The Other Door

'Idol' finale: Between a rocker and a soft place

In Tampa last weekend, Syesha Mercado was the queen of the show. On "Idol"  Thursday night, she was the girl to go.

This is finals week, and despite all the pressure and chaos they have faced since last week (a mind-blowing trip home; three songs to memorize and sing, including two picked by other people), the Final 3 contestants get no break. Once again, the producers make them stumble through another elimination-day dance routine.

The opening song this week is not bad: "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," a disco tune by McFadden & Whitehead. But it's not the slightest bit cool for one contestant, Little D (and the D doesn't stand for "Disco"), who looks like he is about to take a final exam on a book he hasn't read.

Vocally, the performance is good. Syesha and D. Cook sound soulful. Visually, it's more rank amateur theater. Little D tries his best. He sneaks peeks at Syesha to see what he's supposed to do. His feet say "OK," but his arms say: "Let me off this bus." D. Cook looks awkward, too, like he just wants to get through it with as little camera time as possible.

'Idol': David Cook 'wins the night'

A judge and the producers threw two curveballs at David Cook, but he made solid contact on both.

Season 7 of "American Idol" is sputtering to a finish, and the contestants can't be blamed solely. Several times this season, the producers have made bad administrative choices -- two weeks of the Beatles; two Neil Diamond songs in one night; Andrew Lloyd Webber week -- that torpedoed whatever momentum the show had mustered. Tuesday night, the contestants and especially the producers were at fault for deflating a showcase evening with bad song choices.

Even if yours is the most popular show on television, you're asking a lot of an audience when you make it sit through just 90 seconds of Dan Fogelberg's "Longer," Aerosmith/Diane Warren's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and a song about penguins from the animated film "Happy Feet." Those missteps were compounded by the contestants' choices, which turned out to be nearly as bad.

When the night was over, the consequences seemed murky. It looks like Syesha Mercado will go home Wednesday, but I'm not sure the evidence against her is rock solid. Simon Cowell declared David Cook the winner, and he might have been, but it wasn't in  a blowout. The roll call:

David Archuleta leads off  the show and we are presented with the Final 3 routine: The songs in Round 1, the judges' choices, will be presented in footage from each contestant's homecoming last weekend. For Little D, the announcement comes from the  the mayor of whatever town in Utah he's from, a guy in an American flag shirt who has a handlebar mustache like the horns on an Oklahoma steer. With great Mormon/redneck flair, he announces Paula's choice: Billy Joel's "And So It Goes."

We then go live to Paula, who explains the pick: "It's a beautiful song ... I know you can handle it" and she says something flattering about Little D's timbre. He, in turn, gives her that dead-eyed Stepford stare and a smile as wide and bright as a fleet of white limousines. Either he has no idea what timbre is or he's so nervous he's just trying hard not to pee his pants.

It turns out Billy J was a a wise pick for Little D, but his version is so Josh Groban-gooey I want to leave the room building city hemisphere. So the vocals are fine, but the boy has other problems. His body is illiterate: It speaks no language. He doesn't know how to stand comfortably, and he still hasn't figured out what t do with his empty hand, so he repeats the same underhand motion -- like he's pitching a Whiffle ball to a 4-year-old. And he sustains that same vacant/panicked look -- which must be the one look he hasn't been told to wipe off his face.

The camera goes to daddy, who beams like an owner watching his horse warm up for the Kentucky Derby. He's proud: Little D has coasted through another creamy ballad. The judges are split along the usual lines:  Randy: "Paula chose a dope song; you can sing anything." Then he resorts to his usual dried-up, worthless bromides: "You were in the zone ... You're in it to win it." Paula, who picked the song: "It was pure and sunny." You know, like concentrated orange juice. Simon is closer to the truth: It was good but predictable.

D. Cook's 'First Time'

Here's how he'll do it: This version is by a British duo called Journey South. And Leona Lewis, Simon Cowell's diva protege, has covered this, too. There are your reasons.

The Final 3's Big 3

If your gag reflex is quick, be prepared: According to reports and rumors, you will hear Little D sing Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" on Tuesday.

The Final 3 routine will go like this on Tuesday: Each contestant will sing three songs, one he/she chose, one a judge chose just for him/her and one chosen by the show's producers.

When he was in town Friday, David Cook revealed two of the three songs he'll perform Tuesday: his own pick, "The World I Know" by Collective Soul; and Simon Cowell's pick: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

A few Web sites have posted the other judges' picks: Randy Jackson picked "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys for Syesha Mercado; and Paula Abdul picked "And So It Goes" by Billy Joel for David Archuleta. And MJ'sBigBlog says the producers have picked "Longer" by the late Dan Fogelberg for Archuleta.

So Little D has two fat pitches sitting in his wheelhouse, plus the song he'll choose for himself. Randy has forced Syesha to live up to yet another diva; and our resident rocker David Cook gets one of the prettiest torch songs ever written, and one made famous by a black woman -- Roberta Flack, a legendary jazz/soul singer. This all would seem more balanced if someone had tossed Little D something more challenging and risky than two more fat, satiny ballads.

'Idol': Little D and 'Arch' Vader

How far did this cute little acorn (right) fall from the domineering oak tree (left)? AP photo.

If you're a David Coook fan hoping that some bad publicity might spoil the squeaky-clean image of David Archuelta, here's some.

News broke over the weekend that the producers of "American Idol" won't let Jeff Archuleta near his son during rehearsals. According to the AP:

Jeff Archuleta's intense backstage involvement had become a source of concern for the series, the person connected with "American Idol" said, but it was a lyric change on Tuesday's show that pushed producers to act.

Despite a warning, Jeff Archuleta insisted on altering "Stand by Me," one of two songs his son sang on the show Tuesday.

By adding a verse from Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls," the father incurred additional costs for "American Idol," the person said.

This isn't the first time Little D has shown a side that doesn't mesh with his toothy, fresh-faced naive-er-than-thou personae he puts on. In April, he --- what's the word? Um, oh, yeah -- lied about a Robbie Williams song he performed. OK maybe he misrepresented himself. Or, to quote Roger Clemens, "mis-remembered." It sure sounded like he'd discovered the song that week. Turns out, not so much.

During his homecoming weekend last week, Little D, a member of the LDS Church, was asked whether he'd go on a mission. He said he might, but he figured doing "Idol" -- living in Hollywood for six weeks, getting fashion and cosmetic makeovers, making car commercials and hoping to become a wealthy, famous singer -- was kind of like his mission. Right. And I'll join the Peace Corps but only if they send me to Ibiza.

David Cook feels the power and the light

When the pomp was nearly over, the man who had his very own "Day" in Blue Springs, Kansas City and the entire state of Missouri emerged from backstage. The force that hit him bowed his back: an ocean of people and signs and an ecstatic roar -- the kind you hear at rallies for Super Bowl champs.

This city hasn't had a major-league title since 1985; for now, it seems David Cook will do.

His "American Idol" rally down at the Kansas City Power & Light district drew a crowd of many thousands (I'd guess around 4,000). They filled the covered pavilion area, including the stairs and walkways, and they spilled out both entrances. Some stood on roofs of nearby buildings. Media were everywhere, including one of the sports talk-radio stations.

It was a diverse crowd. There were tots, middle-schoolers, teens, tweens, young adults, middle-aged adults and grandparents. And there were friends of the Blue Springs native, and family, too. Cook acknowledged some of them, including younger brother, Andrew, who strained to hold back the tears. "Don't start crying," his older brother said, "or I will."

Clay Aiken: No desire to watch 'Idol'

Five years ago this month Clay Aiken became one of mainstream television’s most famous runners-up when he finished second to Reuben Studdard in Season 2 of “American Idol.”

Since then, Aiken has parlayed his “loss” into profitable success and mainstream popularity. You could say he’s gone from “American Idol” to Eric Idle. In January he joined the cast of the Broadway musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” playing several roles, including Sir Robin (the role played by Idle in the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”).

From New York recently, as he was getting his hair cut, Aiken, 29, talked to The Star about his Broadway show and his new album, “On My Way Here,” which is due in stores today was released Tuesday.

What did you know about Monty Python before you took this role?

Nothing. I thought “Spamalot” was about unwanted e-mails. The first time I saw the musical, I was like, “Uh, really?” I mean, it’s not like “Wicked” or anything like that. It’s completely different. The second time I saw it I laughed so hard …

Why Sir Robin?

It’s the character they suggested, probably because there are so many similarities. He’s afraid of everything. He’s a bit of a chicken.

Cook's menu: Roberta Flack, Collective Soul

On Tuesday, the final three 'Idol' contestants will sing three songs. Including one picked by one of the judges. This morning, David Cook announced two of the three he'll sing. One is his own choice: "The World I Know" by Collective Soul (above). Via a text message, Simon Cowell disclosed his choice for D. Cook: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," made famous by Roberta Flack.

'Idol': No Jason, no cry

And the loser, by unanimous decision: Jason Castro. After mortally shooting the sheriff on Tuesday, he shot the poor guy again on his way out the door, probably wounding the deputy in the process.

It's Execution Night, and one day after the Final 4 contestants had plodded through an uneventful "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" night, the producers force them to navigate a complicated and stone-cold classic Steely Dan song, "Reelin' In the Years,"

The show would do everyone (contestants, audience, viewers) a big favor by forgetting the dance moves and just letting them sing.

The choreography to this number was high-school amateur, and the contestants knew it. They looked awkward, clumsy and embarrassed. Otherwise the song sounded better than expected: David Cook has some cool-soul in his rock pipes.

After that, the show subjected viewers to a rewind of the night before, and the second time the bad stuff sounded worse and the good stuff sounded more average. I still don't get Archu-mania. There's a darkness on the edge of his town that creeps me out. And doesn't Little D. look like some weird Hanna-Barbera caricature of Simon Cowell -- the fuzzy short hair, the big smile and black Ts?

Squeakcrest says 51 million votes were cast overnight, and the top three were within 1 million of one another. So the math must have gone something like this: 17.5 million, 16.5 million and 15.5 million for the top three and 1.5 million for Jason Castro. We'll see.

Billboard chats with David Cook

The magazine/Web site talked with each of the Final Four contestants. Here's a quote from Cook, who learned an early lesson about jousting with Simon Cowell:

I learned a very hard lesson in week two when I sang Free’s “All Right Now” and Simon referenced the pre-packaged video and I made some comment and I didn’t say anything bad and I certainly was not trying to be demeaning toward him in any way but at the time, it was a speak-before-you-think kind of vibe. The lesson I learned is when Randy, Paula or Simon talks to you, unless they ask you a question, you probably shouldn’t say a word, which in turn has allowed me to listen a little bit more...