‘American Idol’: David Archuleta, wild child

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‘I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid,’ remarked David Cook with a grin, motioning toward his opponent, David Archuleta. It was Tuesday night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, and an audience of 7,000 waited with bated breath (and more than a few screams) for the last remaining ‘American Idol’ finalists to duke it out for the crown. Two men; three songs each. The bartender and the teenager. Big David and Little David. The scruffy rocker and the boy next door. It had all come down to this moment. And David Cook looked way too calm.

Of course, if Cook read a single blog last week, including this one, he probably knew that he was the presumed front-runner; even the Vegas odds makers had shifted their number to favor him. So when Cook said, ‘I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid,’ his tone was reminiscent of a tennis player saying ‘good game’ to somebody he had just slaughtered in a match.

Archie, for his part, was on the brink of hyperventilation. ‘You know –- just -– this guy’s awesome,’ he stammered, when asked how he felt about his opponent. And at that moment, the evening’s outcome seemed obvious, the remaining performances a mere formality. The last necessary step before the inevitable coronation of David Cook.

Cook kicked off the show with a smooth and original rendition of U2’s ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.’ Randy and Simon thought it was good, and Paula was as gushy as ever. ‘You may not have found what you’re looking for, but we have found it, David Cook!’ The audiences and judges agreed; that was solid.

That is, until Archie emerged.

About 30 seconds into Archuleta’s performance of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ the audience at the Nokia experienced a collective ‘a-ha’ moment. A-ha! So, that’s how it’s supposed to be done.

Archuleta has always been more comfortable tucked safely behind his piano -- or at least standing stationary –- than strutting across the stage. But Archuleta wouldn’t let his awkward gait inhibit him tonight; he stood up and charged toward the audience as he implored, ‘Don’t let the sun go down on me.’ He winced, he fumed, he begged, he pleaded; he allowed his pure and gentle voice fill with gravel, and he pumped his fist in defiance. He was awkward and desperate and furious and needy and bold; and finally, something became very clear.

All this time, America has gotten it wrong. We have cast Cook as the reckless rocker and Archuleta as the safe, shrink-wrapped Disney dream boy, when in reality, Archuleta is the fearless one. Archuleta is the one who attempted –- and failed miserably -– at Chris Brown’s ‘With You,’ gyrating with gleeful awkwardness as he sang about his ‘little mama.’ Archuleta is the one letting it all hang out.

This dichotomy became even clearer during Cook’s third performance. When he got to pick his own tune, Cook went for Collective Soul’s ‘The World I Know.’ He definitely brought something new to the number, and the man has style to spare, but something was missing. His controlled and studied vocal performance conveyed neither the joy of that opening scene (in which he smarted, ‘I got a tall order trying to keep up with this kid’) nor the fury and pain that flashed through his eyes when he heard Simon say that Archuleta had won rounds one and two. None of Cook’s surging emotion made it into his singing; to put it simply, he never really rocked. That said, his voice did sound beautiful on ‘The World I Know.’

But unfortunately for Cook, sounding beautiful is what the younger David does best, which he showed, just moments later, with his latest re-imagining of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’ ‘In my opinion,’ Simon Cowell mused, ‘You came out here tonight to win, and what we have witnessed is a knockout.’

And so, in just one measly hour, commercial breaks included, the younger David clawed his way back to the top. As the evening wound down, I scanned the theater, scoping out the signs that the collage-happy tween-set had markered specially for the occasion. ‘My David is Fun-Sized,’ read one. ‘Catholic girls love David Archuleta,’ announced another. Maybe he never really left us after all.

-- Stephanie Lysaght