And the Winner is David. . .

Okay, so it’s been a week. . . my unofficial mourning period is over. Actually, viewing the season finale was a bit of a fiasco for me (more later); I ended up in my daughter’s room on her computer on YouTube, notes from the show got separated and it’s taken me this long to a) work up the enthusiasm to locate them and b) get enough time to look for them.

So, now they’ve been found and I’m ready to wrap up the season for all three of my fans.

Ryan opened the show by announcing that 97.5 million votes were received. I’m a big fan of the show, you all know. I will rearrange my life to be at home at least watching the recorded version, but I find it a little disgusting that 97.5 million votes are cast for this final show and I run into the same 5 people at my polling place at each election. Okay, nuff about that!

Ryan also mentions that the winner and the runner-up were only 12 million votes apart. I guess in some worlds that’s close, but in my world close is 2 million votes. Maybe Ryan gets all mixed up with the big numbers.

In any case, the Davids came onstage, all dressed in white and we watched the videos from the hometowns of each.
The Top 12 then sang “Get Ready Cuz Here I Come”. And if you’re going to one of the concerts, you BETTER be ready, because, don’t forget, you’re going to have to listen to ALL of the Top 12, including Kristy Lee and Brooke at least once by themselves. That would have to be the beer break for me!! (And I don’t even DRINK beer!!)

Next up was the David Duet, “Hero”. I thought the two Davids sounded great together. It seemed like Big David was a little softer all night and Lil’ David was a little edgier and more relaxed all night.

Next up was my favorite segment: Guru Pitka. I’ve been out looking for “Sitar Hero” all week (wink, wink)!

Syesha was up next, singing “Waiting for You” with SEAL!!! How lucky was SHE??? Hands down that has got to be the most exciting thing that will ever happen for her!!

Hallelujah, Jason sang “Hallelujah” --- pretty much the only song I’d trust him to sing at this point.

Then we watched clips from the makings of the Ford commercials. It was fun seeing all the little “out takes”.

Out came the finalists again, this time dressed all in black. Ryan presented them both with brand new Ford Hybrids. They both seemed genuinely surprised, as if they’d forgotten that the final 2 traditionally are gifted with new vehicles. Surprisingly, we found out that Lil’ David DOES have his license!!

The six female finalists then appeared to sing “She Works Hard for the Money”, all dressed in red (hmmmm. . .). Suddenly, Donna Summer appeared at the top of the stairway --- not a smart move, as she DEFINITELY needed help in getting down those stairs. . . and not because of the shoes she had on!! In any case, she sang her new single “Stamp Your Feet”, then segued into “The Last Dance”. She still sounds good, but looks a little scary.

Carly and Michael sang a duet “The Letter” --- sweet to see them together because their voices mix so well and ironic, as the two of them were both gone before their time.

Jimmy Kimmel made an appearance, putting Simon’s insults from the whole season to music. THAT was funny!!

Next up were the six male finalists, all dressed in black, singing “Those Were the Best Days of My Life”. Then they moved into “I’m in Heaven” by Bryan Adams. . . and who should appear but Bryan himself!?! Again, still sounds great, but a little scary to watch.

They segued into “Til I Saw You”, then “Somebody Like You”, then we got a short greeting from Jordin Sparks, last year’s Idol winner, announcing the upcoming “American Idol Experience” at Disneyworld.

Big David got to sing “Sharp Dressed Man” with none other than ZZ TOP!!! Not sure anything he does after this will be bigger than this!! How lucky can one guy get?? He looked like a kid in a candy store!

Brooke got to sing with Graham Nash --- “Teach Your Children”. Oddly enough, their voices blended well and Brooke remembered all the words. Also probably a high point in her life.

Jonas Brothers made an appearance. I have no idea what they sang because I fast-forwarded through it.

Of course, what season finale of AI would be complete without the requisite “Weirdo Flashback”?? Tape included the weirdest of the weird and the segment included an appearance by Reynaldo Lapuz and the USC Marching Band, joined by Randy and Paula.

One Republic was up next with “Apologize”, joined by Lil’David. I might have enjoyed this more if I didn’t hear this song every 2 ½ seconds on the radio.

Both of Lil’ David’s grandpas were interviewed in the next hometown check-in. Then, Jordin Sparks made a personal appearance onstage, singing “One Step at a Time”. Honestly, it was just alright.

Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and the newly gorgeous Robert Downey Jr. made appearances as Gladys Knights new Pips --- superimposed footage of these three adorable pranksters on an old clip of Gladys. Probably the best segment of the night!!

Carrie Underwood made an appearance singing “Last Name”. Also fast-forwarded through this segment.

The Top 12 appeared again, again dressed all in black to sing George Michael’s “You Gotta Have Faith”. Then, lo and behold, George Michael himself appeared onstage. . . or was it. . yes, I think it was. . . no. . . yes. I don’t know --- there was something different about him. No, not just because he’s really, really old. I think he got dentures or something --- there was something different about his mouth. And, the way his voice sounded like him, then not, then him again was a little unsettling. They segued into “Till the End of Time”, then “Freedom”, then George wrapped up the segment with “These Are the Days”, bringing Paula to tears. I’m surprised that a lot of people I’ve talked to never heard that song. It’s certainly not new!!

It was at this point that I glanced at my DVR “counter” and realized I was at 1 hour 54 minutes of a 2-hour show. . . or SUPPOSEDLY 2-hour show. My stomach sank as I realized “I’m going to miss the end of the final show. . . AGAIN!!!” Screw me over once, shame on you, screw me over twice, shame on ME!! I can’t BELIEVE that I forgot SO QUICKLY the pain of NOT seeing the winner announced “live” last year!!!

Slowly spinning through the last, seemingly endless, commercials, Ryan appears onstage with the two Davids, accountant guy comes out and takes WAY too long reassuring us that everything is on the up-and-up, Ryan says “and the winner is David” and my recording ends.

I am NOT kidding you!! I have it on my DVR --- the recording absolutely and literally stops with Ryan Seacrest’s open mouth starting to say the last name!!! Is it Archuleta?? Is it Cook??? Well, I don’t KNOW!!!

I am close to being in shock, having NOT seen the final announcement “live” for the SECOND year!!! I race into my daughter’s room, hopping on the AI show site, where, amazingly, they do NOT have the clip of the announcement posted, and the show’s been over on the west coast for almost an hour!!

Finally, thank God for YouTube --- I find a clip of the final announcement and get to watch that PLUS the other five minutes that my DVR has neglected to catch. Technology, the savior, and also bane of our existence!!

So, David Cook is pronounced the winner, much to my surprise!!! I really though David Archuleta would be American’s choice, and actually at this point it doesn’t matter. I said I’d be happy no matter who won, and I am. Bless his hear, David Cook breaks down in tears and then sings one last song for this season, with the other Top 11 gathered around him.

I have to say, I understand how proud his mom must be, but she’s a little creepy in her devotion. If it were my kid, they would have definitely wanted me in the audience every night, but standing directly below them, just gazing up during the final song?? Creepy!!

In any case, it was a happy ending, but it would have been no matter what had happened. Would have been sweeter if I’d gotten the ENTIRE show on my DVR but. . .

And, in the week that has passed since the last show, I’ve read that David Cook hooked up with Kimberly Caldwell, so maybe he’s not still single, but good for him. After all his hard work this season, he deserves it!!

Can’t wait for David Cook’s first CD!! In the meantime, I’m downloading my AI favorite cuts onto my iPod to listen to this weekend (American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life) while I’m walking the track for 24 hours.