American Idol: Season 7

[KarenP]

I was not surprised that Cook won as I thought all along he would. I liked them both. I personally preferred David A's voice but thought Cook was the better performer. I think they will both do very well.

[SBETigg]

Today's news suggests that David Cook won because of the "cougar" vote, meaning that Cook's biggest fan base is predatory middle-aged women. And Ian thought that crowd was voting for Archuleta. Watch out, David Cook!

[2Epcot]

"American Idol" concludes on ratings upswing
Thu May 22, 2008 5:56pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The upset "American Idol" victory by rock singer David Cook drew nearly 32 million U.S. television viewers on Wednesday night, up 3 percent from last year's finale, Nielsen Media Research reported on Thursday.

The two-hour broadcast on News Corp's Fox network marked the second-most-watched episode of the smash hit talent contest this season, behind only the 33 million-plus viewers who tuned in for the debut of the show's seventh installment in January.

The Nielsens rally came after weeks of record low ratings. And "American Idol" finished its latest run down year-to-year for the season as a whole in both overall average audience size and in ratings for viewers aged 18 to 49, the group most prized by advertisers.

It was the second straight year of season-to-season declines though the finale's ratings could be adjusted when the final Nielsen data comes in.

"Idol," which generally airs twice weekly, averaged about 28.1 million viewers per broadcast for the current season, compared with 30.8 million at the height of show's popularity in 2006. But it remains by the far the most watched show on U.S. television.

The unexpected triumph of Cook, 25, who was tending bar and playing in a band before he auditioned for the singing competition, marked one of the more surprising outcomes of the series.

His rival, 17-year-old David Archuleta, went from being the contestant widely dubbed "The Chosen One" to runner-up after a record 97.5 million votes were cast by fans of the show on Tuesday night, final performance episode.

The show is produced by 19 Entertainment, a unit of CKX Inc, and by FremantleMedia, a division of British-based RTL Group., which is controlled by media giant Bertelsmann AG.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Osterman)

[Marker]

David Cook won because of the "cougar" vote

My take would be that David Cook won because he got more VOTES.

The upset "American Idol" victory

Upset victory?? Based on what? I think a lot of folks were behind David Cook, obviously so because he did indeed get more votes.


My Opinion....

David Cook had a broader appeal, and a more marketable sound.

The reason I'd offer that he has a broader appeal and more marketable sound, is because of his experience and talent. He has experience as a performer playing live to an audience (even if small ones), he has experience communicating with a band to be more in sync with their expectations and his desires, he has experience writing songs and was about to use that experience in make his song choices "his own". He is more than just a singer.

David Archuleta on the other hand is a talented singer, but doesn't have the experience. To my knowledge his is not really a musician and song writer either. To me, he was nearly one dimensional. He as good in his inspirational ballad comfort zone, but just didn't transition well outside of that. When he did venture out of that comfort zone, to me, he looked really uncomfortable.

With age and experience, David A can very likely develop into a real marketable talent, but in my mind he's just not there yet. David C on the other hand, was more marketable from the start, and developed as the show went along.

DC, with the jump start from the show, was likely to see success win or lose. DA's success would have greatly benefitted from a win, and will have a longer road from second place.

Without the American Idol experience, DC would have been making music at some lever, some place. DA on the other hand, I'm not so sure.

But that's just my humble opinion.

[SBETigg]

Marker, no one said Cook didn't get more votes. I commented on the news reports speculating on the demographic breakdown of said votes. No need to shout.

[pogo]

Both will be huge stars. They both have huge talent ! But here's the difference. Only one comes from your home town !

David C., with the middle aged based women... ( they like guys that look a little tough, but aren't really. ) My wife loves him !

David A., with the tweens and teens ! Both my granddaughters love him.

It's all good.... they put on a great show ! Can't wait until next year !!

[Aurora]

David Cook had a broader appeal, and a more marketable sound.

The reason I'd offer that he has a broader appeal and more marketable sound, is because of his experience and talent. He has experience as a performer playing live to an audience (even if small ones), he has experience communicating with a band to be more in sync with their expectations and his desires, he has experience writing songs and was about to use that experience in make his song choices "his own". He is more than just a singer.

David Archuleta on the other hand is a talented singer, but doesn't have the experience. To my knowledge his is not really a musician and song writer either. To me, he was nearly one dimensional. He as good in his inspirational ballad comfort zone, but just didn't transition well outside of that. When he did venture out of that comfort zone, to me, he looked really uncomfortable.

With age and experience, David A can very likely develop into a real marketable talent, but in my mind he's just not there yet. David C on the other hand, was more marketable from the start, and developed as the show went along.

DC, with the jump start from the show, was likely to see success win or lose. DA's success would have greatly benefitted from a win, and will have a longer road from second place.

Without the American Idol experience, DC would have been making music at some lever, some place. DA on the other hand, I'm not so sure.

But that's just my humble opinion.

You may be right that Cook is more marketable and has experience writing his own songs. But I wanted to point out that Archuleta has been performing in front of all kinds of audiences for years, both hometown audiences and even with national exposure when he was younger when he appeared in "Star Search" (where he was once again the bridesmaid). Check out various videos of him on YouTube.

I do agree that Archuleta has a way to go, but I think that will come more with maturity and experimentation than additional performing experience (although that never hurts). And I definitely do think there's a market for him -- not just tweens and teens -- depending on the type of music he chooses to pursue and who promotes him.

[NotaGeek]

I could really care less about either of these performers, and I doubt that either one will ever end up on my iPod.

BUT -- did you see David Cook's Disney World commercial? He got one of those "Now that you've won American Idol what are you gonna do ..." with the music to 'When you wish upon a star" ... it's cute.

[PirateLover]

BUT -- did you see David Cook's Disney World commercial? He got one of those "Now that you've won American Idol what are you gonna do ..." with the music to 'When you wish upon a star" ... it's cute.

Yup, I actually linked to it in the thread. It's him singing the song as well. I love it!
ETA... Disney launched a website for the American Idol Experience and the video is on there as well.http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw...pdtToDW&bhcp=1

[PirateLover]

Marker, no one said Cook didn't get more votes. I commented on the news reports speculating on the demographic breakdown of said votes. No need to shout.

I think it's actually quite ridiculous that the media is speculating on the age demographics... does it really matter? Aren't there more important things in the world to write about than who the middle aged women vote went to for the American Idol? I mean it's not like exit polling for real elections, how on earth could they possibly figure this out?
(P.S. Sherri just clarifying this is a criticism on the media, not you. You are just the messenger )

[Young@Heart]

Yay, David Cook!!!!! I would have voted for him, but I could never get through!

[NotaGeek]

Yup, I actually linked to it in the thread. It's him singing the song as well. I love it!
ETA... Disney launched a website for the American Idol Experience and the video is on there as well.http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw...pdtToDW&bhcp=1

Sorry. I stopped reading this thread a LONG time ago. You guys have the longest posts in the history of discussion boards.

[SBETigg]

I think it's actually quite ridiculous that the media is speculating on the age demographics... does it really matter? Aren't there more important things in the world to write about than who the middle aged women vote went to for the American Idol? I mean it's not like exit polling for real elections, how on earth could they possibly figure this out?
(P.S. Sherri just clarifying this is a criticism on the media, not you. You are just the messenger )

Yes, but I mentioned it for Ian, who said earlier in the season that middle aged women were voting for Archuleta. I was having a laugh and it certainly wasn't taking anything away from David Cook.

[PirateLover]

Well, for all those worried about David Cook's selling potential, his cheesy single has sold 236,024 digital copies in 4 days, already making it the best selling Idol debut single since season 2.