News for Mormons

From The Associated Press:

David Cook performs during the opening act of the season finale of American Idol on Wednesday May 21, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Mark Mainz/AP Images for Fox)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Grown-up rocker David Cook has triumphed over smooth-voiced teen David Archuleta to become the new “American Idol.”

While Archuleta was heaped with praise by the judges the night before, the voters decided otherwise — and it wasn’t even close. Host Ryan Seacrest said during Wednesday’s show that 12 million votes was the difference.

Cook was overcome by emotion, bending toward the stage after his name was announced.

“This is amazing,” he said. “This is all your fault,” he added, addressing the brother who Cook had accompanied to the “Idol” audition that started it all.

Cook immediately took the microphone and began to sing “Time of my Life,” which won the annual “Idol songwriting competition.”

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From ShowBuzz:

David Archuleta gave what judge Simon Cowell called a knockout performance on the “American Idol” season 7 finals Tuesday, with song choices that showed off his voice to best advantage.

In Cowell’s opinion - and judge Randy Jackson concurred - Archuleta’s opponent David Cook stumbled by not choosing a showstopper to sing in the final round.

The judges, however, don’t have a voice in who ultimately wins the competition. That will be up to the “American Idol” viewing audience, whose decision will be revealed on Wednesday’s grand finale.

Favorites from the beginning of the season, both finalists entered the evening undefeated in “American Idol” terms. Neither of them had ever landed in the dreaded weekly bottom three of lowest-vote getters.

The Fox reality show made full use of the boxing theme throughout Tuesday night’s match, which kicked off with ring announcer Michael Buffer crying out his catchphrase “Let’s get ready to rumble!” HBO’s fight commentator Jim Lampley was shown in clips throughout the show, saying things like “in a three round fight, you want to pace yourself.”

The fight analogy only went so far.

“You’ve gotta have a desire to win and you’ve got to hate your opponent,” judge Simon Cowell advised before the first round of competition.

But the verbal handshake before the fight was a friendly one, with Archuleta saying Cook was “awesome” and Cook responding that Archuleta was the most consistently nice person in the competition.

Archuleta, who won the coin toss prior to the show, had decided to go second in front of the 7,000 people at the Nokia Live Theater in Los Angeles.

In the first round, the singers sang tunes selected for them by record mogul Clive Davis, whose record company, Sony BMG, will hand out a contract to the “American Idol” winner.

Cook kicked off the round with a solid performance of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” All the judges thought he was in fine voice, with Cowell calling his performance phenomenal.

Archuleta followed with Elton John’s “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” which Jackson called flawless.   (cont.)

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From The Deseret News:

  Win or lose, life is going to change for David Archuleta.

“After being on a reality show, especially if it’s a popular show like ‘American Idol,’ life is never the same. Every aspect of my life is different,” said Carmen Rasmusen, the Utahn who finished sixth on “Idol’s” second season. “I will always be Carmen Rasmusen from ‘American Idol.’ That will always be what people know me as first.”

At this point, Utah’s “American Idol” finalist has had only a glimpse of how different life will be. Even though he’s been performing in front of 20 million to 30 million people a week for months, Archuleta and the other finalists have been leading a life sheltered by the “Idol” machine that restricts and controls public appearances, interviews and just about every other aspect of their lives.

“We’ve been in a bubble,” said Syesha Mercado, who made the top three but was eliminated last week. “I don’t think we know what’s in store for us.”

And they haven’t been out of that bubble much.

“We had a taste of it when we went to Las Vegas — hundreds of people pulling on us saying, ‘Oh my gosh! I love you!’” Mercado said.

Archuleta got another taste of it when he came home to Utah on May 9. The thousands of screaming fans who turned out at both the Gateway — again, pulling at him — and at Murray High might have been a sign of things to come for the 17-year-old.

It’s impossible to remain unchanged when you’re the focus of that kind of attention. But that doesn’t mean that Archuleta is destined to go down the road that so many young stars infamously continue to travel.

Lynn Latham and Bernard Lechowick, longtime TV producers/writers, have worked with actors such as Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Lopez, Nicollette Sheridan, Halle Berry, George Eads and Kyle Chandler when those stars were young and unknown.

And they’ve observed that fame affects people, but it doesn’t make them into different people.

“I think your inherent personality holds sway,” Latham said.

“Young people who are well parented don’t lose their minds and values when they become famous,” Lechowick said. “Young people who are immature, not well-grounded, or into drugs can and do go a bit crazy when fame hits. You need an overview, or some objectivity to know fame is fleeting … and that it can distort your perspective of others.”

Which is why the criticism that Archuleta is getting from some quarters — that he’s too close to his father — may turn out to be exactly what he needs to survive. Because, win or lose, big career or disappointment, the “Idol” fame isn’t going to fade anytime soon. (cont.)

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