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

[jen]

Very nice article and summary of the year. I hope that next year's group is as talented as Season 7's contestants were. Until then, it's great to see the top two from last year doing so well---DC's numbers in particular are just stunning, especially given how badly the music industry is doing in general---and to see that some of the other Season 7 contestants are showing signs of moving forward to records. I'd be very interested in particular to see what Brooke and Jason come out with.

And, no, I well believe that DC won fair and square. From Top 7 (ABMB) forward, he consistently trounced DA on Dial Idol, and that included Top 2 week. Just because Simon called Top 2 night for DA does not mean that the voters listened to him.

[Psyche]

"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."

Okay, I love Carly and I get that the LA Times has a bias when it comes to her, but the most shocking departure was HANDS DOWN Michael Johns.

[gloria]

mm i think you are missing one more, how about when david archuleta sang IMAGINE?? that was huge!

[jennifer]

Some of the info in these comments is not exactly accurate...

David Cook's Time Of My Life (his coronation song) is not the 2nd best selling coronation song, it's actually the best selling one of them all. It has crossed the Platinum line and is still selling steadily, not to mention that it has stayed at the top of the AC chart for astounding 11 weeks. It's still in the top 10 there, 7 months after it's release.

To whoever said David Archuleta is doing better than Cook, go read your Billboard magazine. DC's album is outselling Archie's by 200k (and DC has one less week of sales, mind you, comparing their 5 week totals, he's outselling Archie by 283k). Reality is what it is. Sorry.

[Diane]

In response to The insider,
David Cook did acknowledge his arrangements. I believe it was only Billie Jean, Eleanor Rigby and Day Tripper which weren't his own or the original artists arrangements. I know for sure that Ryan Seacrest says before David Cook sings Billie Jean that he was doing an arrangement by Chris Cornell. Correct me if i'm wrong but as far as i understand, it was only Eleanor Rigby which he only revealed a couple weeks later was not his own arrangement. Perhaps that's why American Idol didn't pursue it any further. There are no credibility issues anywhere. Oh, and we don't want to hear about Archuleta being the so called "deserved winner". We couldn't care less, it's over. It's time to move on. :)
David Cook Rocks!!!!! :)

[Connie]

Insider, so you think they rigged season 7? You just think they overdid the rigging of the vote by making the margin too big? LOL. In denial much? As was stated by an earlier poster, if you had been tracking Dial Idol during the season, you would have noticed that around halfway through the season, David Cook took over the lead and never looked back. There was really no upset. Last I looked, the stats on DialIdol.com were still there including prior seasons.

As to your accusations regarding David Cook's arrangements, this is a dead horse that has been beaten to death. Dude, this is a karaoke contest. Cook was not the only one who used arrangments by other artists. None of the others made any more or less effort than Cook (prior to spiteful accusations) to credit those other artists. He was just the one who chose the best and sometimes most obscure arrangements to suit his voice generating praises from the judges. He also stated that he tried multiple times to credit those artists whose arrangements he used and that they kept ending up on the cutting room floor. AI's fault, not David's. The most controversial, Chris Cornell's version of Bilie Jean, was even given credit by Ryan Secreast before the performance but viewers just plain didn't pay attention. He also did several of his own arrangements which were fantastic including but not limited to Always Be My Baby, Little Sparrow and All I Really Need Is You.

Archuleta is doing better than Cook? I guess that is a matter of opinion. Archie has had a fantastic single in Crush. I have not stats but I am assuming that is is platinum. Congrats to Archie. Cook's first single TOML has gone platinum as well and is STILL going strong in the top 5 on the AC charts. Light On is easing it's way steadily up the charts just fine, thank you. The best part? Light On is no where near the best song on the album. Don't get me wrong, I love Light On but I would rank it at about 11 or 12 out of the 16 (including 3 awesome bonus songs) tracks. You will be hearing more of DC! That is why his album has sold so many copies. (715K sold in 5 weeks) It is FANTASTIC! His demographic tends to buy albums rather than singles as is evidenced by his brisk sales.

Who won, or didn't win, is almost a moot point now. Both Davids are getting plenty of support from their labels and both, although very different (David A's purity of voice and David C's range, versitility and performance skills), will be very successful.

[Lili]

I have to agree about David Cook's win being the highlight of the last season. One of the best and most satisfying moments EVER on TV for me. He is an amazingly gifted vocalist and based on his new album, also a very talented and honest songwriter. Love the album! (Oh and final shot of the finale when David's younger brother mouthed "That's my brother" to the camera? Well, maybe it was just dusty at my house but I may have teared up. Awww.)

[emwcee]

Michael Johns' elminitation was definitely more shocking than Carly's elimination. The judges' reaction when Michael was eliminated said it all. Also, I agree that David Cook's win wasn't really an upset. Everyone on-line expected David Cook to win, especially those who saw the stats on Dial Idol. But I agree that his win was the most memorable moment of the season -- and probably the best moment in Idol history -- although Sanjaya's elimination is a close second.

[The Insider]

Some Cook Fans are re-acting about the arrangement expose and the result because there is a truth to it. We did not create it - It was just exposed by EW Magazine. I did not realized it until I read about it and I thought at first whats the big deal if this is just one time situation and here comes another one another artist speaking out and on and on. Cook has no other option but to say something about it, thats why Ryan Seacrest did an interview to kill the embarassment. Cook has a credibility issue here you can just watch the clip of that incident and you can do your own judgement for yourself and read EW Mags. I think his not innocent at all he knows what his doing it just unfortunate he just got caught - That show his really desperate to win. With the result I don't think you can change the mind of other viewers. Its already done and you cannot delete it. THAT'S THE MOMENT THAT ALSO SHOOK THE AMERICAN IDOL. THAT IS THE REASON WHY THEY ARE DOING A LOT CHANGES FOR SEASON 8 - I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AT ALL - FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WON'T BE WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL ANYMORE FOR THERE'S TO MUCH CONTROVERSY IN THIS SHOW. I FOR ONE WON'T WATCH IT FOR WE ALREADY FOUND OUR AMERICAN IDOL NO OTHER THAN THE RIGHTFUL WINNER: DAVID ARCHULETA ! Thank You Again AI. For David Archuleta is The Best Thing Ever Happened To American Idol !

[Kara]

Jagged wrote..."old depressed female husbandless women. ... and the old hags..."

Cute! But the old school marm in me shudders at your overuse of adjectives. All women are female, haven't you discovered that yet?

lol
You are funny, honey,
From one old hag :^D

[Luana]

cook "unique"????? Don't let Daughtry listen this....

"Unique" was David Archuleta - voice, age, behaviour. No other "idol" is like him.
By the way, Archuleta's album is gold with 6 weeks and his single Crush went platinum in 3 months.

[Kaz]

For me David Cook definitely made AI 7 worth watching. I have not watched a season before, but being stuck in New York with the writers strike on, there was little else to watch. It was Cook singing Hello that made me sit up and notice him ..... Eleanor Rigby solifiying it ..... and Billie Jean completely blew me away .... that one performance was in a completely different league.

He fully deserved the victory, and I think there were so many really great singers/performers in AI 7, covering many different styles of music. Cook created his own buzz around him, by performing great week on week, building constantly and challenging himself to create new arrangements, i.e. Always be my Baby. He showed his versitility with his handling of the various theme nights perfectly.

RE Cook's using of established covers, like with Billie Jean, other contestants this year did that too without credit ..... for example Archie's Imagine is the Eva Cassidy version, but that wasn't mentioned on AI. In the end the show is a karoke show ..... of course they're doing covers! If they can make it interesting by finding different/obsure covers then so much the better as far as I'm concerned.

[josh]

I am so disappointed at your writings, Rushfield. I thought you are different. Any musicians know the moment when Archuleta sang "Imagine" shook the world. He was labeled as the Chosen one after that. It's not just because he sang the iconic song that singers are afraid to touch, but because he delivered the song with sincere emotions and perfect musicality. He said to his vocal coach that he wanted to spread the spirit of the song rather than the vocal technique. Instead of his prodigical talent, you focused on tween voters and negative rumors on his dad. Certainly I am not a teen, and I know what a real talent is.

Cook is OK, but he is not original. He copied four songs in a row and Billie Jean is a complete copycat. Bringing his sick brother in the game and changing his image from arrogant smug to the emotionally vulnerable brother also worked to gain sympathy votes from the public. He is the winner so he should sell more albums than the runner-up, right? But without any hit songs, I don't know how many people will remember him next year and after that.

[Violet]

List is a bit off. If you list Cook's "Billie Jean" you should also list Archuleta's "Imagine". And I am not going to compare or insult anyone. David and David both made this season of Idol the best ever. And both of their recordings are selling extremely well for their genres. There is nothing to argue about. Peace. And Happy Holidays.

[jamesincalifornia]

Carly Smithson was the greatest performer in "Idol" history? You're still nursing that illusion?

[Francisco]

This was obviously the BEST season ever! I toataly support David Archuleta all the way!!! and I think hes in it big time! Album just went gold! Crush selling 1.1 million copys! this guy is AMAZING!!!!

[Amy M]

"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."

I totally agree that Carly's elimination was the most shocking for me, especially since Superstar was one of her best performances and one of the best of the week (along with Syesha's). I was so mad when she was sent home and almost stopped watching the show. I expected Carly to be in the top three with David Cook and Michael Johns even if she didn't win. That's okay, her new album is going to be amazing and I am so looking forward tio it!!!

[Holly]

David Cook is the most amazing AI winner ever. He is an amazing talent and AI was lucky to have such an innovative talent grace their stage. I don't understand the rigging comments. No one can manipulate people to pick up the phone and vote for someone that they don't want to vote for - not even Simon. He may be good, but not that good! For the poster that said Cook only has older fans, that comment is very off base. All 6 of my nephews and their girlfriends are huge Cook fans, and they range in age from 15-30. The fact that he has fans of all ages only confirms the mass appeal of this singer. If you listen to his record, you will be blown away by the vocal range and diversity of this man. The song Permanent is brilliant and hauntingly beautiful. That song alone is worth the price of the CD alone. I will say David Archuleta was very impressive as well. I think if he had been on an other season, he would have won. It was just that David Cook was able to sing and perform in a way that no other contestant ever has. He could rock, he could do ballads, he could do theater. He just could do it all, and people were very impressed. The biggest thing to shake up Idol is the fact that we are still talking about Season 7 and the Davids' this many months later! Last season was exceptional, and I think this season will have some very large shoes to fill, to even come close to the passion that Season 7 generated.

[Teresa]

jen, the fact that Simon slammed Cook in the finale probably helped him too...it was a nice way to piss off the voters and fuel them to vote more. I don't give flying fig about Dial Idol. It's been shown to be wildly inaccurate at times. And I don't give a crap who trounced who. They both would've been deserving winners, but it all worked out in the end for them both. Really, if you think about it, they both won. They both got cars, record deals, and are both proving to be extremely successful with or without a title. The finale was just formality.

[Jenna]

Yeah, David Cook's winning was only an upset if you were watching the show for the first time during final 2 and took Simon's words as gospel. Cook had far more "moment" performances on Season 7 than Archuleta, his fanbase was growing rapidly whereas Archuleta's stayed static. Archie started very strong and had legions of devoted fans from the get-go, but Cook built and built as the season progressed. His win was the best moment of AI ever, IMO. It was not an upset or a shock, it was simply the right conclusion to a great season.

And the fact that Archuleta fans are still bitter about him losing is really sad. He's doing great, he's selling well, Jive is really building him as a teen star. Both Davids are doing awesome, it's sad to see you guys are still angry and vindictive when it all turned out so well for them both.

[Erin]

There was also the incident that most do not know about. The one where AI stole Archie's song that he had worked on for 2 weeks and gave it to David Cook to sing. David A. was given 3 days to work on another song with no choice on the arrangement. He was told he had to perform the song originally with no change up. This fed the believe that David A. was not original. Then Simon criticized David A. for not changing it up. So sad that the public can be led by the nose to believe such nonsense. The young man can sing circles around most performers. He needs no band to back him up. I saw him in concert just last week. His band sat out as David sang a Christmas song, people a Christmas song and it had all in attendance in amazement. After Imagine the producers had their work cut out for them. It is a good thing that for David Archuleta who is really the honest one of the final two that it was never about winning. It was about giving and sharing his gift to the world. David A. does not pimp his album at concert for himself, instead he gives us Christmas songs. This in itself explains a lot about David as a person.

[Carol]

Why do people keep calling Archuleta's fans bitter. His fans are not bitter. They would just like for the people that are writing this stuff to give him credit for the number one show stopping moment on AI 7. Imagine will never be forgotten. To the writer of this unfair article, you should give Archuleta credit that he honestly earned. The credit for his performance of Imagine.

[The Verdict]

AND THE RIGHTFUL WINNER GOES TO DAVID ARCHULETA !

TO ALL FANS:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUING UNWAIVERING LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR ARCHIE FOR HE WELL DESERVED IT AND MERRY CHRISTMAS ! HIS CD ALBUM IS NOW GOLD AND GOING STRONG FOR PLATINUM.

THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN VOICE !

[Connie]

Regarding the accusation that Idol gave Cook the song that Archuleta had chosen, it is a well know fact that when two singers choose the same song they DRAW OUT OF A HAT. There was no "decision" made to take Archie's song away from him to give Cook the advantage.

ALL performers on American Idol are singing covers. 90% are not original arrangements.. Both Cook and Archie used lesser known arrangements effectively. In Cook's defense, he did try several times during the prepackages to give credit to the original acts only to have those remarks hit the cutting room floor thanks to TPTB.

BOTH Cook and Archuleta are unique in that they are hugely talented.

BOTH can stand alone and perform without additional backup.

BOTH have platinum singles and gold albums.

BOTH are content with the results of the show and the direction of their careers.

BOTH are disappointed when their fans have stupid fan wars. Nuff said.

[The Voice]

There is no Fan War at All. The Fans are just speaking out their minds and opinion it doesn't mean they are bitter - Its only the Cook fans who says that and if David Cook is the well deserve to win Idol this would have been laid down to rest long time ago and If this is just legitimate singing contest there no doubt a thousand miles that David Archuleta is the rightful winner its very obvious he has better voice than David Cook. There is only two things that Cook Win 1. It's rigged OR 2. Its sympathy vote. Like what the other comment mentioned you cannot erase that from the mind of some of the viewers for they saw the finale and I think this is not the only reason - this is just some of the reasons. That why David Archuleta is THE BEST THING EVER HAPPENED TO AMERICAN IDOL ! AI thought his just a kid and they won't make money out of him plus they even pass him to a new management team which is really a blessing in disguise and now he is much more popular than the winner. Yes, Cook is the winner - BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN HE IS THE REAL WINNER AND COOK IS NO NOVICE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HE IS CD WITH HIS OTHER BAND. I hope this time they will get a contestant that has no recording contract - completely no experience, who loves to sing and really got talent.