Idol has a successful year, with plenty of room for improvement.

Oh how far you’ve come. There were a few weeks when you came across arrogant but those tears seem genuine to me. I got teary watching too, but I’ve always been a crybaby.


Well, we’ve come to the end. I watched the final episodes a week late. Knowing the outcome took the surprise out of it, but it was a good time to reflect. Overall it was a great season with a satisfying ending. While the “ratings juggernaut” may be showing cracks at the seams, this season picked up the pace.

Early on I was skeptical. I was tired of the over emphasis that this was the most talented season of American Idol. I was bored with the auditions. But as the weeks went by, my connection with what became the finalists grew. And the ending was truly satisfying with Cook beating the early front-runner. I don’t want to reveal a man crush here, but I just like David Cook. He seems down to earth, genuine and fun. Early on he came off a little bit removed and arrogant in the early weeks of the competition but eventually he started to act appreciative and didn’t take it all too seriously, while not come across aloof (i.e. Jason Castro.)

Now as great the overall ending was, the finale left me unsatisfied. While I agreed that Archuleta chose a better final song in “Imagine”, I still felt Cook did well. It was great to hear Simon apologize for being too harsh; I love it when he does that. While he’s a pretty self-absorbed guy he has always seemed to be willing to acknowledge a mistake. I wish the Idol producers would do the same and apologize for the lame disappointment that was their “Star Studded Finale.” Bryan Adams? Seal?? George Michael??!!?? The last time I’d heard of Bryan Adams was when he did that song for Don Juan DeMarco Soundtrack in 1995. (That’s right kids; Johnny Depp acted in a lot of crap before finding Jack Sparrow.) The last time I’d heard of Seal was when he contributed that kissing a rose on a grave song to the Batman Forever Soundtrack, also in 1995. The last time I’d heard of George Michael was when he was caught again in a bathroom…nevermind, that was 1998. All of that is to say that they really had lame performances by out of date stars. I hope that they remedy this situation by next year.

With the ratings dipping I look forward to seeing them make some corrections and keep this show chugging along. Keep giving us talented and relevant Idols like David Cook. Keep giving us pathetic and misguided auditions like William Hung. Keep on keeping on and we will see you in 2009.