Gosh, I really wanted to cry watching it. It’s really really a painful episode to watch in a good way that is. Seriously, ‘love’ is not an happy ending issue after all. It’s one of the hardest things that we can actually felt in our life. I want to exageratte more about the content of the episode, but it will not be fair for those of you, who haven’t watch it. Seeing the one you loves die or walk away from you forever is so painful, especially the one dies on your arm.

Amber Volakis (a.k.a. Cutthroat Bitch) who played by Anne Dudek, is actually a fantastic actress. I may want to put her on my list of favorite actress. I hope to see her in the future coming tv series or movie she’s on with. I must say, at the beginning of the series, I didn’t like her, as she was this ‘bitch’ who is desperately wanted to get the job (House MD season 4). Towards the end of the series, she visual a caring and loving person which the lucky men is Dr. James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard).

I’m sure going to miss her present. She was worth it on HouseMD. I wish it didn’t have to finish like that, was willing to watch her go on and on through the season. Oh well, hopefully there’ll be Season Five for House MD this coming somewhere before the end of this year. I want a hug. sob sob.

Besides watching House finish to the end, I also have finish watching Gossip Girl season, early last week; the same week where the American Idol 7, 2008 also wrap up their season. All my favorite shows have come to an end (as usual it always like this every year), however I still got few TV series to catch up, mainly Ugly Betty Season two (haven’t watch the half of the season yet), Chuck, CSI: Vegas.

Oyeah, I downloaded a series called ‘Teachers.’ an US version (2006) based upon the UK series (same title name). It’s a nice Comedy Sitcom; unfortunately the show have been canceled due to receiving low rate. Altogethers there is only 6 episodes aired (actually 7, but one didn’t make it on air) to watch from and in each episode its running time is about 22 minutes.

I have to watch this series not because how the title is something to do with my future ahead, well kinda of, but Justin Bartha (His official website here), is also playing his role there. As never I told anyone before, he is actually one of my favorite actor on this planet. Yeah I know I’m a bit ‘unusual’ as I usually pick my favorite actors, the one that are very against the world’s top or favorites actors selection. Sometimes it OK to be uncommon among the rest of the people. haha. It’s kinda not fun to see a series that is actually good, but not great to be stopped. Hey, you guys don’t know who’s Justin Bartha? He is Ace from Failure to launch Movie. If you still don’t know him, how about Riley Poole on National Treasure Movies with Nicolas Cage, that does rings a bell to you? Several new movies of his are also coming out next year, most are still being post production and currently filming.

Talking about ‘Favorites’, I’m still working with my personal profile, where I have point out several things about me including my favorites. I have finished My Wishlist, as you witness the ‘My Wishlist’ is back on the menu tab. I’ll be updating it from time to time though, if It is needed to be updated =p. OK thats all I guess, Maybe next time I’ll share more about the movies that I had watched through my holiday. I’ll also inform you if my Personal Profile is done. Cheers.

“Damn, I have a lot DVDs to burn; Just TV series for backup. no business here :P”
“Next I’ll say something about movies.. Well that’s probably next time.”

Even David Cook’s stirring victory couldn’t salvage a disappointing seventh season of “American Idol.”

Fixing American ‘Idle’
Where did ‘Idol’s’ mojo go?
By Bret Federigan
MSN TV

Don’t get me wrong. “American Idol” remains one of my favorite shows on the tube. I watched last night’s coronation with as much rapt attention as the next guy. But surprising as it was given the hype, David Cook’s stirring victory in the much ballyhooed final didn’t do much to salvage what has been a disappointing season of America’s still top-rated show.

Blame it on the writers’ strike. Blame it on the expected pangs that any hit show will feel in its seventh season. Heck, blame it on the oversaturation of competition-based reality shows on the viewing public. The fact remains that ratings for “Idol” have continued to sag, even despite numerous tweaks this year by the show’s producers to keep the franchise relevant and exciting.

This season, more than any other, has seemed an over-reaction to the particular deficiencies of the prior one. If you’ll recall, Season 6 of “Idol” was completely underwhelming, marked by a ho-hum final pitting Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis. But, perhaps the lasting legacy of Season 6 is the “Sanjaya Effect” — a phenomenon that allowed a lesser talent to advance through the competition by the sheer power of his personality. Responding to Sanjaya’s unexpected — and definitely unwanted — success, the producers this year made sure to secure a slate of 12 finalists with solid singing chops. The result? Solid singing performances from week to week, but a dearth of interesting characters and stories that America could latch on to. Season 7 offered up legitimate vocal talents like Michael Johns and Carly Smithson, but in the end did America care?

So, what should “American Idol” do to regain its mojo and resecure its rightful place at the center of water-cooler and Tupperware-party conversations? I offer up a few suggestions.

After seven seasons, the roles of Randy, Paula and Simon have become painfully predictable. Randy is sure to interject an impassioned, “Hot!” Paula reliably offers up a warm-fuzzy, whether warranted or not. And Simon? His last word is meant to be definitive — either strikingly positive or, alternatively, caustic. The problem is that the judges’ canned feedback increasingly is ignored by the voting public, if this year’s final is any indication. Why not shake things up by inserting a permanent rotating guest judge with music label credentials every week who has the final word? Industry insiders, such as Clive Davis, would do much to inject a sense of credibility to the proceedings. After all, if the “Idol” competition is, as Simon says, “about finding America’s next singing star,” wouldn’t we want to hear from bona fide record producers who have developed, coached, and packaged successful recording artists?

Lose the Theme Nights

It makes sense to celebrate specific genres of America’s varied singing past, but not if those genres are passé or irrelevant. Nothing caused me to shudder more this season than when the finalists were asked to sing from the Andrew Lloyd Webber songbook. Where’s the logic in that? There just seemed something wrong about having winner David Cook singing a little ditty from “Phantom of the Opera.” If the “Idol” producers choose to keep these theme nights, they would be better served choosing artists and songwriters that were more contemporary and relevant to up-and-coming singers trying to make their mark in a far more diverse musical landscape.

Force Contestants to Sing Challenging Songs
There’s no doubt that David Archuleta’s got vocal chops. He can sing the hell out of a standard or a ballad. But when he actually chose to sing something out of his comfort zone (think Chris Brown’s “With You”), he exposed a lack of range. And it actually made you wonder whether the baby-faced crooner’s deep run to the final two had anything to do with the fact that he consistently chose songs that showcased his mellow, though inflexible, baritone. Who knows what might have happened if, early on in the season, the producers had actually forced Archuleta to sing something more contemporary, something more upbeat, more dance-friendly, or, dare I say, more his age? Especially with a group as vocally solid as this season’s finalists, the producers should have forced the competitors to sing challenging songs — ones that taxed their vocal ranges and seriously pushed them out of their comfort zones. Only one competitor this season, David Cook, pushed himself to rework pop standards into his own rock vocabulary (think of his version of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” or Lionel Richie’s “Hello”). Look at where that got him. David Archuleta? In the season finale, he opted for yet another rendition of “Imagine,” a song he’s been singing publicly since the age of 13.

You’ve been there after work with your co-workers at your local watering hole when the karaoke machine gets fired up. And certainly you’ve marveled at that unassuming bar-goer who completely owns whatever song that gets served up on the screen. That’s exactly the type of inspiring impromptu performance that “Idol” is lacking. What better way to judge singers’ abilities to tackle vocal challenges than to have them tackle a song that they are seeing and singing right in the moment? Unrehearsed performances expose a singer’s vocal courage and talent, and forcing the competitors to tackle a song they haven’t had a week to prepare just might be the type of thing to inject some excitement and unpredictability in the weekly proceedings.

Get Diverse
Surely Chris Daughtry and David Cook aren’t the only talented male singers out there with serious rocker sensibilities. So why don’t we see more of them? It’s just that the show has tended to skew toward pop performers in its seven-season history. As a result, we’ve seen more of the same from year to year, with Syesha and David Archuleta being examples of the very type of singer that the judges love to cultivate. Why not showcase singing talent that looks and sounds like the rest of America or, at the very least, like the music recording landscape that characterizes the viewing public? Where are the R&B singers who represent the tastes of a sizable portion of the music-buying audience? Just because Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London were unceremoniously dumped from the competition in Season 3 doesn’t mean the producers need to shy away from a more diverse finalist pool.

More than anything, America wants to feel invested in the process of choosing the next solo singing star. And this season’s slickly produced competition has given the impression that the producers haven’t given much thought to what America wants or needs from its favorite singing competition show. After all, by a wide margin, the audience chose David Cook, even after the judges proclaimed Archuleta the big winner on the season’s performance finale. The viewing public wants to do what it wants, regardless of the not-so-subtle cajoling of the producers and the judges. The “Sanjaya Effect”? That was the “Idol” audience behaving badly, attempting to assert its importance in discovering America’s next singing star. There was a time when “American Idol” pushed to the forefront of our cultural consciousness the Kelly Clarksons of the world, immature talents unsure of their own abilities but possessing the ability to grow into something big. The show needs to get back to that place. The producers need to showcase truly undiscovered talents, unlike this season where it was reported that Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson previously had recording contracts. They need to give us well-defined personalities, weaknesses and all, and make the show feel less staged and more unpredictable, from Week 1 right through to the two-night finale. Maybe then, America will start coming back in numbers to a show it so clearly wants to love.

I’m a fan of both finalist; David Archuleta and David Cook, In matter a fact too I also love, Brooke White, Amanda Overmyer and Micheal John (the Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey from Gossip girl look a like, hehe) for this American Idol season 7, 2008. Gonna miss the show. From the beginning to the end of season, it was an awesome reality show. My very favorite contestant, as you all know (as my old post I had mention before), David Archuleta, because of the fact that his into this sentimental ballad jazz thingi. David cook is awesome too, but as you also know that I’m not a big fan of rock. so yeah thats just the reason i guess. But oh well I love them all and i can’t wait for their releases of their personal studio song and album. Yes, I’m a fan of American Idol. And someday I’ll visit America :) Amin. Hmm thinking to be permanent resident there as in to work there (immigrate). Why not? I’m not looking for wealth, but I just feel I like to be there. Yeap not UK, not Australia I’m sure it will be fun there? 10 yrs from now?. Oyeah btw I really wanted for David Archuleta to win, but his music style have been won in the recent American idol series, so i guess the Rock genre is the best to win the American idol title. Gonna download all the episodes of AI7 as my collection; when I do get my Allowance. I’m so “capital less” right now to rent a rapidshare account. The best scene was David Archuleta singing my favorite song Apologize with OneRepublic. Btw along the 2 hours live show at 8am (+8GMT), i was chatting with L?z who is currently in UK’s, antah apa sja kami chat ah lol, but was like crazing nervously about the result.

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES – The grown-up rocker triumphed over the smooth-voiced kid as David Cook claimed the “American Idol” title Wednesday, and it wasn’t as much of a surprise as it seemed.

While the judges all but crowned 17-year-old David Archuleta the night before, the voters decided otherwise — and in a huge and unexpected way. Host Ryan Seacrest said before the results that that the margin was 12 million votes, and it turns out they broke in the favor of the 25-year-old from Blue Springs, Mo.

Cook was overcome with emotion, bending toward the stage after his name was announced. When he stood up, his eyes were filled with tears, the second time in as many nights that the scruffy, grainy-voiced belter had broken down.

“This is amazing,” he said. “This is all your fault,” he added, addressing his brother, Andrew. The story goes that Cook was only tagging along with his sibling to the “Idol” auditions to lend support, and wound up getting on the show.

To close out the show’s sevent season, Cook immediately took the microphone and began to sing “Time of my Life,” a midtempo rocker by Nashville singer/songwriter Regie Hamm, winner of the annual “Idol” songwriting competition.

Cook refused to bow to the conventional during his three-song set Tuesday, with Collective Soul‘s “The World I Know” as his pick for a closing performance. He also sang U2‘s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and the power ballad “Dream Big,” his choice from the songwriting competition’s non-winning finalists.

“If I had to choose between playing a song that not a whole lot of people know that I could get behind, or the opposite, I’ll choose the lesser-known every time,” Cook told The Associated Press backstage Tuesday.

Judge Simon Cowell declared at the time that the song choices had sunk him, and told Archuleta that he’d scored a “knockout” in the boxing-themed performance finale.

But just before the winner was announced, Cowell uncharacteristically backtracked. He offered Cook an apology and said that the competition “wasn’t quite so clear cut as we called it” — even letting on that, for the first time, he felt either finalist would have been a worthy winner.

While “Idol” ratings were down all season, the final contest turned that tide, with with viewership for Tuesday’s show up 3 percent over last year’s performance finale, the network said Wednesday. That provoked a frenzy with a record 97.5 million audience votes cast by phone and text. Last year’s total vote count was 74 million.

Early in the show, host Ryan Seacrest played it coy, announcing that the split between the two contestants was 56 percent for one David, 44 percent for the other. Of course he left in question who got the lion’s share; that detail wouldn’t come until the closing moments of season seven.

While Archuleta was showered with praise by the judges all season, online bookies and observers kept the faith with Cook. One Web site, which tracks busy signals on the separate phone lines dedicated to each contestant, projected him the winner correctly Wednesday morning.

By strict “Idol” standards, being rebellious turned out to be worth the gamble for Cook, whose hip and scruffy style and ability to work the camera with a soulful gaze also proved to have overwhelming appeal.

Archuleta, of Murray, Utah, was the prodigy who consistently dazzled the show’s judges and thrilled screaming young fans. He would have been the youngest-”Idol” ever if he’d won, beating last year’s winner Jordin Sparks by mere days.

The teenager seemed to find the attention the show brought him overwhelming, often appearing to be speechless in the face of praise, but he was consistently professional onstage, with dulcet tones and poise that belied his shyness and tender age. He also became the focus of controversy when his father, Jeff, was reportedly getting too heavily involved in his son’s rehearsals and asked by the show’s producers to back off.

Archuleta made the most of his smooth voice Tuesday with Elton John‘s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” the inspirational ballad “In This Moment” and a reprise from earlier in the season of John Lennon‘s “Imagine.”

Judge Randy Jackson exclaimed to Archuleta, “Dude, you are so good tonight. You are exactly what this show is about.” And Cowell told the teenager: “You came out here tonight to win, and what we have witnessed is a knockout.”

“I felt I had a disadvantage getting so much attention in the beginning. But winning isn’t the big concern. It’s always doing your best. … That’s what’s important,” he told The Associated Press backstage Tuesday.

During the show, viewers got songs from runners-up including Syesha Mercado, who dueted with Seal on his song “Waiting for You,” and a solo on “Hallelujah” by dreadlocked Jason Castro.

Other “Idol” contestant and name-brand pairings: Cook with ZZ Top, Archuleta with OneRepublic, Bryan Adams with the top six male singers and Brooke White with Graham Nash.

“Brooke looks so much better than Crosby,” Nash quipped backstage, referring to bandmate David Crosby.

The Jonas Brothers got the stage to themselves for a performance.

“American Idol” also celebrated the awfulness that is part of the show, usually confined to the early auditions, with a performance by failed contestant Reynaldo Lapuz that threw in University of Southern California cheerleaders and marching band members.

In Utah, Archuleta fans gathered to watch the finale took the loss like a collective kick. Mouths dropped, eyes widened and several teenage girls hugged and cried at a live viewing party at EnergySolutions arena in Salt Lake City.

“Did you feel that?” said Skippy Jessop, 30, his homemade sign now headed for the trash bin. “It felt like a punch in the gut. We all just stood there with our mouths hanging open.”

But fans say this won’t be the last note from Utah’s newest favorite son.

“He’s still a winner for sure,” said Cecily Estrada, 19, who attended Murray High School with Archuleta. “He’s gonna be big no matter what.”

He’s already scored one big endorsement: Toward the end of the live, two-hour broadcast, Archuleta was featured in a “Guitar Hero” commercial in which he reprised Tom Cruise’s lip-sync routine from the movie “Risky Business.” Instead of an air guitar, Archuleta played the small, plastic replica instrument from the popular video game.

But on Wednesday, it was the real guitarist who struck the biggest power chord.

———————-

David Cook beats David Archuleta, wins ‘American Idol’s seventh season

By Christopher Rocchio, 05/22/2008
David Cook took David Archuleta‘s Tuesday night “knockout” punch and came out a champ.

The 25-year-old from Blue Spings, MO who currently resides in Tulsa, OK was crowned American Idol’s seventh-season winner during last night’s live two-hour finale broadcast on Fox.

Cook won Idol’s seventh-season title after host Ryan Seacrest said “97 and a half million” home viewer votes were cast immediately following Tuesday night’s live performance broadcast that saw Archuleta and Cook each sing three songs.

Seacrest said Cook defeated Archuleta, a 17-year-old from Murray, UT, by a 56% to 44% home viewer voting margin, or roughly 12 million votes.

“I started this season — much to [Simon Cowell's] chagrin — as the word nerd, and I’m absolutely at a loss for words right now,” said Cook after the results were revealed. “Thank you, you guys… This is amazing. Thank you.”

Cook joins original Idol Kelly Clarkson; second-season winner Ruben Studdard; third-season champ Fantasia Barrino; fourth-season winner Carrie Underwood; fifth-season champ Taylor Hicks; and sixth-season winner Jordin Sparks as the recipient of a management contract with Idol creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Management and a recording contract with a division of Clive Davis’ BMG Music Group.

While Cowell labeled Archuleta as the “one to beat” when the competition was still in the semifinal rounds, it became clear Cook was a force to be reckoned with as the season continued.

Cowell and fellow judge Randy Jackson went on the record as foreseeing an Archuleta vs. Cook finale when there were still eight finalists remaining and Cowell subsequently reiterated that claim when there were only four finalists remaining.

Cowell then predicted Cook would win the Idol crown during a Tuesday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, however during that night’s live performance episode he awarded all three rounds to Archuleta.

“Tonight, I think we’ve witnessed one of the great finals,” said Cowell at the conclusion of Tuesday night’s broadcast. “In my opinion [Archuleta], you came out here tonight to win. What we have witnessed is a knockout.”

But right before Seacrest revealed the results at the conclusion of last night’s bloated finale, Cowell backed off his strong words from Tuesday.

“I went back home to watch it and it wasn’t quite as clear-cut as we called it,” he said. “[Cook], I will take this opportunity to apologize because I think I was verging on disrespectful with you and I don’t think you deserve that. The thing I like about the both of you is you’re triers. You’ve both given it your best, you’re both very nice people, and for the first time ever, I don’t really care who wins. I think you’ve both done terrific.”

All of Idol’s Top 12 seventh-season finalists participated in the finale, with the Top 6 males performing a medley with Bryan Adams and the Top 6 females performing a medley with Donna Summer.

The filler-filled broadcast also included a a video montage of the seventh-season Ford music video clips; Archuleta and Cook performing a duet; third-place finisher Syesha Mercado performing with Seal; fourth-place finisher Jason Castro singing “Hallelujah;” fifth-place finisher Brooke White performing with Graham Nash; and sixth-place finisher Carly Smithson and eighth-place finisher Michael Johns singing a duet.

Viewers also saw Archuleta and Cook each receive a new Ford Escape Hybrid; Jimmy Kimmel deliver a roast-style seventh-season review; Cook perform with ZZ Top; Archuleta perform with OneRepublic; live updates with Cook fans in Kansas City, MO and Archuleta aficionados in Salt Lake City, UT; Sparks sing “One Step at a Time; Underwood sing “Last Name;” live performances by both the Jonas Brothers and George Michael; and a live performance of Renaldo Lapuz singing “We’re Brothers Forever,” a tune he wrote and originally sang during his Dallas audition (mercifully there wasn’t a 3rd Annual Golden Idols).

Thanks to the wonder of technology, Hollywood stars Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. also performed as The Pips with Gladys Knight during a 1972 performance of “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

Seacrest also put Tuesday night’s vote total into perspective, stating that if “every single person” in Canada, Spain, Ireland and Australia had voted, it still wouldn’t have matched the “97 and a half million” home viewer vote total.

“You didn’t just break the record for the show, you smashed it by over 23 million,” said Seacrest at the beginning of the broadcast.

The finale broadcast concluded with Cook singing “The Time of My Life,” which was written by Regie Hamm and won Idol’s seventh-season songwriting competition.