May 2008 News Archive

This is more shocking news that the elimination of Michael Johns earlier this season:

Clay Aiken is going to be a father!!! Multiple sources have told The Hollywood Gossip that the mother is Jaymes Foster, a record producer and Clay's close pal. He lives at her home when he's in Los Angeles.

The 50-year-old Foster, who produced several Aiken CDs, is due in August. She's the sister of record mogul David Foster. Oh, and she was artificially inseminated. Clay may have been achin for a child with Jaymes, but not through the natural means of reproduction.

Sorry.

We've heard that Clay will plau an active role in raising the child, though there's been no immediate word from Aiken's rep.

So, you tell us: Will Clay Aiken make a good father?

What will the first David Cook album be about? Let's ask the American Idol winner himself!

“It’ll probably be a rock record. I just want to make a record that’s going to make the hair on your neck stand up. Even if it doesn’t do well commercially, as long as I can put out a record I am proud of, that’s the goal right now. And hopefully the success will follow.”

Will you buy a David Cook album?

** Update: We hear the album is set for a fall 2008 release. Said Tom Corson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, RCA Music Group:

"David Cook is an extraordinarily versatile and talented artist with an impressive sense of musicality. He is a natural performer and a true star. We are thrilled to welcome him into our family.”

Did David Cook expect to win American Idol? Heck, he barely expected to make it past the initial round of auditions.

"I just figured I'd go in, sing a song and they'd say I wasn't what they were looking for. I'd go back to Tulsa to work on my record some more," Cook told reporters during a Friday conference call. "Apparently, somebody had another plan."

That's for certain.

In the end, Cook defeated David Archuleta by a 56% to 44% home viewer voting margin, roughly 12 million total votes.

"I think that number is actually really misleading," Cook said. "Obviously within the bubble of Idol, it's hard to kind of get a vibe for what's going on. But I definitely thought [Archuleta] was probably a little bit ahead of me if I'm being honest. I attribute the finale vote discrepancy just to my fans being awesome. I don't really know how else to explain it."

With the American Idol finale behind us, and David Cook staring at a future as the show's champion in front of him, here's a look back at last night.

It was highlighted, of course, by Cook's triumph over David Archuleta. Here's a still shot of the winner, singing "Time of My Life."

Relive other moments from the finale below, from season seven finalists such as Carly Smithson and Jason Castro, to season four champion Carrie Underwood. Click on the following pics now for larger versions...

Congratulations to David Cook!

The former bartender knocked off David Archuleta by 12 million votes to capture the seventh season title on American Idol. Check out the winning announcement and Cook's subsequent performance of "Time of My Life" NOW.

Did you agree with the decision? Which David do you think will have a more successful career?

As you ponder those questions and send us your thoughts, click on each picture in the David Cook photo tribute below...

With last night behind them, David Cook and David Archuleta can finally breathe a sigh of relief. No more performance. No more pressure.

Just one final results show this evening.

Before they took the stage for that heart-pounding event, though, each sat down with Entertainment Weekly. Here are excerpts from their interviews...

How did you go about choosing your second and third songs?
David Cook: With the songwriters' competition [song], I listened to the first 30 seconds of each song, and ''Dream Big'' was the one that grabbed me the quickest, so I figured if that's the case, I should probably follow my instinct and just do something with it. And I was actually happy with the way it turned out.

My third song [Collective Soul's ''The World I Know''] — I've wanted to do that song all season, and I just never really got comfortable with the arrangement until a few weeks ago. And I almost did it last week. You know, it was a song that means a lot to me. It's just an amazing song, so to be able to do it on the show, win, lose, or draw, it was more fun than I could possibly put into words.

How do you think Archuleta did tonight?
Oh, the kid did amazing. He's such an immense talent, so to be able to share the stage with him tonight was a huge thrill for me.

Follow this article's jump to read Archuleta's segment...

Continue Reading...

In my opinion, David, you came out here tonight to win. And what we have witnessed is a knockout. - Simon Cowell

Dude, you are so good tonight, you are exactly what this show is about: finding the best singer we can find and the best singer of season seven is right there! - Randy Jackson

To which American Idol finalist were these words spoken last night? David Archuleta, who will be crowned champion tonight of viewers vote the way Simon and Randy believe they should.

Are you on board with their assessments? Did Archuleta deliver a knockout blow to David Cook last night? (See the photo below for why we're talking in boxing lexicon).

Ask any young girl in the audience at the end of Archie's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" performance and the answer is clear: yes.

David Cook and David Archuleta came onto the stage, ready to rumble during the American Idol finals.

It's here.

The American Idol finals match-up we've all been hoping to see for the last few months. David Cook vs. David Archuleta.

Readers have been chiming in on their favorite all week, and we just wanted to give everyone one last chance to to publish their views before the two singers take the stage tonight.

So, now is the time to let us know -- Who do you want to win: David Cook or David Archuleta?

Can you not get enough of David Archuleta?

Then check out the following wallpaper. Simply save it to your desktop now and drool over David every time you turn on your computer.

Be careful what you wish for.

So begins an MTV article that asks if the winner of this season's American Idol - guaranteed to be a male - can break the jink on past Idol winners of this gender.

While fans (and certainly producers) have been itching for what they hope will be the epic showdown between the Davids for months, now that the last woman standing, Syesha Mercado, has been tossed from the locker room, it's worth asking:

Do we really want a male "Idol"? Or, better yet, is there a jinx on male Idol winners?

Can David Archuleta sell records...

... or is David Cook the safer bet for a successful future?

Since season-one winner Kelly Clarkson took the mantle, two-thirds of "Idol" winners have been female and, to date, they have all managed to have very respectable (Fantasia Barrino, Jordin Sparks) if not superstar (Carrie Underwood, Clarkson) careers. The men, on the other hand, have had a less-stellar path.

In fact, so far, the two male winners, season two's Ruben Studdard and season five's Taylor Hicks, are the only top vote-getters to be dropped from their major-label deals.

Read the full article now and let us know: Do you think a male winner can succeed in the music business?