Concert Review: The two Davids salvage American Idols Live
With a wave of the “American Idol” light sticks, Mellon Arena was transformed into “AI-7″ central Tuesday night as the tour steamrolled into town — and all but fell flat on its face.
This year’s show featured a cheaper stage than last year’s and brought each performer out for a three-song set, in the order that they were eliminated from the show. And they all — with the exception of “The Davids” (Archuleta and Cook) — did a note-for-note copy-cat performances of top 100 songs that were fan faves on the show.
More Idol Headlines After the Jump…
Brooke White, Jason Castro bring their down-to-earth sparkle to `American Idol’ tour
Season 7 of American Idol†came down to The Battle of the Two Davids, but it also offered engaging personalities in Brooke White and Jason Castro.
White, 25, was the sunny, chatty, vulnerable one from Van Nuys. The one-time nanny could flash a smile as bright as Goldie Hawn and, with her flowing gold locks, carried the aura of a ‘60s flower child. She also wore her emotions on her sleeve, sometimes looking nervous and teary-eyed before the judge’s pronouncements. No other finalist this year lived so much on the edge.
Idols entertain Pittsburgh
The American Idols Live Tour rolled into town early Monday morning, giving the Idols a day off to see a Pirates game, go kayaking on the Monongahela and generally wander around Pittsburgh.
Refreshed and raring to go, they performed Tuesday night to a Mellon Arena packed with shrieking fans.
The stage was simple, allowing the 10 performers to absorb the spotlight without much flashy distraction.
Their appearances ran in reverse order of TV’s “American Idol†contest, so soulful teddy bear Chikezie went first. By the last tune of his three-song set the audience was on its feet.
David Cook Shows Us His Life As An American Idol
After spending winter and spring under the bright lights of Hollywood, American Idol winner David Cook and the other idol finalists are spending their summer on a bus. They’re criss-crossing the country on the idol summer tour. FOX 4’s Dave Froehlich joined the tour in progress for a look at what life is like as an American Idol.
David Cook Makes Headway With New Album
David Cook is making some good headway with his debut album. The American Idol champ is busy on the road with this year’s finalists, but he’s also setting his sights on writing and recording new music. He recently visited Los Angeles to lay down some tracks for the set, which is expected out November 19th and will feature writing collaborations with Collective Soul’s Ed Roland, Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida, John Fields and Kara DioGuardi.
The songs mostly have a rock-based sound, and Cook says so far he’s happy with the turnout:”I think we’ve for sure we’ve gotten seven songs that we’re tracking. We’re going to try to get to around 20 I think. I just want the record to be both reflective and cohesive and have something to say and I feel like we’re definitely heading down the right path, so.”
Life after ‘American Idol’
After competing in the most recent season of “American Idol,†Amanda Overmyer’s main focus is pursuing a career in music.
Overmyer is currently in Mulberry putting together a new album, which she describes as “southern rock.†Her single “Play On†will be released on Apple iTunes at the end of September. The album, which has not been signed by a record label, is tentatively set to be released in December.
The 23-year-old Camden native finished 11th in “Idol,†after being voted off the competition in March.
Active, Guardmembers give back to disabled vets
As disabled veterans tested their limits during the National Disabled Veterans Wheelchair Games, which wrapped up here yesterday, nearly 400 military volunteers provided the behind-the-scenes support that officials said made the games a success.
Some of the military support took center stage. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Phil Stacey, better known as an “American Idol” finalist during season six, opened and closed the games with his booming rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Stacey, assigned to Navy Community Outreach in Millington, Tenn., also served as an announcer at several of the events, including yesterday’s slalom “super G” obstacle course that drew wildly screaming fans cheering on the participants.
“I’m honored to be here and to be able to meet these amazing athletes,” Stacey said. “Seeing what they’re able to do makes everything about this amazing.”
Ruben Studdard Visits Chattanooga
Tickets went on sale Wednesday for the Bessie Smith Heritage Festival to be held next month. The headliner for the festival is Season Two American Idol winner Ruben Studdard.
Studdard made an appearance in the scenic city to kick off the event Wednesday. He says he’s never performed in Chattanooga, and he’s really looking forward to it.
“It’s going to be fun. It’s like inviting people to my living room. We have a party, and I’m sure it’s not going to be any different here in Chattanooga,” Studdard said.
The festival is August 23 on the grounds of the Chattanooga African American Museum. Tickets are $25 in advance, and $35 at the gate.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ is full of awesome
Here it is. We’re one week away from our final four on So You Think You Can Dance and, with the great performances turned in tonight, the remaining contestants aren’t making the decision easy for us.
Tonight’s judging panel features the triumphant return of Adam Shankman. Yay! Hopefully his presence will temper Mary Murphy’s insanity and Nigel’s creepiness.
Destination ‘So You Think You Can Dance’: The best episode of the season. Period.
Well folks, the numbers are in and it’s official: Tonight’s episode of “So You Think You Can Dance†was the most exhilarating and engrossing of the season. Here are the reasons why.
A respectable omission
Paula Abdul was in the audience, and yet they didn’t even subject us to the video for “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow.†Add 10 points.
Canadian Idol: Talking With Sebastian Pigott
Sebastian Pigott’s voice is a little hoarse, but there is no mistaking his enthusiasm the morning after he was the third member of the Top 10 to be eliminated from Canadian Idol. In fact when asked how he is, he says he’s “just golden.â€
Pigott explained there is ultimately a bit of relief that comes with being eliminated from the Idol stage.
“You’ve been engulfed in the bubble and it’s all so intense for so long. So there’s a little bit of relief in it and you know, I didn’t expect to go all the way. I feel like I went out on a good note,†he said so genuinely, there’s no disbelieving him.
Canadian Idol Top 8 Results
It was goodbye to Sebastien Pigott on last night’s Idol results show.
It was his third week in the bottom three, joined in the bottom by Mookie Morris and Mark Day. Seven singers remain and next week will be a British invasion with the Idols performing “U.K. Hits.â€
Gavin Rossdale, former frontman of Bush, sang “Love Remains The Same†from his first solo album, WANDERlust on tonight’s results show after mentoring the Idols for Unplugged week.
Tom Jones will take the reigns from Rossdale as he guest starts on next week’s show, mentoring the final seven in the performance episode on Monday, August 4 at 9 p.m. EST and then perform live on the results show, Tuesday August 5 at 8 p.m. EST on CTV.
‘America’s Got Talent’ goes virtual
After six weeks of seeing the best, the worst and the ugliest that cities across the country had to offer over the past six weeks, “America’s Got Talent” went virtual on Tuesday night, testing the talents of people who uploaded their auditions on MySpace.com.
Give NBC some credit for jumping back to the Internet for talent after the debacle that was “quarterlife.” Early on, the Internet’s chances of digging up fresh talent didn’t look much more promising. But the night eventually took a turn with some heartwarming stories about a long lost mother and daughter reconnecting and a soldier getting a chance to perform after spending 15 months in Iraq.
Awww Jason got some panties too…
My Fox
Sure sounds like she loved the concert…lol
This Collective Soul article relates to both David and AI in general.. a snippet
I was just reading at etrain that Elliott’s album is now gold in Japan. Nice, E! :)
purp, you beat me to it!! Wow, who knew he’d sell in Japan??
The top article, I havent read thru it yet but I wonder what show they were watching if they think that all the Idols with the exception of the Davids did a note of note copy of the songs they sang on the show??? That isnt true, except for MJ the others all put some new stuff in there too.
I’m wondering about that, too, sumidol. Strange review. From reading it you’d never know that most of the other people attending it were having a great time–at least, according to every other account I’ve read.
The Collective Soul story. . .it must be a great feeling for Cookie to know that a band that has given him so much enjoyment and inspiration in the past is now getting a little (big?) boost from their association with him. It’s touching to think of him grooving to them, and never knowing what would come of that one day. Awww!
Today’s lead article is the exact same article from the same Pittsburgh media, by the same writer except that it was edited to leave out the paragraph which contained nice words which were posted the day before:
Maybe she or someone there decided that the article wasn’t mean enough as originally posted. LOL. Here is a link to the article which was posted here before:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08212/900479-42.stm
Kinda funny that they did that. Weird.
Elliott had Japanese fans who flew to the USA, to Canada and to the Philippines to see him perform. Some of them said that he had a large number for fans in Japan. I’m so happy that they were right.
Congrats to Elliott.
Sometimes you have to wonder if these reviewers even attended the concert, let alone watched the reality TV show that spawned this road production. This statement is patently false:
Carly didn’t sing Bring Me To Live on American Idol and Crazy On You, with the slowed down acoustic start, was so changed up from her Idol rendition (and the original Heart version) that some early concert goers were asking what that ‘little song before Crazy On You was?”
I guess Rosa Colucci pulled a paycheck for writing that so all is well in the world of “journalistic integrity”. And how exactly does she know the relative costs of the stages between the last two tours?
American Idols Live! Tour 2008 to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell
Last night’s DWTS was awesome! I love all 3 of the girls left and Joshua is my fav. I didn’t much care for Mark but his jazz number last night was reallllllllllly good! I think Twitch and Chelsea got the 2 worst choreographed routines, unfortunately. Chelsea is a very good dancer and might not survive tonight due to that, imo.
For the Joey and Rory fans who watched Can You Duet, they got signed by a record label and have an album coming out in the fall. The first single will be Cheater, Cheater and the video for it is due out pretty soon, All according to www.cmt.com in the blog section. I just loved t hem and that song. Think it will be a big hit.
The Japanese loves them some old skool R&B. Yatta, Elliott!
I enjoyed reading the interview with Sebastian Pigott of Canadian Idol. I had always felt the man was talented. His voice, as he freely admits, is not pure, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good artist/performer. Take any blues singer, which he most closely resembles, and he’s right in there. Maybe CI audiences don’t really appreciate that style, which is a whole nother thing.
Anyhow, I found Sebastian to be a very interesting, cool guy. He knew he had little chance of winning and admitted it was difficult once his brother was voted off. And his pick - Earl.
Here’s what Sebastian had to say:
â€I’ve got to give a shout out to my boy Mookie. He’s an awesome dude from Toronto who deserves to go all the way, but if I’m going to make a prediction I’m going to say Earl. I think he’ll make an amazing Canadian Idol because he’s incapable of being a phoney at all. Everything you get from him is completely genuine and he’s in the moment and spontaneous and really weird and I think that will be a refreshing change.â€
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Couple o things…
Post-Gazette review was childishly mean. Low road for sure.
David and his nicknames…he called Chikezie “Cheezy”. Hee Hee.
Know why I like Chikesie? Cuz it seems like people don’t like him or they ignore him and he can really sing. I sorda feel sorry for him. He’s good people. During a “behind the scenes” interview during Idol, they were asking each idol what they thought of others. When Chikesie was asked about David, he said “legend in the making.” This was waaay before the final. Way before a lot of people caught onto what DC was all about. I thought it was very big of Chikesie to honor David’s talent like that. Others spoke of David’s personality and querky sense of humor and that’s fine, but Chikesie didn’t mind showing that he knew he was in the presence of a stellar talent. That says so much about Chikesie’s character.
Very little press, Chikesie. Few videos. Not recorded during group numbers. I don’t know why this is your cross to bear — this invisibility — but you are a good man and I pray your dreams come true.
That gave me chills, Patchchat, to read what Chikesie said about D.C. I’ve been getting the impression, from comments of his that I’ve read, that Chikesie is an extremely intelligent young man. If it’s any comfort, it does seem as if everybody who meets him on this tour loves him. I see his problem as being one of having voice, sincerity, and talent, but maybe not yet a catchy style of his own. I hope he’s able to develop that, and soon.
You know my favorite Chikesie moment was when he brought out the harmonica and showed so much energy and then Simon stinked up the place with his remarks. Chikesie looked so happy with himself but noooooo Simon wiped that smile right off of his face
Please forgive me if this is old news ’round here, but Jason has an official website (h/t Castrocopia). As of this writing, it’s still in the infancy stage, but the home page looks cool — and there’s music!
Amen!!! I think he is an intelligent abd talented young man. His personality is lovely! Of all of the idols besides DC, I wish him the best.
Re: “Cheezy…”
I’ve noticed that nearly every concert review is complimentary of him–whether fan or pro. And everyone is pretty consistent in saying he knows how to work an audience, and he has an impressive energy level. I’m actually feeling a lot more excited for him now than I was on the show.
I wonder if Vegas…(the *classy* Vegas)…might come calling? A boy could do worse. Look at what that kid from AGT got.
Z100 has a new page for Crush, and a new artwork for the single.
http://z100.elvisduran.com/pages/news/davidarchuleta/
Thanks ianamy! Did you see this? http://www.967kissfm.com/pages/bbshowrecap.html
The BBS Boss Jay geeked out yesterday when he heard David Archeletta‘s new single! He was so excited he got him to come on the show next week.
I hope this doesn’t make people have too high of expectations though.
I love all the Cook cd news too! *gnaws hands*
Welp, I’m off to a baseball game!
It is the most interesting thing to read the reviews from each city and find that in actuality, lots of the reviewers MUST have spent the concert buying hot dogs and not actually in the arena. OR this was their first exposure to AI and so needed to copy some other reviewer’s lame commentary.
patchchat, I appreciated the words about Chickeze. We found him to be an absolutely stellar soul and a real sweetheart. I hope nothing but the best for him.
Lastly, loved this quote from Michael Orland, the musical director on AI, about David A. It’s what Archie’s have known all along.
Yes I see it, thank you IGetCranked. I suppose this will be a radio interview then.
Here is a new blog from Cookie:
Speaking of Chikezie - who I LOVE - and his invisability, Where is he in the latest video of the Mavid? He didn’t get a curtain call. Did I miss that he missed a show?
Cookie is such a gentleman! So,
, can I have a show of support from Cook fans for buying Archie’s single, since he asked so sweetly?!?
Ooh, MJ, thanks for posting that NYPost article on JPL last week. They had a contest to win an autographed cd, and even though I entered a day after it went up, I won. It’s a pretty cool promo cd in a sleeve: pic :) (I’m really amused that the NYPost chica’s initials are also M.J.)
YAY GRRRR!!!! I’m so glad you won! Congrats!
Ha ha at that pic. I’m working on a review of the record, and I’m hoping to post it tomorrow.
It’s a great record, isn’t it?
I haven’t listened to all of it yet, but I really like it so far. It seems a lot more cohesive than his debut, though that one had some great songs as well. “No Fire” is my favorite so far (and that’s the one that sounds like it would fit right in on Coldplay’s “Yellow” album though I mistakenly attibuted that quality to “Winning Streak” before).
Heh, I’ll come back and try to comment more intelligently when I’ve listened to all the tracks. And I’ll be checkin’ in for that review. =P
*gnaws hands*
lol, IGetCranked. Me, too.
Wow! You will find we have a similar take. Yes, it’s a mind-meld chica! :).
I can’t believe no one commented on Jason getting his “present”! His face expressions kill me! I had to come to this thread to watch again and get a laugh before bed! Night all!
“to the Philippines to see him perform. Some of them said that he had a large number for fans in Japan. I’m so happy that they were right.
Congrats to Elliott.
The Japanese loves them some old skool R&B. Yatta, Elliott!”
MUCH LOVE TO/FOR ELLIOTT!!! Been following his career since his first AI appearance…. Combo of class, humility, incomparable vocal skillz…. IMVHO, he and Daughtry should have been in the AI5 finals.. woulda been on for the ages…
There’s a couple of articles in Atlantic City Weekly. Michael talks about asking to be released from 19 Recordings. Maybe you can move this to today’s headlines if you don’t already have it, MJ. I found it courtesy of TWOP.
http://www.acweekly.com/view.php?id=9188