'American Idol': David Archuleta, wild child

"I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid," remarked David Cook with a grin, motioning toward his opponent, David Archuleta. It was Tuesday night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, and an audience of 7,000 waited with bated breath (and more than a few screams) for the last remaining "American Idol" finalists to duke it out for the crown. Two men; three songs each. The bartender and the teenager. Big David and Little David. The scruffy rocker and the boy next door. It had all come down to this moment. And David Cook looked way too calm.

Of course, if Cook read a single blog last week, including this one, he probably knew that he was the presumed front-runner; even the Vegas odds makers had shifted their number to favor him. So when Cook said, "I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid," his tone was reminiscent of a tennis player saying "good game" to somebody he had just slaughtered in a match.

Archie, for his part, was on the brink of hyperventilation. "You know –- just -– this guy's awesome," he stammered, when asked how he felt about his opponent. And at that moment, the evening's outcome seemed obvious, the remaining performances a mere formality. The last necessary step before the inevitable coronation of David Cook.

Cook kicked off the show with a smooth and original rendition of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."  Randy and Simon thought it was good, and Paula was as gushy as ever. "You may not have found what you're looking for, but we have found it, David Cook!"  The audiences and judges agreed; that was solid.

That is, until Archie emerged. 

About 30 seconds into Archuleta's performance of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me," the audience at the Nokia experienced a collective "a-ha" moment.  A-ha! So, that's how it's supposed to be done.

Archuleta has always been more comfortable tucked safely behind his piano -- or at least standing stationary –- than strutting across the stage. But Archuleta wouldn’t let his awkward gait inhibit him tonight; he stood up and charged toward the audience as he implored, "Don't let the sun go down on me." He winced, he fumed, he begged, he pleaded; he allowed his pure and gentle voice fill with gravel, and he pumped his fist in defiance. He was awkward and desperate and furious and needy and bold; and finally, something became very clear.

All this time, America has gotten it wrong. We have cast Cook as the reckless rocker and Archuleta as the safe, shrink-wrapped Disney dream boy, when in reality, Archuleta is the fearless one. Archuleta is the one who attempted –- and failed miserably -– at Chris Brown's "With You," gyrating with gleeful awkwardness as he sang about his "little mama." Archuleta is the one letting it all hang out.

This dichotomy became even clearer during Cook's third performance. When he got to pick his own tune, Cook went for Collective Soul's "The World I Know." He definitely brought something new to the number, and the man has style to spare, but something was missing. His controlled and studied vocal performance conveyed neither the joy of that opening scene (in which he smarted, "I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid") nor the fury and pain that flashed through his eyes when he heard Simon say that Archuleta had won rounds one and two. None of Cook's surging emotion made it into his singing; to put it simply, he never really rocked. That said, his voice did sound beautiful on "The World I Know."

But unfortunately for Cook, sounding beautiful is what the younger David does best, which he showed, just moments later, with his latest re-imagining of John Lennon's "Imagine." "In my opinion," Simon Cowell mused, "You came out here tonight to win, and what we have witnessed is a knockout." 

And so, in just one measly hour, commercial breaks included, the younger David clawed his way back to the top. As the evening wound down, I scanned the theater, scoping out the signs that the collage-happy tween-set had markered specially for the occasion. "My David is Fun-Sized," read one. "Catholic girls love David Archuleta," announced another. Maybe he never really left us after all. 

-- Stephanie Lysaght

(Photo courtesy Fox)

Comments

[crabpaws]

I don't think David C was calm because he assumed he had it in the bag. I think he was calm because he had nothing to lose -- coming in second might, in fact, be preferable for his career. As he has for the last several weeks, he showed this by choosing songs that were anything but crowd-pleasers. Actually, I suspect he deliberately or subconsciously was trying to back away from a win.

I've been a David C fan all along, but I believe David A and American Idol deserve each other. David C deserves better, or at least different.

[rascal]

Stephanie, what gives you the right to be sensitive and reasonable when all your entertainment press colleagues are either snarking their way through the reviews or begrudgingly--and with all manner of qualifications--acknowledging that maybe, just maybe, David Archuleta is a real and true powerhouse talent after all?

I said in one of my own columns on www.notingdavid.org over two weeks ago that Archuleta was the real rebel in the contest, due to the fact that he is nowhere near as easily categorized as Cook. The fact that it's impossible to know how David Archuleta will be defined as an artist is precisely what makes him more of an original.

Thanks for being an original, too.

[alfred bommel]

With the contract that the winner is chained two, coming in second is much, much, much better. Let's hope that Archuleta wins, so that Cook isn't tied to the the Simons.

[Jayne]

I agree 100% crabpaws. David Cook is way too cool for American Idol. I'm afraid they would box him into a lame genre of music that is much more suited to Archuleta.

[Ana]

I hope it's David Cook!!!! He is a real and READY TO ROCK Idol!!!!!!!!!

[Linha]

The world finally see what a few of us dared to see, that David Archuleta is the real deal. People denigrate his talent and his presence because he's such a humble and decent human being that is not only as talented as they come but also only 17 years old. That is uncomfortable for people to "imagine" considering the bitter taste that teens and young hollywood have left on our palate in our age, but why be so cynic, why not just accept David Archuleta for who he is and what he stands for. David's view of music, to take it as unfiltered and unadulterated, not question, but accept it for its power, is how we all should feel about David Archuleta himself.

[sestina]

Thank you for acknowledging that David A. is a performer -- not a hollow robot with no feeling for what he is singing.

I still remember what he said during the Hollywood week. "I just want to crawl inside this song, and give it to the judges." That's what he did last night. He inhabited the music.

[Christie]

I think David Cook is the real American Idol, whether he wins the title or not tonight. I see David A as bringing forth the Disney crowd, but unless you are 12 years old, who's really going to go out and by his album? He doesn't give you that sense of fantasy, because frankly, it would feel wrong coming from him. David Cook is sultry and has this certain je ne sai quoi that just draws you in and lets you just really enjoy the song the way you want to. I love his style, I love his look and I even loved his rendition of Collective Soul's "The World I Know" (and I don't like Collective Soul at all). Coming in 2nd isn't going to hurt him at all - he's going to be a star regardless. XOXO DC!

[EB]

As previous winners have experienced, life after American Idol is not a good one. Only two, out of the 8 I believe, have achieve some sort of fame. Hasn't the runner up had better luck, anyways?

[Jillian]

I agree with crabpaws, but I also think David Cook's performances were extremely underrated last night.

To say that David Archuleta was the one who stepped outside the box last night is absolutely laughable. He played it extremely safe, and if you listen to the recap played before Ruben came on, you'll hear that all three songs sound the same. I'm not saying Archuleta didn't do well last night--he did, but not nearly as well as the judges gave him credit for. I like Archuleta as a person (from what I've seen, anyway, he seems like a genuine guy), but I would never buy his record. His performances over the past 14 weeks have mostly sounded the same--except when he tries to take on more upbeat songs, and everything just comes crashing down.

Cook, on the other hand, has been more versatile. The judges loved him because, among other things, he took risks. Last night was no exception. Instead of playing it safe and reprising a song, he played something new. I think it was one of the best performances of the season. I think David Cook deserves the American Idol title. He's been consistently interesting. I was never put to sleep by any of his performances. He has a good voice, and the fact that he stood by his song choice last night just proves that while he deserves to become the next American Idol, American Idol doesn't deserve him.

[DARLWNW]

David Cook is an awesome performer!! When I hear "Baby Elmo" sing, I want to slit my wrists. Boring!!!

[CookFaninKC]

I saw some info about possible future albums over here at http://celebritygossip.epicureforum.com/vulture-reviews-the-american-idol-finalists-future-albums-2908.html earlier today... Pretty funny stuff!

David Cook has it in the bag, but then again, it's not exactly an unbiased opinion coming from me, is it?

[tim]

David C is doing an embarrassing job of mimicking Chris Daughtry. Although he has some talent, I've heard singers as good as him in my local bar. His performance last night was amateur, at best. David A is clearly the better singer. The whole point of this show is to find a singer that can sell records. In a year David C will be remembered as fondly as Taylor Hicks, Reuben Studdard, and Bo Bice.

[BRENDA RANDALL]

I THINK IT WAS UNFAIR OF SIMON TO SAY DAVID A. HAD ALREADY WON THE COMPETION,AFTER ALL IT IS NOT UP TO SIMON TO MAKE THE DECISION,WHICH IS A VERY GOOD THING AS I FEEL THAT SIMON IS A LITTLE HARSH AT TIMES. HE HAS EVEN BEEN CRUEL TO SOME CONTESTENTS IN THE PAST. I BELIEVE DAVID COOK IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL. HE HAS THE WHOLE PACKAGE,LOOKS,TALENT,AND PERSONALITY ,EVERY THING AN AMERICAN IDOL SHOULD HAVE.

[Nic]

Arch deserves to win. He's worked for this most of his life, and lets face it, the kid's got chops. Cook is just another emo-rock, Daughtry-like, grunge rocker wannabe. I'm sick of those kinds of "singers" cause there is a lot of that crap out there right now. Plus, he can not be molded. Arch is young, talented, good-looking, and has years of possibility ahead of him. Nobody will remember Cook in 2 years. You can bet on that. Arch has passion, drive... Cook will more than likely go back to bartending and let that so-called "singing career" go down the drain. GO DAVID ARCHULETA!

[Mike in SF]

First let me say i'm no Archie-bot. I went into last night with an open mind, expecting that Cook's maturity would outpace Archuleta's sappy exuberance and seal a win for the older David. As I watched the show, the story was obviously different. I though the younger David killed it. It absolutely was his moment, and he took it. His performances were all heart-felt and passionate, pitch-perfect and emotive.

His rendition of "Don't Let the Sun ..", I thought, was second only to Elton's original, and not by much. Given the circumstances, it had special poignancy. The second song, which the judges seemed not to like much, I absolutely loved. The moment in the middle, at about 1:35 into the song, where his voice softens a bit, then crescendoed back to life, literally made my eyes water. It also had a special poignancy, and could easily be a successful single for him if they'd edit that spectacularly self-centered lyric that Simon noted in his critique. His performance of Imagine was also quite good, though not as good for me personally as the others.

In any case, I thought Archuleta handily beat Cook in each of the three rounds, no questions. Way to go, kid.

[Nic]

Arch deserves to win. He's worked for this most of his life, and lets face it, the kid's got chops. Cook is just another emo-rock, Daughtry-like, grunge rocker wannabe. I'm sick of those kinds of "singers" cause there is a lot of that crap out there right now. Plus, he can not be molded. Arch is young, talented, good-looking, and has years of possibility ahead of him. Nobody will remember Cook in 2 years. You can bet on that. Arch has passion, drive... Cook will more than likely go back to bartending and let that so-called "singing career" go down the drain. GO DAVID ARCHULETA!

[sandman]

David Cook is the better of the 2 but it is very apparent they want annoying David A to win. David A has an ok voice but can only sing ballads, how boring is that. Either way David Cook will emerge as the victor whether or not he wins Idol. He has a better chance at making it long term.

[Jon]

Has everyone including the judges lost their minds? If it will help Cook's career I hope he doesn't win but Archuleta is about as entertaining as watching paint dry! Paula said something to the effect of Cook showing one of his many sides last night. Well Archuleta has ONE side and it's standing there motionless in one spot singing a boring ballad. He did it, and got away with, all season. Sure he can sing but entertain someone for crying out loud. Cook is an entertainer. Archuleta is far from it.

[Nancyb]

I agree with crabpaws. And David C was the one who risked more by not repeating a performance. I did not think David A did as good a job with Imagine as he did in the first time. David C is it, no matter what. And dialidol said he won. We will see tonight after 118 minutes of lead in.