America’s favorite show, American Idol, has ended and the outcome has been decided, and we knew David would make it, but we weren’t sure which one. In the end, it was by a considerable margin, some 12 million votes, or 56 percent of the vote, and David Cook was crowned the winner of the 2008 season of American Idol. The season finale was watched by 32 million viewers.
Now it’s part of Idol folklore that Cook wasn’t even going to try out for the show. It was his brother and an American Idol producer who convinced him to go through the audition. He grew up outside of Kansas City, MO, and works as a bartender, giving concerts in Tulsa, Okla. He has the background of a small-show rock artist, and over the course of the series he showcased his versatility and style with a series of excellent renditions of well-known rock/pop songs by artists as diverse as Michael Jackson (“Billie Jean”). . , Collective Soul (“The World I Know”) and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”.
It doesn’t take long for new “homegrown” stars to start selling products. His first proper release, “The Night of My Life”, debuted on the Billboard Top 100 at number 3 and number 1 on the digital download chart. Other songs she’s sung throughout the show also appear on the Hot Digital Tracks list, including her cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Dream Big.” It’s an amazing digital world we live in, where songs that haven’t even been officially recorded or released can even appear on national charts.
Digital sales actually went crazy after the completion of the finale. Undercover.com reports that 1.5 million digital sales were generated after the end of American Idol. And that wasn’t just for the American Idol stable of performers. David Cook sold 942,000 downloads, and second place finisher David Archuletta sold 323,000 downloads. Guests at the final show also benefited from the exposure, with George Michael selling 83,000 tracks last week. Carrie Underwood sold 64,000 units, while ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ was downloaded 14,000 times. Collective Soul’s ‘The World I Know’ was up 1000%, selling 23,000 sales. OneRepublic’s ‘Apologize’ sold 40,000 units. He made 6000 the week before.
And the other David? Being the runner-up on American Idol is not a sentence to anonymity and a quick resumption of old life. Seventeen-year-old balladeer David Archuleta had a string of excellent performances in the last few shows of the series. Many pointed to him as the eventual winner. The judges certainly thought that he had the assets. But the voting public preferred Cook, who is more confident. Archuleta will join his top 12 buddies for a 54-date nationwide tour this summer. He will come out a seasoned interpreter, and what is certain is that we have not heard the end of David Archuleta.
The American Idol Live concert tour kicks off July 1 in Glendale, AZ. Tickets are available at http://bigticketdeals.net/