Was Cook's Idol win more about hating Simon?

I had all my cynical barbs ready -- prepared to lambaste American Idol for the cardinal sin of choosing moon-eyed savant David Archuleta as the top winner in TV's biggest talent competition.

Then Idol voters turned around and chose the more creative guy after all. (Check out our wacky, post-Idol podcast here. See the story the Big Giant Music Head Sean Daly and I pulled together for the newspaper here)

To be honest, they shouldn't have picked David Cook to win based on this week's performances. On Tuesday, Cook was offhand and nonchalant, well aware that, no matter what happened tonight, he'd be in the winner's circle with a record deal and lots of national publicity.

Every hopeful deals with the stress of clinging to the freight train of attention that is American Idol in different ways; for Cook, it was all about acting as if he could care less who won.

And for some reason, despite Archuleta nailing a litany of Idol-perfect, big-voiced pop tunes, viewers decided it was time for the scruffier, artistic dude to walk home with the big prize (maybe it had something to do with the way archly arrogant judge Simon Cowell pronounced Archuleta's victory on Tuesday).

I've already gotten a call from an anonymous viewer who said he tried to call Archuleta's numbers for a half hour on Tuesday and found only one of the three numbers worked. Looking at the surprising, 12-million vote gap between the two, he deduced there was some telephone hanky panky going on. Let me know, dear blog readers, if any of you experienced similar problems.

Of course, viewers tonight had to wade through a regrettable collection of production numbers that felt like castoff parodies from a Simpsons episode. Whoever got the bright idea that the young music fans parked in front of TV's biggest show would love to party with ZZ Top, Crosby Stills and Nash and an increasingly haggard-looking George Michael, should lose their job, like, yesterday.

For me,this was the second big reality TV contest I got wrong this week (did I mention how unwise it is to try predicting these things?). The cynical critic in me wants to think that producers succeeded in manipulating the show enough to throw off expectations, especially in Idol's case, where Archuleta was favored from the beginning.

But maybe I just got it wrong because I underestimated voters' capacity to do the right thing. Or how much Idol fans hate it when Cowell tries to tell them how to vote. 

Comments

[Interstate4Jammer]

A couple of random notes here:

1) While Archuleta was the best technical singer, Cook won over fans with his stage presence in addition to his excellent singing talent.

2) I understand that George Michael was down with the flu when he performed, which is why he would be looking so haggard.

3) And I've been scratching my head over Mr. Michaels' song choice of "Praying For Time". Don't get me wrong; I love the song and was glad to hear it, but considering that this was supposed to be a happy, upbeat event, why did he choose one of the darkest, most somber songs in his catalogue?

David, and yet here you are blogging about it. How does that happen?

[David Jenkins]

Patton Oswalt said in regards to AI, essentially, that the only difference between this show and Star Search in the 80s is that in the 80s, none of us actually believed we were searching for a star.

Pretty accurate.

I still honestly can't see the appeal of this show. Weird.

[Marissa]

And I don't care how haggard George Michael looks. He still captivates me with his vocals. I'm not alone in that assessment, either.
Donna Summer is still awesome, too. Her stylist needs to be fired, but her new tune is great.
Syesha, sorry, was not in step with Seal's magnificence. No disrespect to her talent. It's a tale of two totally different styles that I felt didn't mesh well. He's awesome. I wish they would have let him perform alone.

[Deb]

I enjoyed this season and watching those with talent and poise rise to the top. The best one won. The top three were correct.

[Deb]

I enjoyed this season and watching those with talent and poise rise to the top. The best one won. The top three were correct.

[Deb]

I enjoyed this season and watching those with talent and poise rise to the top. The best one won. The top three were correct.

[Marissa]

Hey Eric! I'm listening to the podcast. I wanted to point out that the night David Cook performed, "BIlly Jean", Ryan Seacrest stated in his intro that Cook was performing the Chris Cornell version of Billy Jean. The crowd went nuts over Cook and it was hard to hear, but he did give Cornell credit.

[Lea]

I LOVE DAVID COOK!!!!! HE IS THE BEST. AND HE IS SO HOTT.

[lea]

It wa sthe Jonas Brothers Thank You.

[Pat]

The production numbers were awful, like being stuck on a (to use a Simon metaphor) ghastly cruise ship show with second rate performers. Anytime 12 people divide up a song, it is painful. I was so shocked and pleased Cook won, I think it was based on the whole season. At least he never forgot his words and can actually speak, not blush and gurgle like Archuleta does when spoken to.

[Mars]

yes, this show isn't just for the teens -- I enjoyed the performances of Donna Summer, Graham Nash, etc, much more than current acts "oneRepublic" and that other boy-band (name I cant remember). The older stars kept me entertained and kept my butt parked in front of the TV. YEAH for D.Cook!!! He ROCKED!!! I was tired of Archuletta, too wimpy, too many ballads and not enough PUNCH. not enough ROCK

[Pete]

I'm not sure if the public was rejecting Simon. My wife and I are David Cook fans, and we even agreed with Simon on Tuesday that Lil' Archie performed better than Cook. I just think that voters wanted to crown someone who could rock, and they remembered Cook's amazing covers of Billie Jean and Hello. Cook is ready to put out a record right now. Also, I don't think that Archuleta won many votes by performing Imagine again. It seemed like a cop-out.

[Sharon]

Well, what about the OLD music fans parked in front of TV's biggest show? I rather enjoyed the production numbers and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, AND George Michael! And I don't let Simon tell me who to vote for. I think the best man won, although Syesha Mercado was my favorite contestant.

[Sharon]

Well, what about the OLD music fans parked in front of TV's biggest show? I rather enjoyed the production numbers and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, AND George Michael! And I don't let Simon tell me who to vote for. I think the best man won, although Syesha Mercado was my favorite contestant.

[Russ]

I think most people agree with Simon. Out of all of the judges, he's got the best ear and actually has the guts to say it.