DAVID vs DAVID: Did David slay Goliath?

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Author: Viga Boland, webmistress of Idol Dreams

In what was a landslide victory, relatively speaking, for DAVID COOK in winning the title of AMERICAN IDOL, 2008, many are wondering how it happened. When in the past, the voting has been so close, why this time did David Cook slay the Goliath that David Archuleta had become?

Theories will be bandied about for days, but for those who want yet another viewpoint, here's mine. In another article today it was suggested that the American Idol audience has "aged" i.e. there are a lot more older watchers than in previous years, meaning, this is no longer just a teenagers and young adults show. Oh sure, there were plenty of young girls, probably 13-17, screaming for young Archuleta on that last night of competition, but perhaps there were many more voters who were really thinking about who would better handle the rigors of becoming an American Idol. While I couldn't vote (I'm Canadian) the answer to that question for me was David Cook.

Now make no mistake: I adore David Archuleta: his voice is magic. What a gift he has! I don't think I've ever come across a 17-year-old boy who can sing like that, with so much feeling and understanding of what he's singing about. And who couldn't love him? So sweet and modest and that adorable smile. When he sang, if I closed my eyes I pictured a guy of around 25, but when I opened them, there was this sweet young boy. Somehow that really disturbed me.

So what would being blasted onto the world stage & being thrust into the jaws of the money-making machine of the music industry have done to David Archuleta over the next few years? Would he stay as sweet as he is? Or would he now find out how really hard it is to stay successful after winning? How much would his dad interfere if he were able to? I could see ongoing battles between David A's father and David A's management. I could see the turmoil that such battles would arouse in David Archuleta. Maybe other viewers and voters saw that too?

And then there's the history of young singers who rise to the top too fast and have their youth snatched from them: Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan. What price fame? When the spotlight is no longer on them and the fans have turned to newer idols, what's left? They spend their lives trying to get back what's been lost, including the innocence and fun of just being young. In their 20's these young stars are still in their teens, with a lifetime of experience on their shoulders in just a few short years.  And for years to come they keep searching for themselves beneath all the hype and lies that show biz and the media have wrapped them in.

So maybe others felt as I did that being older and having been out there performing for some time, David Cook was more ready for what lies ahead. He's quick on retorts, thinks before he speaks & makes each word count. I couldn't help but notice how often young Archuleta stumbled over what to say. Naturally! He's still has so much to learn about addressing questions being thrown at him. He still has so much to learn, period.

Coming second is no loss for David Archuleta (though the TMZ site labelled him as joining the other losers ... ugh!) He didn't lose: he's gained valuable time to hone his act, to grow up before plunging onto the world stage. It's a pity that more young singers don't realize that winning American or Canadian or any IDOL title is just the beginning of a long, hard road to earning true success: becoming the artist you really are, if indeed you are one. Judging by the many hopeless wannabes we see in those beginning segments in each season, there's a lot of inflated egos that really know very little about singing and performance, let alone what it really takes to be successful.

Good luck to both Davids. Even if David Cook slew David Archuleta, they both won big time!

(c) Viga Boland, webmistress of IDOL DREAMS.