Well I'm sorry, but I just have to write about American Idol today, which is the buzz of the morning so far all over the Internet. I have really been into the show this year and I have to say that I agree with the judges that they've had some of the best talent make it to the finals this year than they've ever had. And yes, 
I'm am sooooo glad and sooooo surprised that David Cook won. I pretty much wrote it off that the young girls where going to text in their votes like crazy for the young cutie, David Archeleta. But the surprise was that it wasn't even close....DC won by over 12 million votes with American Idol breaking their record with a total of 90 million.
I was one of those people that recorded it on my DVR last night because I wanted to watch the whole show from the beginning, but wasn't able to sit down at the 8pm start time. So, yes my DVR stopped recording after two hours just when Ryan Seacrest said, "and the winner, by 12 million votes, of American Idol 2008 is..." It brought me right to my computer where I had to search to find out who won which took a few minutes before Yahoo had it up on their home page. I had to wait till this morning to see the video highlights which included the end announcement! This reminded me of the Soprano's surprising ending earlier this season when they went to a black screen and sent us online to find out if our televisions had screwed up and what we may had missed. In that case, nothing!
So, while the show this season has come down in its ratings from last year, it still has beat out anything else on TV, which just goes to show us that television's overall share is down, and that's where it will most likely stay.
I really enjoyed the finale show even though there were some "chezzy" moments. Look at all the talent they had...Seal singing with Syesha who made a great duo. He's got an amazing voice and she was able to hold her own while also looking as stunning as usual. Graham Nash performing Teach Your Children with Brooke White just made me smile. Donna Summers did look her age on the stage with all the beautiful, young female finalists, but she still has one hell of a voice. And the most fun I've seen on TV in quite a while was David Cook performing "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Top...they were great!
Guitar Hero got in on the entertainment marketing bandwagon and was also a big winner last night. They ran two commercials, one of each of the Davids, performing the famous Tom Cruise scene from Risky Business. You know, where he slides across the hardwood floor in his socks and underwear, jumps on the couch and lip-syncs to "Ole' Time Rock and Roll". In this version however, they weren't playing air guitar, but of course the Guitar Hero player. Here's David Cook's Version:
Micheal Myers who was there to promote is new, upcoming film, The Love Guru, also made us laugh with a "Sitar Hero" stint. It was all fun, fun all around. And then experiencing David's Cook's final performance at the very end of the show just proved that America got it right this year.
So as an excuse to write about the American Idol Season 7 finale, I also thought I'd mention an interactive promotion that McDonald's did as a major partner with this them year. McDonald's invited America to pick an "American Idol" from one of eight musical Happy Meal toys that they created to name a Happy Meal superstar. Each toy plays a tune within the genre of the music their character represents: groove to disco songs with Disco Dave, line dance with Country Clay, rock out with Rockin' Riley (shown here), vibe to the beat with Lil' Hip Hop, make a melody with Hippie Harmony, sing along with New Wave Nigel, jam with Soulful Selma or kick it with Punky Pete! McDonald's customers went online to happymeal.com to vote for their favorite.
McDonald's also offered a chance for a couple of lucky customers to experience American Idol with the "You're Going to Hollywood" Sweepstakes. Consumers were invited online to happymeal.com to enter for a chance to win one of two prizes. Joseph Kershenbaum, of Lowell, Mass., and Cheryl Russell, of Riverside, Calif., each traveled to Los Angeles for a three-day/two-night trip. Kershenbaum attended the May 20 show, while Russell attended last night's finale. “McDonald's congratulates our winners on this exciting opportunity to enjoy America's hit television show in person,” said Rebecca Anderson, Marketing Manager, McDonald’s USA.
I'll now have to wait a while to see David Cook perform again and also for American Idol Season 8 to begin. I guess it's probably because I have a teenage daughter who's a singer and an actress that I really get emotional about this show. I'm just so proud of my daughter who's been accepted into NYU's prestigious Tisch School of performing arts for the Fall semester. Maybe, just maybe she'll want to tryout this summer for Season 8. That would screw up her college plans if she got in, but you never know. Stay tuned!
Congratulations to David Cook and David Archeleta.
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