Skechers Signs American Idol Winner David Cook as Their New Spokeperson

Skechers has signed American Idol winner David Cook to endorse the brand globally. Smart move, I’d say. He’s as popular as Daughtry right now and should definitely have the sort of success Chris Daughtry has found.

Like Carrie, David will prove to be a perfect spokesperson. They’re both hugely popular, likable, mega-talented and can bring in droves of fans. Also, unlike Taylor Hicks, they won’t prove to be jokes played on the AI audience by the AI audience.

Don’t you know American Idol would love to purge him from the list of winners?

I’m surprised Jordin Sparks hasn’t gotten any endorsement deals. She would be a perfect make-up model, or a spokesmodel for Candie’s. She’s a ridiculously beautiful girl. She’s also very sweet, likable, and friendly.

Kelly Clarkson seems to have disappeared from the media again. I hate it when she goes missing. I wonder if her cd would have sold more and gotten more radio play if her record company had actually supported her. Personally, I think the answer’s yes on both accounts. When her cd came out, the buzz was everything she could hope for. She was on the radio all the time. Then the news came out that Clive Davis didn’t even like her cd and everyone who was supposed to “have her back” had a knife in it.

All of a sudden, Kelly was nowhere to be found. Ridiculous. She’s still one of the most talented singers and song writers around. I’ve put a few videos featuring Kelly to the side in the featured video slots… you know…. to kind of back up my rant.

Great stuff.

David Cook Opens Up About The Tour and Kimberly Caldwell

Deserved “American Idol” winner David Cook recently attended the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s annual Taste for a Cure Benefit in Beverly Hills. He said he was very glad to support cancer awareness because it has affected his family. His older brother, who just celebrated his 37th birthday (Happy Belated Birthday!), has cancer.

David and the rest of the “Idol’s” are getting ready for the show’s summer tour which begins July 1. He said he is looking forward to it because, “I get to hang out with nine of my best friends.”

He said that he and his girlfriend, Kimberly Caldwell, will keep in touch while he’s on tour. “Text and email will be my life the next few months.”

It Must be a Full Moon

The music industry has gone mad.  FIrst, we had Miley Cyrus posing in a come hither type pose for a Vanity Fair cover - a pose that is decidedly inappropriate for a 15 year old.  Accusations are flying around everywhere about who’s to blame, but I’m wondering why there’s any question.  Everyone’s to blame.  Miley, the photographer, the magazine that’s printing the picture and benefiting from publicity resulting from exploiting a child, and anyone that was on the set when she was being fitted for a sheet.  They’re all to blame and I hope people will let their disgust be known by never buying the magazine again. 

It tanked it’s reputation.

Marie Osmond has taken it upon herself to point her finger at Miley’s dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.  According to People Magazine, Billy Ray wasn’t on set while those pictures were being taken and everyone close to the family says that he wouldn’t have allowed them.

Another star who’s pointing fingers and throwing out barbs is John Rich.  He stated that American Idol’s ratings were ”going down the toilet” because (in his words) the show’s scripted.  I don’t think it’s exactly scripted - but I DO know they push certain contestants down our throats. (More about David Archuleta later.)

Speaking of Paula, he weighed in on a big blunder that recently had all of us scratching our heads:

“‘American Idol’ infuriates me as an artist,” he told reporters. “They’re being fake about it. When you can’t make a cognizant comment about someone’s performance and you’re commenting on something that happened the day before, why don’t you just walk up on stage and slap them right across the face while you’re at it? As an artist, I would just flip them the bird and walk off the stage. She wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on.”

I have no idea where Paula’s head was that night, but his criticism is pretty unfair. She cares a lot about the contestants and I’ve never heard of anyone having a negative thing to say about her. All contestants, past and present, always talk about how sweet she is, how much she tries to help them, etc.

Granted, this year, the obvious propping of Archuleta and the unnecessary bashing of Jason Castro has turned even a die hard fan like me off.  In fact, if David Cook weren’t still in the race, I’d turn the show off and never turn it on again.  It was THAT uncomfortable to watch how they treated Jason.  It’s kids like him that allow the three judges to even have this show and lifestyle.  To belittle him and disrespect him like that was uncalled for. We all knew they wanted him out of the way for DA - just like they wanted Michael Johns and Carly Smithson out of his way.  Why does this show NEVER want the most talented people to be the last ones standing?!?!

 I’ve been a loyal fan of AI for years now - to the point of dropping EVERYTHING when it comes on.  I literally count the weeks until it returns when it’s on hiatus.  But this season has me thinking that next season will find me with better things to do.  I’ve grown tired of watching the show prop their favorites at superior singers’ expense.  When Simon stated that Archuleta “crushed” the competition, I spewed my Diet Dr. Pepper everywhere.  I’m not saying DA doesn’t have a really good voice - he does.   But, come on, he most certainly didn’t crush David Cook!  No way, never, nu uh.

Now the really weird news: David Archleta (a.k.a. The Chosen One) apparently has a stage father that puts all stage mothers to shame. The guy must be a real ass!

From TMZ: “Idol” sources tell TMZ Jeff has been a complete pain in the ass, interfering with the entire production. He has badgered producers, the band, vocal coaches and even other contestants. The final straw came this week, when Jeff wanted to change the lyrics to David’s first song, “Stand By Me.” Jeff insisted on adding a verse from Sean Kingston’s hit, “Beautiful Girls.” Producers sent him an e-mail telling him the lyrics could not be changed. They were beyond pissed when David sang the song with Kingston’s lyrics during the live show.

We’re told by changing the lyrics, it created problems with the song’s publisher and cost “A.I.” a lot of money.

Jeff was ordered to sit with “A.I.” lawyers on Wednesday, who told him he was “banned from being in the rooms where David was learning or rehearsing his songs.” It’s “Idol’s” position, since David is 17, he does not need a guardian — just a teacher. Jeff will be allowed to sit in the audience during the live show but he’s 86′d from anything backstage. Sources say the other contestants were fed up with Jeff and didn’t want him near them. Now they have their wish.

All in all, sources say Jeff is the stage dad from hell. BTW, he was banned on the set when David did “Star Search” a few years back.

Poor kid!  Dad needs to cool his heels before his son tells him to use them.

American Idol Does it Again

When will I STOP being surprised?!

Last night, one of the three best singers in the competition was sent home while far less talented people stayed. I was kind of worried that (after Simon and Randy worked their mojo) he’d be in the bottom 3, but I had no idea he’d be sent packing. His performance was SOOOO much better than everyone else’s - except for Jason Castro.

They kind of set him up for failure, though, by not only having him go first - but also by Randy and Simon ridiculously attacking him. Randy was nastier than I’ve ever seen him. The theme was to pick a song that inspires you, and yet both of them criticized him for song selection!!! DUH - he chose the song that inspires him…what was he supposed to do, lie about it and sing another song.

Besides, he totally nailed the song - perfect as always.

Riddle me this, Batman - why in the blazes (as if I didn’t know) does The Chosen One never have to go first? He won’t have to until the contestants are so few that it won’t come into play. It’s a trick the show uses to further their little chosen ones and it’s so obvious it makes my head hurt.

With or without the title, Michael Johns will be a success - just like Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry. He has the makings of a PERFECT lead singer, if there’s a band anywhere interested in the type of success Daughtry has had.

It’s such a weird relationship I have with American Idol. They drive me crazy sometimes, but I love the show to distraction. I just wish that the viewers would catch on to the tricks and actually vote for the BEST singers for crying out loud. NOT the one(s) the show/judges prop - the ones who are actually the best in the competition.

This season should have come down to Jason Castro, Carly Smithson, Michael Johns, and David Cook. What an amazing final four that would have been - certainly the best the show has EVER produced. But, nooooo, we’re going to be short changed. Again.

Why do they set themselves up to have the weakest top 4 every season?

Ack.

After the jump, below, is Michael John’s Performance. It was perfection.

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David Cook’s Billie Jean on American Idol

David Cook and Michael Johns were nothing short of amazing last night.

I was so impressed with their vocals - and I LOVED the arrangement with Billie Jean.

Simple Simon - Very Simple Simon

What was Simon smoking last night?!?!? First of all, David A. wasn’t quite as great as Simon made him out to be. He’s obviously Simon’s chosen one this year - for some reason - and he’s not even trying to hide it. He bashed practically everyone BUT The Chosen One. He was somewhat nice to Syesha, but he realizes she isn’t really much of a threat.

As for the real threats - Carly Smithson, David Cook, Jason Castro, and Michael Johns - he didn’t hold back. Granted, Jason and Michael’s performances weren’t their strongest, but Carly and David C were the best of the night! I’ve gone back and re-watched Carly, like, 6 times. She’s flawless and amazing.

Simon wasn’t only WRONG in his critique of her, he was a total ass. It wouldn’t kill him to treat these people with more respect - after all, if it weren’t for American Idol contestants like them, he’d be just another grouch.

A few more thoughts:

Kristy needs to go.

Amanda showed more personality and like-ability after her critical comments than she ever did after her positive ones. They should have ripped her apart long ago. I actually really liked her!

Poor Brooke White didn’t deserve the harsh comments either. She was a breath of fresh air and I thought her performance was great. Her voice was flawless and I liked the dancing!

Jason Castro - He’s one of my favorites, but wtf was with the outfit?!?! Another wardrobe mishap - Ramiele. Wow. Her performance was kind of odd, too. But I’ve got nothing but love for both of them, anyway.

Chickezie! His song started out amazing - I was getting all set in my chair thinking he was about to have a Marvin Gaye moment….then WHAM out of nowhere, the guitars start twanging and we go from Marvin Gaye to Hee Haw. Not a smooth or appreciated transition. Hopefully he’ll get to stay another week to redeem himself.

If there’s any justice left (and last week proved that there isn’t a heckuva lot) - Kristy Lee will get to go home to her horses, dogs, and whatever other furry darlings she has. Sweet girl, but she’s out of her league. So much so that it’s getting uncomfortable to witness.

I predict that the bottom three will be Chickezie, Syesha, and Kristy Lee, but that the right one won’t be sent back home.

The Sanjaya/Taylor curse lives on. To be fair, Kristy Lee’s worth 500 Sanjayas and 562,957,849,384 Taylors. I did the calculations and you simply can’t argue with the numbers.

Click HERE for another great pic of Carly Smithson.

David Cook Singing Eleanor Rigby

Click HERE for a wonderful article about the contestant that could very well win this thang - David Cook.

Ellen DeGeneres Wants Simon to Chill the Heck Out

When Danny Noriega was a guest on Ellen’s show, he told how much Simon’s words (like grotesque) hurt him. “When you get called grotesque and useless, what do you take from that? It just lowers your self-esteem,” Danny said. “The first time he called me grotesque, I started crying, like bawling.” He also revealed that after he was voted off the show, judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson came backstage to say good- bye, but not Simon. That’s really cool of them.

Ellen DeGeneres said that she’s going to call Simon and tell him that he went too far when he said Danny’s first Idol performance was “grotesque.” She said that she thinks Simon has really crossed the line this year.

Ellen also said it was unacceptable for him to tell Kristy Lee Cook that nobody would remember her. She promises to call Simon and give him a piece of her mind. He says that sort of thing all the time, though. His point is the performance wasn’t unique enough to stand out. That it was forgettable. In this instance, he was dead on - I couldn’t tell you what Kristy Lee sang for the life of me!

Simon’s lowest points this year, in my opinion, have been the way he bullied Kady week after week and the way he treated David Cook. He literally belittled David for being well read. Smart doesn’t show a lack of personality! Then the way he acted all huffy and pissy with him left me really cold.

Simon makes the show all the more entertaining, but I think we can all agree that he crosses the line from time to time. His catch phrase this year seems to be telling people they don’t have a personality. Whether it’s David Cook or Kady, he thinks he’s all of a sudden a judge of personality? Simon??!!! He knocks the ones who obviously have great personalities and never says anything to Brooke “Human Chamomile” White or Amanda “I’ve got one expression and it isn’t a good one” Overmyer?

If you’re going to spend time in a music competition judging personalities instead - at least get it right. It’s so ironic, Kady had arguably the best personality of any female contestant ever - and he says she doesn’t have one. This from Carrie Underwood’s biggest supporter.

Oh, yeah! I went there.

BTW, I miss Danny.

Last Night on American Idol

My own personal thoughts on last night’s American Idol performances….

THE BAD:
Syesha - I was totally disappointed. I love her look (beautiful) and her voice (amazing), but she never connected with the song.

Kristy Lee - OMG, what was the girl thinking? She looked great, but she overdid just about everything. Couldn’t someone, somewhere along the way, have told her, “No, honey. No.”

Amanda - Hated every single second. I also hate that she seems so uninterested in the whole competition. It’s sad that someone like Danny (who was loving every second and would have loved to stay in the competition longer) is out and Amanda’s still around. She doesn’t seem to care if she goes further or goes home. I also hate how ungrateful she comes across. She never says “Thank you” to the judges for any of their (needless) compliments.

THE GOOD:

Brooke - I thought it was her best performance, actually. I’m blown away by anyone who can sing and play an instrument at the same time. She’s such a sweet, lovable girl with such a pure heart. I really like her, but as a Pat Benetar fan I’m just having trouble forgetting what she did to her song last week. The judges loved it, but I nearly choked on my green tea….and choking on green tea isn’t a pretty thing.

Michael Johns - It seems strange putting Michael here, because he’s actually one of my favorites - but if I’m being honest, he wasn’t one of the night’s best. In fact, I’ve already forgotten what he sang! I expected better from one of the strongest contestants.

THE BEST:

Ramiele - The judges blew it - her performance was one of the best. The girl’s vocals are completely flawless. The song was beautiful and she performed it beautifully. They keep saying it’s a singing competition, but when someone gets up there and sings their little butt off, they glaze over. She has one of the strongest, most mesmerizing voices I’ve ever heard. Love her!

Jason Castro - I’d never heard of the song, but I agree with Paula - he sings from the heart and I loved it. He’s one of my favorites and I love his voice.

Carly - Amazing! She was just incredible. I think she, Ramiele, Jason, and David Cook were the best of the night.

David Cook - Incredible performance! His powerful vocals remind me a lot of one of my ALL TIME favorite idols, Chirs Daughtry. Simon was dead on in his comments.

THE SHOCKER:
David Archuleta - I really felt badly for him. It’s tough for someone so young to have to learn and try to connect to an older song so fast. Others, who not only already knew but already frequently performed the songs, had a clear advantage. He forgot the lyrics in at least one spot, but if you go back and listen to the vocals - his voice is great. I just think he really hurt himself last night. His fans will, of course, still vote and still love him, but he might lose a little of the media and judge’s confidence.

He needs a big rebound next week - fortunately for him, he has it in him and I think he’ll blow everyone away.

David Cook - Hello

David Cook has become one of the ones to beat this year, in my opinion. His last two performances have been incredible!