No surprises: finale recap and analysis

Although it seems the entire press was shocked upon hearing the revelation that David Cook had defeated David Archuleta at last night's Season 7 finale, I try not to sound cocky when I say I had it right all along. What needs to be acknowledged here is that this competition is a marathon, not a sprint.

First, let's analyze the results.

Although the online fanbases do not always reflect the general public's demographics, the online polls at various outlets all seemed to be going in Cook's favor throughout the duration of the Top 12, and an even better indicator was how he was able to sell his downloads. Remember back to "Billie Jean"? Despite the fact that none of the Idol studio versions were allowed to show up on the official iTunes charts, the popularity bars in comparison to the then-#1 song, Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body," were astoundingly higher when viewed through the loophole iTunes had.

For a song to be selling that much, you know the people buying it are invested fans, and voting is free, while buying the song on iTunes is not. So you do the math.

And then, of course, Simon and his infamous "subtle wink" at Cook after giving him a rather harsh criticism of his third performance sealed the deal. At the finale last night, Simon apologized to Cook for "verging on being disrespectful" with his comments, and on the red carpet minutes before the broadcast began last night, Simon had taken back his declaration that Arch delivered "a knockout."

Regardless of what he'll admit to, Simon was more likely than not using his signature reverse psychology with Cook to rile up his fans and give him the surefire victory. But by 12 million out of 97.5 million votes? A 56-44% split? That seems a bit of a landslide, which no one would have expected. One good thing to know is that DialIdol.com was more accurate than ever at this finale, as the two Davids were separated by 12 points in their results, too.

As for his reaction to hearing the good news, Cook was overwhelmed with emotion and had to walk it off, but he recovered very nicely and was spot on in his performance of "The Time of My Life." I'll admit, it was hard to keep a straight face hearing him sing about "magic rainbows," but he gets all the slack cut in the world because Idol fans know the coronation songs are about nothing but sugar and cheese. It was great to see everyone surrounding him and supporting him at the end, and even Arch seemed all smiles.

As for the show itself, it was better than last year's, but not as good as some of the finales from seasons past. The performances that stood out for me were the duet of "The Letter" by Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, Arch's duet on "Apologize" with OneRepublic and Carrie Underwood's performance of "Last Name."

With Michael and Carly, the two of them had so much chemistry during the performance, and the way they acted it out, it made it even more special. I had picked them to be the Top 2 at the beginning of the season and they sure looked like a Top 2 last night. With Arch and OneRepublic, I thought Arch outsang lead singer Ryan Tedder by a mile and a half, and I kind of wish he had performed it on Top 3 night rather than "With You." And then Carrie's performance was (in the words of one Randy Jackson) blazin', molten hot! She looked beautiful in her short white dress and sounded better than she ever has on that song.

Some other good performances were Cook's duet of "Sharp Dressed Man" with ZZ Top, during which he showed his true rocker cred, and Brooke White's duet with Graham Nash on "Teach Your Children," which was touching to say the least. Jason Castro's reprise of "Hallelujah" was another treat, though it lacked the magic that his first performance had. And George Michael's performance of "Praying For Time," although a little too long, was very moving considering the atmosphere of the ominous, dimly-lit Nokia Theatre.

Some letdowns were the Jonas Brothers (big surprise), the hologram performance of Gladys Knight singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Iron Man himself - Robert Downey, Jr. and (as much as I love her) even Jordin Sparks' performance of her new single, "One Step At a Time." I also thought Syesha Mercado would have been better off singing "Waiting For You" without Seal, but that would have taken away the cool factor, so it is what it is. And then the Top 6/12 numbers with Bryan Adams and Donna Summer were kind of nice, but nothing special. It was great to see all 12 of them on stage together again, though.

And like all finales, it would not have been the same without a visit down memory lane to look at the trash that were bad auditions, taken out long ago and forgotten about until now. The "let my peebul gohhhhh" guy and the "frosty mountain" guy were classic, but of course it was Renaldo Lapuz who finally got a golden ticket to Hollywood, albeit not the one he was expecting, and landed a prime performing spot at the finale. He belted out "We're Brothers Forever" accompanied by a marching band and cheerleading squad (I knew we would be seeing more of him for the finale as soon as his audition aired). And surprisingly, there was no sign of Josiah Lemming, the famous British-sounding, car-inhabiting 18-year-old who just missed out on a spot in the Top 24.

So all in all, this was a pretty good finale to end an above average season, but there are still many problems that need to be worked out. This season will be remembered for many things, among them the issue of having "plants" as contestants, the legitimacy of the judges' comments thanks to Paulagate, and a continuing slide in the ratings. Yes, there were many great moments that came out of this season, including memorable performances from many of the contestants ("Billie Jean," "Angels," "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right," "Here You Come Again," "Hallelujah," "Imagine," "Always be My Baby," the list goes on...), Simon's "WTF face" during Fantasia's performance and the many great Idol alums' performances.

So no matter what, this season will be remembered infinitely more than Season 6. Now the question is, will this season's batch of finalists be able to hold onto solid careers, or will they suffer "flash in the pan"-itis? It's way too early to tell, but it looks like David Cook will for sure be a bona fide star. Thanks America, for getting it right.

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John Rich: 'American Idol' infuriates me

Following Paula Abdul's high profile gaffe on Tuesday's performance episode of American Idol, John Rich, a country music producer and member of the duo Big & Rich, went on the attack, voicing his opinions of the talent show.

Rich said the following at an NBC press event, at which he was promoting the upcoming season of Nashville Star, on which he will serve as a celebrity judge.

"'American Idol' infuriates me as an artist. 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 onstage 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."

Rich's comments did not go unnoticed. A statement was issued by FOX in response to the criticism.

"John Rich's ungentlemanly and opportunistic comments are particularly disturbing considering the fact he attended a taping of 'American Idol' last April, told producers, judges and performers he enjoyed himself and also did an interview with a crew from 'American Idol Extra' where he was extremely complimentary toward the show."

One has to agree that even though it comes off as a desperate ploy for publicity for Nashville Star, Rich is voicing true concerns that have been raised after this week's series of events, and should be addressed by FremantleMedia.

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'Idol' exec comes to Paula's defense

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Idol executive and FremantleMedia North America CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz came to Paula Abdul's defense regarding her gaffe on Tuesday's performance show.

Frot-Coutaz said Paula would not be leaving the show any time soon, giving of an air of disinterest with the heart of the controversy.

"Why would we get rid of Paula? I love that everyone was talking about it. It was so unexpected. It was something that took up 2 seconds of airtime. You'd think there was no other news on television."

She also addressed the idea that Idol Gives back will not return for Season 8.

"I would like to take a break, personally. I don't think you should go back to the country and ask them to donate every single year. I think it's too much. Every two years to me feels right."

Frot-Coutaz also said she does not think Idol will end anytime, soon, citing shows like The Price is Right as examples of shows with longevity.

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Analysis: Paula's seeing the future, baby!

In the moment of confusion seen 'round the world, whether it was on live television, audio stream or via IDOL LIVE, Paula Abdul suffered an embarrassment that will surpass her "fortune cookie" comment in Season 5 and her infected finger episode in Season 3.

Although it is true that Idol fans love Paula for her wackiness and would not want to see her replaced as much as they may complain about her, many are now questioning the legitimacy of this show. Yes, there have been many questions raised in the past about whether the show is rigged or not, but this time the media will be less than kind to Paula and the show's producers.

To start off, the whole layout of the show was a disaster and rushed, so that right there opened the door to a chance of a screw up. From backstage accounts by EW.com, it seemed the "firing squad comments" at the end of round one were either poorly planned, or not planned at all, so that added a hurdle for the judges, specifically Paula. Now, to start off her comments she said "Oh gosh, we've never had to write these things down...fast enough," which gives off the perception that she had written down the comments during the first five performances. But how is that possible when she was up dancing during a few of the performances? Besides, she had already written something for Jason Castro's second song, so that excuse does not stick.

Over the course of the show's seven-year history, there have been many tidbits released about the extent to which the judges participate in the dress rehearsals, and Simon was famously quoted as saying he "doesn't listen during the live performances" because he formulates his opinion during the dress rehearsals. But Paula is known for showing up late, sometimes only minutes before the live show begins. So unless she sat through the entire dress rehearsal last night, that excuse has a tough time standing up as well.

This leaves another option open: did Paula make write her comments before seeing even the dress rehearsal? Was she handed her note cards by Nigel or another production member? Or was it just an honest mistake?

Personally, I don't think it is a conspiracy. Sure, the show has seen its fair share of controversy and mess ups, but this instance was probably just Paula getting frazzled and confused at the change of schedule and she wanted to make sure she had something to say so that the five performances did not go by as a blur (as they did for most viewers). Her nerves got in the way and she tripped up, but I don't think it has anything to do with what is in her Coke cup. Still, the slip up was a huge one, and Ryan and Paula will try to explain away what happened with some elaborate story. If Simon's "eye roll" at Chris Richardson had to be apologized for last season, there is no way they can afford to ignore this.

And the fact that Jason had to go out there and perform a song he already knew he would be getting negative comments for was a little on the unfair side. He definitely did a number on his confidence, because his first performance was much better than his second.

But I think the real story here is how Paula tried to cover up her gaffe by saying her comments were for David Cook, and then saying he was "amazing." This was out of desperation after she knew what she had done, and was not thinking of what the media et al would say about her lame cover up the next day. It is understandable, but still unprofessional. She should have apologized to Jason, saying she had written down comments from the dress rehearsal and it would have been less awkward.

Again, it is up to Nigel as to what kind of approach Idol takes tonight in addressing last night's events, and hopefully he does the right thing. The show cannot afford any more of these situations if it wants to sustain its waning spot on top.

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Paula blows 'Idol''s cover?

Decide for yourself whether Paula just destroyed the credibility of this show.

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