We all know that David Cook topped David Archuleta in the last American Idol showdown. After AI, the real showdown starts. Who will top the charts?

Archuleta’s “Crush” debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100 singles chart which eclipsed Cook’s No. 3 opening “The Time of My Life” in June. The 17-year old is the first runner-up to outperform the reigning champ since the matchup between Clay Aiken’s “This Is the Night” and season-two victor Ruben Studdard’s “Flying Without Wings.” Aiken overtook Studdard with what became the best-selling single of 2003. “Crush” is the biggest song by an Idol contestant for a song never performed on the show. Comparatively, his show single “Imagine” actually did not do well with a No. 36 debut. Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” is the only other non-debut single by an Idol contestant to reach as high as the No. 2 spot.

Nevertheless, Cook’s “The Time of My Life” did better in the download department which sold 236,000 digital copies in its opening week versus 166,000 copies for “Crush.” Cook also set a SoundScan-era record that first week, when 11 of his songs cracked the Hot 100, topping Miley Cyrus’ record of six. Only the Beatles have charted more songs at once with 14 spots back in ‘64.

Unfortunately for Cook, his No. 3 peak for “Time” also made him just the second Idol champ whose big-moment single failed to open in one of the top two spots. (Jordin Sparks missed the mark as well with a tepid No. 15 bow for “This Is My Now.”)

The more important competition happens in November when both Davids will release their albums simulataneously.

Tags: American Idol,Clay Aiken,crush,David Archuleta,David Cook,kelly clarkson,ruben studdard,the time of my life
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American Idol runner- up David Archuleta signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/Jive Records and is expected to release his debut album later this year. Archuleta follows the footsteps of other Idol contenders such as Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, and Clay Aiken who have proved themselves successful — sometimes more than the winners of the AI season they competed in.

Although Archuleta was expected to win this season’s AI, David Cook stole the throne winning by about 12 million votes.

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Tags: American Idol 2008,David Archuleta,David Cook,record deal
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Though many believed that David Cook was the better singer, there were doubts about him clinching the title after the reviews handed out by judges on their finale performances the other night. Still, it has been proven that the judges’ choice were never that big a factor in the finals. At the end of the day, the winner would be the one who got the majority of the audience, regardless of the judges’ opinions.

The final statistics were close. This year’s voting reached 97.5 million, beating the previous record by 23 million. Of total votes, Cook received a close 56%, beating the young Archuleta by a mere 6 percentage points. Apparently, Cook hoarded more of the other contenders’ followers than Archuleta. Moreover, it appears that bad publicity on Archuleta’s father may have affected the public’s preference. Tagged as the stage father from hell, Jeff Archuleta was banned from the AI backstage after disregarding producers’ mandate to keep the lyrics of David’s “Stand by Me” unchanged. Instead, he had David sing the song with Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls.” This had been the last straw after reports that he has consistently badgered producers, the band, vocal coaches, and even other contestants. Too bad for the the young Archuleta since he does have the talent and the charisma to make it even without his father shadowing every move he makes. Hopefully, the turn of events will serve as a lesson for the stage father.

Many believe, me included, that the better singer won. However, this is not for Archuleta’s lack of talent nor his incapacity to beat Cook.  Like any game or sport, triumph favors the experienced and weather-beaten player.  Someday, Archuleta will have his turn at the spotlight — that is, if his father learns to take the back seat and allow him to have faith in himself and stand on his own.

Tags: ,American Idol 2008,David Archuleta,David Cook,Jeff Archuleta
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It is done. David and David sing their final songs before the audience decide who wins the crown. Both contenders will battle it out in 3 rounds. The first round were songs chosen by music legend, Clive Davis. In the second, the contenders were made to choose songs from the top 10 American Idol Song Writer Finalists while the last round gives them the freedom to choose the best song that would prove they deserve the title.

Clive Davis chose U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” for Cook and Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” for Archuleta. The judges found both performances satisfactory, but Simon, as expected, responsibly provided the needed edge that Randy and Paula could not deliver, by declaring that the round belonged to Archuleta. Cook chose a fast song entitled “Dream Big” while Archuleta went for “In This Moment.” Judges hinted that Cook’s choice wasn’t the best, though his performance made up for the wrong choice. Again, Simon declared the second round in favor of Archuleta.

The final round gave both contenders the choice to sing the best song they have ever performed, including any song they might have already performed during the competition.  Cook was in character when he chose to take a risk and performed a new song, The World I Know.  The song obviously meant something to Cook when he concluded the song in tears.  Randy and Paula gave kind reviews.  In contrast, Simon told him it was the wrong choice despite the tears.  He even suggested that a repeat performance of Billie Jean would have been the better alternative.

Playing it safe, the young Archuleta opted to repeat his best performance and sung Imagine.  His repeat performance got raves from the judges, almost as if declaring him the winner regardless of the final tally on the votes tomorrow.  Tomorrow, we will find out how much clout the judges’ opinion will have on the voting audience.

Tags: American Idol 2008 Finale,Clive Davis,David Archuleta,David Cook,Paula Abdul,Randy Jackson,Simon Cowell
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As American Idol 2008 rounds up to the finals, David Cook outshines the young David Archuleta and the lone surviving female, Syesha Mercado, last May 13, 2008. The last 3 contenders in this season’s American Idol sang 3 songs each to prove their mettle and fight their way to the final round. The first song was chosen by the judges where Cook shone brighter than Archuleta and Mercado singing Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” The song was chosen by Simon which had the hard-to-please judge declaring, “Round 1 goes to Cook and Cowell.” Archuleta sang Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes” which was chosen by Paula Abdul while Mercado sang “If I Ain’t Got You” chosen by Randy Jackson. Both performers did not make any blunder but did a mediocre performance compared to Cook.

In the second round, the contenders sang songs of their choice where Archuleta sang With You, Mercado sang Fever, and Cook sang Dare You to Move.  None of the contenders scored in that round with all 3 getting bad reviews from the judges.

The final round, songs chosen by the producers,  was a bust for Mercado who sang Hit Me Up.  Meanwhile, Archuleta got an ok from all the judges for Fogelberg’s Longer but Cook got better reviews with his version of I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing.  Personally, it seemed like the producers were setting up the finals into a David versus David contest.  Although I initially favored Archuleta, I think Cook has a better chance of clinching the title for the seventh season.  He showed more creativity and versatility while the 17-year old’s talent was limited to performing ballads.

With American Idol, we don’t really know which end is up.  Still, both contestants deserve to be in the finals.  May the best singer win, rather than the one with the most votes.

Tags: American Idol 2008 final 3,David Archuleta,David Cook,Paula Abdul,Randy Jackson,Simon Cowell,Syesha Mercado
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And then there were three. As Simon predicted, Jason’s charming smile was not enough to save him from his mistake in Tuesday’s performance. Jason was voted off Wednesday, leaving David Archuleta, David Cook and Syesha to battle it out in the final stretch of the competition.

The 20-year old Castro started strong during the initial stages of American Idol 2008. However, his performances started to slide down the line and had been in the bottom 3 in some instances. Despite weak performances, he was able to hold on longer due to the fan base he has already earned. Apparently, Tuesday’s performance was his last when he forgot the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man.

I’m a bit disappointed because I was hoping that it would be the 3 guys who I have chosen as my favorites to be competing in the final stages. Jason shouldn’t worry though. Despite the loss, I believe he has the charisma and the talent to make it in the business. That smile of his will definitely bring him places. A little experience and about a year or two in maturity could make him the next pop idol.

Tags: ,American Idol 2008,David Archuleta,David Cook,Jason Castro
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Despite the blunder that Brooke White did in her latest performance, she was still saved. Unfortunately, Carly’s rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar was not good enough to get her the votes. Carly has been eliminated, leaving 5 contenders to battle it out in the last weeks of American Idol 2008.

As the competition gets tighter, performances are not getting any better. Even crowd-favorite David Archuleta got a thumbs down from Simon. On the other hand, David Cook’s rendition of Music of the Night still did not impress the overly-critical Simon. Paula’s comment that he had a “beautiful instrument” was funny though. Even with her meaningless blabber, I can’t help but wonder if she meant something else.

I’m still partial to the young Archuleta. He hasn’t performed anything spectacular lately. I can only hope that he has saved the best for last.

Tags: American Idol 2008,Carly Smithson,David Archuleta,David Cook,Paula,Simon
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