I thought I'd let the shock wear off for a few days before I said it... So Cook won, huh? I have to admit I'm surprised, I was sure the DA had it locked up. I'm glad Cook won, but he didn't need to. In fact it probably would have been better for him if he hadn't.
If you don't know the inside workings of American Idol, you might be surprised that all of the top 12 get a shot at a record deal. The top 5 are virtually guaranteed a two album deal and the winner is locked in for three. In a way that's a bad deal for the 'rockers'. They are virtually told exactly what songs will be on their albums, and there's no chance that they'll get to write a song, or even choose the performers on their first two albums.
Kelly Clarkson's first album (Thankful) was like that. Her second (Breakaway) had one song written by her and four co-written by her. The one song she wrote by herself was 'Because Of You', even though two guys from Evanessence are credited as well. They just helped polish it and gave musical direction. Rumor has it 'Walk Away' and 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' were written by her alone, but the credits show differently. On her third album (My December) she was involved with all the songs... but Clive Davis, the big wig at Sony (the label that owns American Idol) wanted to shelve the whole album because Kelly refused to work with their songs and songwriters. Rightly so, since each song she was involved in off Breakaway was a monster hit. She felt she earned some voice. Although My December sold faster than her previous two, it fizzled out on US radio stations (including ours and... despite you telling us you liked it, our consultant had us pull it only after three weeks on the air!) and she cancelled a tour because of it. Even though there's no direct proof, it was the feeling in the media that Sony smacked her down with a few phone calls. That's the power that the A-I Machine holds over their winners and top 12. If you play by their rules, shut your mouth and do the songs they give you blindly, you get famous (Carrie Underwood). If you don't ... you're a nobody... and they make sure of it (Taylor Hicks).
Soooo, as much as David Cook really deserved the win, he'll now be forced by the A-I Machine to record exactly the songs they want him to, with the exact performers they want him to and in the exact way they want him to. So the question you should ask in eight months is... 'Are we really hearing David Cook?' You may just have to wait five years before you find out.
Oh and by the way... I TOLD YOU HE'D WIN! There, now I feel better.