Overall, this was my most enjoyable finale for AI. It was WAY more entertaining than watching the Grammys or CMA Awards. With DC winning by a NOT insignificant amount, I feel pretty vindicated (56% to 44% or about 12 million votes). David A will do just fine, but I think America got it right this year.

Here's my blow-by-blow of the highlights:

1. Hero (from Spiderman movie)- duet by the two Davids. I really liked this and thought they did a very nice job overall.

2. Waiting for You - duet with Seal & Syesha. I didn't think Syesha had any problem keeping up with him.

3. Hallelujah - Jason Castro. Well, they gave him one of his better songs and he did a nice job.

4. Donna Summer medley - OMG, I played ALL of those tunes in one band or anyother back in the 80's. It was like a "Disco Sucks" nightmare all over again. The ol' gal can still belt though, can't she? Did anyone see Ryan dancing around and then finally practically collapsing on the steps, out of breath? That was pretty funny!

5. Bryan Adams medley - The guys did a pretty good job. I haven't kept up with what Bryan himself has been writing, but he did a pretty good job.

6. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top and David Cook. This was cool, and if he never does anything else, to say he had ZZ Top as his backup band will be a story he'll tell the rest of his life! wink

7. Teach Your Children - Graham Nash and Brooke White. This was one of the best performance of the night, IMHO. I was totally mesmerized and thought Brooke did an outstanding job. Of course, Graham was no slouch.... wink

8. GuitarHero.com commercial - David Cook "doing" Tom Cruise in Risky Business. This was absolutely brilliant positioning! We were ROTFLOAO. A highlight of the evening!

9. S.O.S. - Jonas Brothers. Maybe the TV sound mix was bad, but I wasn't impressed. None of them could sing for squat. This seems like a very manufactured "pretty boy" band to me. Maybe after a few years of touring, they'll learn to sing. N'Sync did.

10. We're Brothers Forever - Renaldo Lapuz sort of sang with the USC Marching Band. Uh, they could have skipped this one for me.

11. Apologize - One Republic. These guys are platinum artists? They need a new lead singer 'cause the piano player can't hit the notes. Maybe they should hire Archuletta? He made them sound better.

12. One Step At A Time - Jordin Sparks. Not my cup of tea for music...and what an UGLY gold-colored dress. It was not flattering. At least she sang it pretty well (I guess she's over her voice problem of a month or so ago).

13. Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight and the "fake" pips. It was pretty funny! Man, that lady could sing, couldn't she?

14. Last Name - Carrie Underwood. Sorry fans, but she was pitchy in spots again. She had a gorgeous dress, looked stunningly beautiful, and sang most of it really well, but there were parts I was a cringin'. I've heard Carrie sound really good and have also heard her get pitchy on occasion.

15. GuitarHero.com commercial take #2 - David Archuletta PG-rated version with Boxers instead of "tighty whiteys", as my wife calls them.

16. George Michael medley - the top 12 did a nice job on this. I had never heard George sing live before...WOW! The guy is really, really good. I was impressed. I mainly remember him from his WHAM! days.

Right after David Cook was announced the winner, he began applauding David Archuletta. That was very generous of him.

Oh...the Simon "apology" about mistreating DC thoughout the season. Yeah, right. At least he DID apologize. I'll give him that much. It was at that point that I KNEW David Cook had won.

So I guess next week, I'll do something PRODUCTIVE with my Tuesdays and Wednesdays! wink


Larry
http://www.audibleresponse.com
http://www.myspace.com/larrywilliamsproductions
...now writing/producing with Natascha: http://www.myspace.com/nataschacorrigan