were several other performances worth noting Tuesday night when the boys took the stage. David Cook, a fellow MO native and self-proclaimed "word nerd" (love that!) revealed that he loves doing crossword puzzles. His performance of The Turtle's "Happy Together" was pretty awesome.

Although Randy said, "You worked it out... dude, it was crazy!" (That's a compliment.) D.C. seemed to take it pretty hard when Simon criticized his performance. Understandably so, but he might fair better in the future to take it with a grain of salt. It is just one person's opinion after all. Interestingly, when David C. was asked in an interview, "Who is your favorite judge and why?" His answer was, "Simon, because he's such a smart aleck I kind of can be too." Maybe they're just 2 of kind, in that way, just a thought?

All things aside, David Cook has a great rock voice and can definitely sing. We're hoping to see much more of him this season. . . .Rock on!