ARTIST: David Archuleta
TITLE: “Crush”
DEBUT: Aug. 1, 2008
Those scrooges at American Idol are thwarting runner-up David Archuleta’s quest to give back to his hometown and to charity! Archie was slated to play a “thanks for voting for me” concert at the E Center in Salt Lake City this coming Friday, with proceeds from the show going to an unspecified charitable organization But the show’s bigwigs put the kibosh on the show, perhaps because they were afraid that after last year’s soft ticket sales for the annual Idol summer tour, effectively giving a whole market a reason to say “oh, I saw who I wanted to see already, so I’ll spend my money on a gallon of gas instead” when given the option to pony up for a show was maybe not the best strategy for bringing in revenue. (But I thought Brooke White was a Mormon, too?)
This week’s Digital Tracks chart represents the first week that iTunes released American Idol sales data to SoundScan, and as a result it has an Idol quotient of 17.5%; season-seven winner David Cook placed 17 of his songs on last week’s chart (all in the top 100, with three in the top ten and the coronation song “The Time Of My Life” at No. 1 with 236,000 paid downloads), second-place finisher David Archuleta got 14 songs on the big board (his highest-placing song, at No. 23: “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” which was downloaded 51,000 times), and third-place runner-up Syesha Mercado didn’t sell enough of any tracks to crack the 200-song list. (So much for the strength-in-numbers of the Fanesha 300.) Jason Castro, Brooke White, and Michael Johns also cracked the digital-tracks top 200, and White’s pre-Idol album, the Billy Joel-cover-free Songs From The Attic, even managed to make the digital-albums chart, selling 1,900 copies. Chris Molanphy will have more on these numbers, and their impact on the big board, in tomorrow’s 100 & Single, but for now we’ve got sales totals after the jump.
I’ve had a sneaking suspicion for most of the season that the producers have been sweetening the screeching-girl noises during David Archuleta’s performances, or at least enhancing it a bit–blame a childhood spent preferring Guns N’ Roses to New Kids On the Block. But! More »
Welcome to our second night of live-blogging the American Idol finale, two hours of spectacle leading up to the crowning of a David as the favorite pop singer of this very phone-equipped nation. I’m watching the TV Guide Channel’s preshow, which has Kimberly Caldwell screaming a lot and Justin Guarini laughing dumbly a bunch and Janice Dickinson saying that she’s in the tank for Archie too. (For that the producers denied Danny Noriega a ticket? Hmph.) Also, apparently Simon Cowell told Justin Guarini that it was a draw while I was on the phone?! Looks like someone saw our poll! Coverage begins after the jump…
Damn you, Cooksuckers! A miracle of a man is standing before you, and you’re asking for more oatmeal instead. David Cook beating David Archuleta would be the most grievous public decision since Bush beat Kerry, if not since Barabbas beat Jesus. Do you really prefer lame rock over good schmaltz? Would you rather listen to Nickelback than “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”? This is a kid that sings like James Ingram, but looks like Fievel! David Archuleta is exactly the kind of circus act that should win America’s Best Whatevs in the absence of anything genuinely enjoyable, while David Cook is Daughtry with more hair and less charisma. Sure, Cook gets teary-eyed after his performances, but while he’s singing he looks like he’d enjoy nothing more than a body-sized mirror with a hole in it. Archie, on the other hand, is squinting, panting, and crooning for you.
A few more spoilers have started to trickle out about tonight’s American Idol pre-finale, including word that David Archuleta will reprise “Imagine” and David Cook is planning on singing U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”–the first time a U2 song has been cleared for an Idol performance. (Perhaps this means that Bono is the big star Nigel Lythgoe was crowing about yesterday?) Also: Unlike last year, when Blake Lewis was forced to gut out “This Is My Now,” the two Davids have been given leeway to pick their own coronation songs from the songwriting contest’s top ten vote-getters. Their rumored picks, and other news bits, after the jump.
In which we try to predict whether or not Randy’s dubbing Syesha “No. 3” of the final three American Idol contestants was some sort of astrological prediction written in the star-chart shirt he wore last night–or another piece of the mounting pile of evidence that the producers have been gaming the system for a David/David finale since the night Chikezie was eliminated. For anecdotal purposes, DialIdol ranks the hopefuls Cook-Archuleta-Mercado, while the top Idol-related search term on Google Trends is (ugh) “Switchfoot,” at No. 57. America: It can’t get enough of that post-millennial grunge! Vote after the jump.
In preparation for tonight’s American Idol liveblog–which starts at 8 ET!–here are some headlines that have crossed the transom… More »
From the comments queue: “Can’t tell who wrote this but you really are not that smart. David Archuleta is a legend in the making. He has more charisma than you have by far and more talent in his little finger then you or any of the other contestents. More »
