Ten moments that shook 'American Idol' in 2008

To some (myself included), it was the greatest season in "American Idol" history. To others, it was sagging proof that the series was overdue for a reboot.  We had controversies, surprises, tragedies, outrages and amazing triumphs, and in the end hints of big shake-ups in the year to come.  Below is my list of the most earth-jolting moments that rocked the Idoldome in 2008.  Which did I leave out? What were yours?  Let us know in the comments section below.

10.  David Hernandez stripping controversy.
The show's annual sex scandal erupted in the Top 24 rounds when it was revealed that contestant David Hernandez had spent a past life as a stripper in a gay nightclub.  Despite the firestorm that erupted, the show stood by its contestant and left it to the audience to decide his fate.  The audience indeed saw him through that week, letting him take his place in the Top 12, but then sent him home the following week.

9. Brooke White starts over
Representing a new more personal genre on the Idol stage -- the singer-songwriter not once but twice stopped her songs after shaky starts and began again.  To many it seemed she had committed "Idol" suicide, but audiences seemed charmed by the authenticity of White's performance and put her through after each incident.

8. Andrew Lloyd Webber week
The week dedicated to the songbook of the Broadway titan was extraordinary for the greatest performance of the Greatest Performer in "Idol" History -- Carly Smithson, who sang "Superstar" from "Jesus Christ Superstar."  The week became a shocker, however, when the show-stopping performance led to Smithson's ouster, the greatest shock departure of the season.

7. Paula's performance confusion
On a confusing night when the judges at the last minute were told to give flash, gang reviews to all the performances at once -- after the contestants' first rounds, judge Paula Abdul was so flustered by the changes that she panned a Jason Castro performance that had not taken place.  The flub led to a firestorm of speculation over whether Paula would be eased out of the show as well as stoking conspiracy theories from the "Idol" fringes speculating that her responses were written by the producers.

6. The emergence of Archuleta
For seven years the tween vote was the sleeping giant of "Idol" demographics -- whose backing could send even contestants such as Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais to the upper reaches of Idoldom.  But never had America's 11-year-olds had a real contender to root for.  And when The Chosen One appeared a shriek was ignited that left Idol Nation's collective eardrum, bruised and vibrating for months to come.

5. David Cook's 'Billie Jean'
David Cook was not supposed to have been a contender, starting the season in the shadow of Archuleta, Smithson and Michael Johns.  In the early rounds, Simon Cowell told him he had "zero charisma."  But a string of career-making, paradigm-shifting performances sent Cook steadily climbing the ladder.  His unforgettable "Billie Jean" solidified his place as the man to beat.

4.  Jeff Archuleta controversy
Of the many micro-scandals that broke in Season 7, as they do in each season, perhaps the one with greatest toxic potential were the allegations that David Archuleta's father had been banned from the back stage area because of overzealous stage dad behavior.  In itself, the controversy never came to much, but it touched on a third rail at the heart of Idoldom -- the issue of underage performers on the show -- and thus drew responses from the producers more alarmed and protective than the typical "Idol" scandalet.

3. Suicide tragedy
When a former auditionee took her life in front of the home of judge Paula Abdul, for whom she nursed a long obsession, the tragedy led to finger pointing on the production and suggestions that the gleeful cruelty of the audition episodes might be playing with fire.

2. The Fourth Judge announcement/Lythgoe Retirement
Since the birth of "Idol," the three-judge formula (expert, nice, mean) has become so ubiquitous in television that one forgets "Idol" actually invented it -- that it was not just present in nature when "Idol" was born.  What to make of it then when the show that created the Ur-panel decides to change it and announces the addition of a fourth judge to the panel, songwriter Kara Diogardi?  Along with the retirement from "Idol" of its longtime co-showrunner Nigel Lythgoe, there are many signs that this could be the first season to truly shake up "Idol's" formula since the early years.

1. The Finals
The first finals upset win in "Idol" history.  At the end of the last performance show, Simon declared the night a "knockout" for David Archuleta.  The coronation of the Chosen One was a done deal.  And then the shocking announcement that condemned millions of tween girls to years of psychotherapy.  The victory, however, gave "Idol" its most original, unique champion in its history and one whose rocker creds have the potential to give a powerful boost to the franchise as it enters its eighth season.

Comments

[Hallelujah]

Poor Jason. He was thrown under the bus so many times I lost count but you just can't keep a good man down! If you haven't heard his White Christmas recording, you can download it for free at amazon.com. It is Jason's Christmas present to everyone.

[martyk74]

Well, the biggest Shocka!!! of them all was the way too early MJ elimination. Us Word Nerds knew David Cook had it in the bag!!!

[George]

WHO CARES??

Why does the Times devote so much exposure to a stupid tv show?? What is wrong with the US? This is what we think is newsworthy?

Turn off your tv. Better yet, donate it or trash it and pick up a book.

[riana]

Yes, this past season was the best. Not only the best vocals, but also the best variety of voices, and the best looking bunch of all the past years.

[Carrie]

Hey George! If this is all so beneath you, why did you bother reading and commenting? You have better things to do...right?

I think after "best season ever!!!" S5's alumni largely crashed and burned, and S6 turned out mostly a nonevent, the Idol franchise knew they had to get back on track with Season 7. I applaud the return to a focus on quality of talent and think it produced not only a high caliber top 10 final pool, but probably the strongest Final 2 the series has ever turned out. The Davids both look on track to become stars beyond the Idol bubble.

Let's hope the series can keep it up next season...

[Donna]

It was the best year of Idol yet, in my eyes, and I'd be surprised if they can top it this year.

I have to say, about the supposed "shock win", though, that it was a shock only to those who did not follow Dial Idol throughout the season. Starting with Billie Jean, David Cook led there almost every single week by a comfortable margin. He was the frontrunner for most of the season, even if the show worked very hard to make it seem like Archuleta was unbeatable. Cook won by 12 million votes, a landslide, pretty much. It was no real upset, only the appearance of one, but I guess that's the lasting impression. Oh well.

Anyway, seven months later David Cook's album is Gold, and him winning Idol did not result in having to sell his soul to the devil or become anything but the artist he always was. Kudos to him and continued success, he richly deserves it.

[jagged]

The only reason people think Cook's win was a upset is because Idol manipulated the publics opinion to think Archie was ahead all those weeks. But when in fact from Always Be my Baby by Cook and until the finale Cook was the front runner. But to let the American People aware of that would have ruined the show. Also, the notion that Archies fans are all tweens is sad to say the least. He has more fans in the 17-24 age range than Cook. Cook who has failed to ignite much since idol ended. His album is being sold but the sould patrol crew is buying it. The old depressed female husbandless women. Good luck making a career on that Cook. I think Cook is the least deserving Idol to ever win. He screams and doesn't sing. Good luck with that and the old hags Cook. Have a nice career with that. Light On sucks.

[prettyinpink]

You forgot about the fact that Simon went on Jay Leno and Ellen a few days before the finale to pimp the Cook vote. I would call that a defining moment of AI/Nigel Lithgoe manouvering.

[Carrie]

So jagged, you say Cook had the majority of public support ever since mid-season and it wasn't an upset at all.......but then he did not deserve to win and only a few people are buying his album over and over (to the tune of 700k+ sold at this point)?

....That makes no sense. o_O

Anyway he's due to outsell Taylor's *total for two years and counting* next week. I think you guys need to come up with a better angle than this. You all do try really hard though, I'll give you that!

[pane]

So Simon already went to Jay Leno and Ellen few days before finale pimped the Cook vote and on finale he said that it was a knocked out, then the next day he apologized to Cook.......my conclusion is: Simon and the producer of AI taylored the result. If we put two and two together we can figure out that AI is rigged. As simple as that. If Simon was not honest with his statement, than Simon was just playing psychology by doing that he wanted people to feel sorry for Cook and started voting like crazy. Why suddenly he apologized to Cook? He never apologized to other contestant before!! If AI could do that to Daughtry they can manipulate other session too. I vote for daughtry...........a female voice thanking me for voting for her, I tried again and the same voice responsed me. That's not just me having this problem on voting Daughtry, trust me a lot of people had the same experiences with me. Thanks God Daughtry soar and successful.

[Kara]

I enjoyed season 7 above season 6, the only two seasons I have watched. I discovered in season 7 two singers whom I like a great deal and whose future I will follow with interest. I plan to purchase all of their recordings. That's the thing that keeps a singer going, and I want to help them keep on singing.

The two are Jason Castro and Brooke White. I may never have heard of them without watching AI. That is the sole reason I will continue to watch. I'm sure there must be others out there who, like Jason and Brooke, sing from the heart with their own songs and also can make old songs sound new. I am grateful to AI for selecting this type of singer to present to the public.

[Brenda]

Hey Jagged... Bitter Much! haha You Archies crack me up. David Archuleta will go on and be successful and have a great career... David Cook will go on and be successful and have a great career doing what he loves best. And you... in ten years you will still be fuming with posts like that one. Get on with your life... Cook and Archuleta are.

[katharine]

Best Idol season ever! Cook deserved the win--he started winning hearts with Lionel richie's "Hello!"

Best idol winner ever!!!!

[jasmeen]

I only really, really followed all of AI episodes this year. And it is because of the one and only, the chosen one, THE VOICE, Mr DAVID ARCHULETA

[Josh]

Can anyone explain why Light On is not selling better? It has sold some 300,000 copies, and Crush has sold over 1.1 million copies.

[jadedandrejected]

Just a heads up...not all the "haters" (and Lord knows I HATE that cliche) are going to be "Bitter Archies" or whathaveyou. Many are from places like Idletard or Vote For The Worst and hate all things Idol...and they love nothing more than to be trolls and get a rise out of the fans. They especially LOVE when you accuse them of being an Archie (or insert-imaginary-"rival"-here) . Then they can run back to their boards and accuse entire fanbases of being irrational. Don't feed the trolls! And BTW, nothing will turn people off to your artist than coming to a non-AI board (such as a newspaper's page) and stirring up a fanwar.

[Jennifer]

Just a little update for y'all, David Cook sold 132k this week alone, bringing his total to 715k, after only 5 weeks.
What was that? Oh yeah, 5 weeks out. He's no longer selling to his devoted fans. They bought their albums on week one, Week two, at most. He's selling to a much larger crowd now, and guess what? They sure are buying.
Which really isn't very surprising, considering how good his album is. I expect it to continue selling strong and reach Platinum status in the first trimester of 2009.

I'll never understand why certain fans of certain contestants feel the only way to validate their own choice is stink up all over others. You know, I don't go around calling Archie names and generalizing his fanbase on message boards. Funny, that. All the best to him, btw.

[podperson]

Um... there's no "Imagine." How the heck do you include a season 7 list and not include "Imagine"? It was the first "moment" performance of the season and the one that got everybody talking. The list isn't credible without it. Of course, the list isn't credible for other reasons, but that's one glaring omission. The fact that you think Archuleta's primary fan base was 11 year olds clearly makes that portion invalid. And Cook is "unique"? Have you heard Hinder and Nickelback? The guy is talented, but he's not unique, and he's not giving Idol any extra credibility. He's selling bucketloads of albums because 19 is pimping him hardcore with commercials and more promotion than Jordin Sparks saw in a years-worth of being the AI6 winner. And that's great for him--but they're working really, really hard to justify his win.

[Sky]

Season 7 was the most exciting by far. It produced two major stars with David Cook and David Archuleta. David Cook has a unique performance style that is fantastic and a wonderful, captivating voice. His album is selling because it's really, really good. David Archuleta is an angel with a voice people love to hear. I didn't think I would care too much about watching the next season but I guess I'll be curious to check it out. I doubt if they can match the Davids, but if they do...wow!

[elizabeth]

i think david cook victory was the best idol moment ever...i never really care to much about american idol (maybe a bit in S5 with chris D...but when he left i totally hated the show) then david cook appears and the show doesn't suck anymore...SO KUDOS TO DAVID COOK U'RE AWESOMEEEE!

[linda]

Great wrap up. One thing you neglected to mention in reference to the finale-or maybe you did touch on it in a round about way- was this: For the first time ever, a winner was rewarded for bucking Idol traditions and choosing to highlight subtle artistry over the usual finale night sappy ballads with big vocals. Oh sure, Blake Lewis was lauded for his originality all season long, but he was crushed in the finale voting because he couldn't out power ballad Jordin in the end. Even Taylor Hicks, who certainly marched to the beat of his own drummer and bucked the system a bit, won his season by outsinging his competitor on the treacly coronation single. So when David Cook chooses to turn his coronation song selection, Dream Big, into an uptempo rock song, it presumably wasn't a wise choice. Simon lambasted Cook's song selection twice that night. So what did David Cook do? He defended his decision to highlight his versatility and close his time on the AI stage with The World I Know, and the majority of the voters sided with...not Simon...but David Cook. Say what? Course, David Cook, in a moment of "see I could have done this if I wanted to", came through with that sappy power ballad after he was crowned...and it became the second highest grossing coronation song in Idol history. Seriously, how wild was that? I dont think we'll ever see the likes of that kind of finale again. It's by far my favorite in all 7 seasons.

Also, for what it's worth, Cook's album is great. I especially appreciate all of the cowriting credits....you can really tell he's a gifted lyricist with a distinct point of view who will only get better when he's not under the gun to get 'er done. Unlike Chosen One Archuleta, whose album was probably being written for him from the semi-finals on, Cook actually did write songs while he was touring in a very brief period of time, and it's actually...pretty freaking decent. Love, love Permanent and Life on the Moon especially.

[Ashley]

first off the most shocking elimination was mj by far. i mean it was sad to see carly go before klc because carly is more talented but mjs elimination should have made the list.

the david hernandez thing wasnt really important. stupid to judge a person by the past. instead david archuletas imagine definitely shouldve made the list.

i agree that season seven is by far the best season of ai yet. For one David Cook is in my opinion one of the best winners out of all the seasons. This season we also got Archuleta, Carly, and MJ. I cant see this next season topping season 7 especially with all the changes that will be happening.

[The Insider]

Season 7 result that haunts everyone until now that won't lay to rest. No matter what explaination they do - People are not happy and satisfied with the outcome. They think it was completely rigged. If they could have done it realistically in a believable way insteady of 12 million they could have done it 1 million and 2 million nobody would have notice it or a sympathy vote for Cook. Plus the other thing Cook didn't acknowledge where he got his arrangement until the artist speakout via EW Mags its just unfortunate that we was caught there is a credibility issue here - It would have been okay if its just one time but I believe it was three times but AI just down play the situation. It's also shocking that they chop off the head of Mr. Lythgoe - why your guess is as good as anyone. No matter what they do - doing a lot of changes for this season 8 I don't think it will do any good at all. I believe a lot of people won't be watching AI anymore. There is to much controversy in this show. I believe David Archuleta is the rightful winner - now he is doing much better than the winner. David Archuleta is The Best Thing Ever Happened to American Idol - He will always be remembered with the song: IMAGINE. All I can say to the Cook Fans its now time to move on yes Cook is a winner - we couldn't careless. THESE ARE THE MOMENT THAT SHOOK AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 7, TOO.

[HANDLERS]

This article is really a promo ops for Season 8 - For they are just scared to death that this season will be very low in rating for there will be less people who will watch this show again. Thats why they are doing a lot of changes but I don't think it will make any difference. A lot of people were just turned off with this show for there's a lot of controvesy - especially the outcome of the Season 7 finale. Wish them the best of luck!

[Teresa]

Hey linda, I love your enthusiasm for Cook and I agree with most of what you said, except for your little slam against Archuleta at the end. Really...you sounded like a level-headed person until the end of your comment. Archuleta has several writing credits on his album as well as his bonus tracks, thank you very much. It was quite clear that the Chosen One status had changed dramatically towards Cook and so what. Either way, Idol hit the jackpot with those two and they're both doing wonderfully just being certified gold on their albums and Archie's first single Crush has been certified platinum. They've both gotten great radio play which has obviously picked them up non-Idol fans along the way. Their videos have both hit #1 many times on the VH1 Top 20 Countdown already too. Oh and by the way, I am 33 and love both Davids. I'm not a tween, nor a depressed, husbandless woman. I really, really hate the generalizations of the fanbases. It's really quite stupid.