Tag: David Cook

Idol Wired >> Ashthon Ousted

And so it has begun, Ashthon Jones was eliminated last night on American Idol after her rather boring rendition of Diana Ross’ “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” Wednesday night.

I believe that the show is looking for the next hugely successful pop star, which is why Ashthon was picked by the judges to advance to the Top 13. She has the look and the sass, but she couldn’t pick an appropriate song choice to save her from elimination. If someone told me that they saw me as more of a Diana Ross-type, I’d pick a song that was familiar and have at it. Ashthon needed to pick a song that highlighted her strengths, and ballads just don’t seem to do her any justice, even with her big voice.

Ashthon’s ouster proved even more to me that Robbie Rosen deserved her spot in the Top 13. Robbie totally out-sang her last week. Obviously, I’m a tad bitter about this. It stings just a bit more knowing that Ashthon couldn’t last an additional week in the competition. It also speaks volumes about what this season’s audience wanted versus what the judges wanted. Robbie tweeted Wednesday night that if he had made it through to the Top 13, he was going to be performing Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River.” My instincts tell me that it would have been awesome, so thanks judges, thanks a lot.

With the playing field now leveled, it’s time to see if the females will continue to be picked off one by one. An all-female bottom three in what was boasted as “The season of the females” doesn’t seem like things are going to bode well for them. But you know, time will tell.
Continue reading Idol Wired >> Ashthon Ousted

Idol Wired >> The Top 24 Are Revealed!

Finally, we have 24 contestants moving onto the American Idol semifinals. We’re making progress, everyone! Of course, getting to this point meant sitting through four of the longest hours of my life to find out officially which contestants had made the Top 24.

To be honest (and this might be an unpopular opinion), I thought that first hour of Idol Wednesday night during the Las Vegas round was a huge waste of time. I didn’t care to watch group rounds again, and more than that, I don’t care to hear songs of The Beatles being sung by people other than The Beatles.

This episode we got to see Idol’s in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine sit in on some of the rehearsals, and oh my, I think he’s definitely going to be a presence when it comes to contestants working on their songs. He just got straight to the point and held nothing back. He wasn’t sugarcoating anything or sparing anyone’s feelings. His involvement on the show this season is going to be interesting.

The only two performances from Vegas Cirque du Soleil LOVE stage that I cared for were from Tim Halperin and Julie Zorrilla who performed “Something” and Paul McDonald and Kendra Chantrelle who performed “Blackbird.”

In case I haven’t mentioned it already, I am definitely a fan of Halperin’s voice. His vocals paired wonderfully with Zorrilla’s.

I also really like McDonald’s voice. There’s a James Morrison meets Rod Stewart vibe going on there, and I dig it.

The second hour of Idol Wednesday night was dedicated to revealing a portion of the Top 24. This hour and the two hours on Thursday night were so long, I felt like lifetimes were passing by as the show slowly revealed the Top 24.

The contestants got to perform one more final song, and then they walked down the ridiculously long walkway to sit with the judges to find out if they were in or out.
Continue reading Idol Wired >> The Top 24 Are Revealed!

David Archuleta Parts Ways With Jive Records

After a somewhat cryptic Twitter update from David Archuleta last week that said, “Decisions.. They are scary things before knowing what could happen after you make them, but I’m excited for what the future holds,” there was speculation that Archuleta had been let go by Jive Records.

On Februray 18, a Jive Records representative told The Hollywood Reporter that “David was released from our roster.”

Archuleta took to Twitter again this week to post a video to thank his fans and to explain the decisions that he is making for himself when it comes to his career.

In the video Archuleta said, “There were offers for me to continue working with [Jive], but it didn’t feel like the right thing now.”

Later in the video, he said that he had also parted ways with his management.

“I realized that this is not where I am need to be right now. This is not where I’m supposed to go, what I want to be doing right now, what I want to be focusing on,” he explained.

Archuleta was runner-up to David Cook during American Idol’s seventh season. In the fall of 2008, he sold 183,000 copies of his self-titled debut album in it’s first week out. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 in the number two slot.

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

Idol Wired >> Five Changes I Hope to See During ‘American Idol’s’ Tenth Season

It was a long summer, fall and start of winter, but American Idol is back for their tenth season and I am ready! New judges, new contestants, and a new feature! Welcome to “Idol Wired”!

Alright, so my favorite reality show that drives me crazy on a weekly basis from this Wednesday through the end of May is back, and I came up with what changes that I would like to see this season as American Idol turns 10.

Keep the spotlight on the contestants

There have been shake-ups at the judges’ table since season eight, which have garnered much more attention than deserved. I think once the initial shock of the new faces at the judges’ table wears off this season, the show needs to adjust it’s attention back to it’s contestants.

I think one way to do this is to show more of the contestant’s personality in the pre-performance videos. Last season we learned that Lee DeWyze worked at a paint store. What we didn’t learn is that he’s fairly hilarious. Most fans learned this during the summer Idol tour meeting him before and after the shows.

I think over the past couple seasons, the audience really hasn’t been able to connect with the contestants, which is in part why last season wasn’t as successful as previous seasons.

Judges should be clear and concise with their post-performance critiques

I think the judge’s critiques on Idol should be like Twitter. You need to get out what you want to say about the contestant’s performance in 140 characters or less. I feel that the judges should be able to let the contestants know if they liked or disliked the performance with a reason backing their opinion in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, if the judges didn’t talk so much it could allow for slightly longer performances from the contestants.

No more lip-syncing during the group numbers

One of the things that bothered me during both seasons eight and nine of Idol was the very apparent lip-syncing during the group numbers. I know that a lot of the time they pre-tape the group performances before the live elimination, which means there really isn’t any excuse for not singing live. I don’t care if they have to auto-tune the crap out of the vocals, but singing live would be more legit than shooting a live music video.
Continue reading Idol Wired >> Five Changes I Hope to See During ‘American Idol’s’ Tenth Season

David Cook Talks About His New Album

David Cook talked to PopStopTV.com at an event the other night about the possible time frame for the release of his much anticipated sophomore album.

Check out his interview below!

We are getting so close to new music from David, and I couldn’t be more excited! If the album is due out this spring, that means a new single should be popping up pretty soon.

If you haven’t seen the music teaser David put on the internets a week or so ago, check that out here!

Follow me on Twitter! @KirsCoachman

Music Teaser & Vlog from David Cook & David Archuleta

Both of the David’s from American Idol season seven put out videos earlier today.

In case you forgot that David Cook did not release his sophomore album during 2010, he released this music teaser today as a reminder.

Check it out!

David Archuleta put out his first vlog of 2011 and remained adorable. He also talked for awhile about how awesome his 2010 was.

Check it out!

Nice to get updates from both the guys!

And how awesome did the short clip of “Paper Heart” sound?

Here’s hoping DCook can get his album out soon and that Archie can keep his New Year’s resolution to vlog more!

Follow me on Twitter! @KirsCoachman

Fox Airs ‘American Idol’ “Welcome Home” Special

Yesterday afternoon in select markets, FOX aired an American Idol TV special called, “Welcome Home” featuring the past nine Idol winners.

For those of us (including myself) that had no clue this was going to be on the air, the Idol special made it’s way to YouTube!

Check out American Idol’s “Welcome Home” below!

Source: 1 (Go give the source some love for uploading this!)

New Season 10 ‘American Idol’ Promo

The latest American Idol season 10 promo featuring the past nine winners has hit the web!

Check it out!

I love hearing about the Idol’s lives before they went on the show, so I am just loving all these promos. I hope Idol does them all a solid and has each of the past winners on this season to promote their music.

Just sayin’!

David Cook Performs at Ronald McDonald House Benefit

David Cook, Ruben Studdard and Melinda Doolittle were all present last night at the Ronald McDonald House Benefit in New York City.

Mike Woods from Fox 40 took video of the three former Idol contestant’s performances, including these three videos of David Cook performing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” a Radiohead cover of “High And Dry,” and a mash up of “Heroes” with Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova.”

Check it out!

How awesome is that mash up? It’s done so well, I just love it.

David Cook, I am pleading with you to hurry up and get your sophomore album finished. You’re killin’ me, smalls. I need new music from you. Like yesterday.

I know I am not the only one that feels that way. But, I’ll keep waiting…