City Girl

How sweet the smell of success is!

Apparently, the voting public of American Idol has gotten this one right. This despite the prediction of Simon Cowell that David A. has knocked down the competition.

In fairness, I think David A. took the blow particularly well. He didn’t start bawling like some of the other contestants who got voted off earlier. Anyway, I’m sure there are already recording offers for him just waiting behind the curtains. I mean, he has a phenomenal voice after all.

As for David Cook, he’s just been let out into the real world. Now, more than ever, the pressure is on for him to prove that he is worth the title. But I’m sure he can pull it off. I think he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

If the contest is only about winning, then I believe that David Archuleta will win. I don’t doubt that he has a very very vast following. I won’t even question why. He’s a good singer, not to mention, charming.

But if the contest is really about finding an American Idol, a really, really good performer, dynamic and will, by the way, sell multi-million albums, then the voting public of American Idol ought to choose David Cook.

It’s the penultimate night of American Idol season 7. Naturally, millions of people were tuned in to see who will be crowned winner this time. If Simon Cowell could foretell the future, and correctly at that, then David A. will probably win. As Simon saw it, David A. delivered a mighty blow against David C. It was, in his words, a “knock-out.” But is that enough?…

This brings to mind the first boxing bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. During that fight, Pacquiao was able to deliver heavy blows against Marquez. Many thought that Marquez was certain to lose. But come decision time, the judges announced a draw between the two.

Of course, I’m not saying that Pacquiao is the Filipino equivalent of David Archuleta. God knows Pacquiao can only sing as good as David A.’s foot. The point is, delivering deathly blows sometimes is not enough… assuming these were in fact deathly blows.

But then again, as my friend had pointed out earlier when I voiced the same opinion to him, I may be biased in favor of David Cook. Perhaps, that is the reason why even though I’ve agreed with Simon Cowell’s opinions for this season, no matter how harsh they may have been, I cannot bring myself to see it his way this time. The way I see it, the voting populace will not consider only their performance for tonight. Otherwise, they should have just made it a one-show season. It’s not just an ordinary elimination night where the one with the highest votes will have another shot. After tonight, regardless of whatever happens tomorrow, the two Davids are out on their own now. They will no longer have to concern themselves with whatever the three judges will say of them. As soon as they left that stage tonight, their concern is so much bigger, or at least it should be.

For last month or so, I’ve suddenly found myself obsessing about this DSLR. I first saw it at the mall. They were selling Nikon D40 for PhP 35,500.00 or so. Since then I’ve had that camera stuck in my head. I’ve been thinking of it day and night. I’ve downloaded the brochure and read everything about it. All signs point to “Buy the damn thing!” But to this day, I still haven’t got the courage.

Maybe it’s because of the thought that I still have a good working digital camera. It’s a 5MP Sony DSC-P100. I mean, it is my very first cam. Plus, its casing is colored red, one of my favorite colors. I suppose I feel like I’m betraying it by buying another cam.

And then there’s the fact that great photography rests not on the camera but on who’s taking the shots. Although I have yet to produce spectacular shots, I could say that my photos aren’t that bad. I’ve been raking in a modest amount of comments in my flickr site. It could only mean that by buying another camera, it won’t affect my performance unless I change. I mean, the change should come from me instead of the camera.

Of course, the fact that my husband would still have to approve it shouldn’t be discounted. After all, it’s not just my money I’m spending. Legally speaking, everything I earn is divided between the two of us. And even though our current savings divided by two could still afford that precious DSLR, it would be in good taste to consider my husband’s opinion first. And on this matter, he has clearly manifested that we have other things to prioritize. I guess, in layman’s language, that means that the damn cam is much too pricey. I could disregard him and buy it anyway. I mean, half of our money is mine. But who wants to live with a disgruntled man who wouldn’t talk to you for a couple of months? It wouldn’t have mattered if we were living separately. But that, unfortunately, is not the case. (hehe)

Despite, however, the obvious reasons why I should not want the Nikon D40, I am still in the fervent throes of desire. I suppose it doesn’t help that I keep looking at it in the net and thinking of all the nice shots I could take. Every once in a while, I am seized by the urge to drive to the mall and buy that lone stock of DSLR just to pacify my soul and just run away. That would be convenient, except I think my husband would have the authorities running after me. Plus the fact that the camera would probably suck at cuddling during the night. So I guess that’s another reason why I shouldn’t be run by impulse. God put our heads on top of our bodies for a reason: so that it could run our bodies. That is why I’m struggling to stay logical. “You don’t need another camera.” I keep telling myself that. In time, I hope I’ll start believing it.

Unless, the Nikon D40 suddenly comes in a red body. I’d probably go mad by then.

[This post is already a day late. By internet standards, this is already history and no longer breaking news. But still, I write on.]

It’s down to the final two: David and David. Who’s going to win? My bet’s on Cook. It hasn’t always been that way, though. There was a time when I thought he was an average rocker with a bit of bad fashion. But he rocked Billie Jean, and then lost that streak of blonde hair. Suddenly, I was looking at him in a different light.

At the start, I was really rooting for Syesha. She was the classic choice. She had that big voice and big hair. I was particularly struck when she sang the high notes during the Hollywood auditions even though she’d lost her voice. She kept saying that she’s going to be the next American Idol and I almost believed her. I really wanted her to win. But somehow, during the contest proper, I’d suddenly lost interest in her. She was still a good performer but she was typical. There wasn’t anything spectacular about her songs. Sure, she sang in tune and reached the high notes but there was nothing different about her. She was merely repeating the performance of the original singers. While she had personality, it wasn’t enough for her to be called magnificent. And now that I’ve thought about it, perhaps that’s the reason why some American Idols haven’t succeeded in the real world. They were great imitations of the original. But they lacked personality.

Look at Chris Daughtry. He didn’t win and yet he’s doing better than Taylor Hicks. Not that Taylor wasn’t good. He was charming but he didn’t have enough personality. Chris Daughtry is a person who knows what he wants and how to get it. He stuck to what he knows and doest best. That’s what’s made him successful. Personality is key.

That is the reason why the two Davids have moved on to the finals. They both have personality. They’ve both “rearranged” the songs they sing to match their personality, not just to copy the original. The songs adjust to them and not the other way around. But the question remains: Who will be the next American Idol?

Perhaps, the better question is “Does David A. stand a chance against David C.?”

In my book, David Cook has the bigger chance of winning. Sure David A. has charisma. I mean, he is kinda cute and he sings great. But ask yourself, has he done anything as mind-blowing as David C.? I don’t think so. What’s more, I don’t think David A. would survive in the real world where he’ll sing his original songs. I think he’d be eaten alive. Just like what happened to Taylor Hicks. Don’t get me wrong, I like Taylor Hicks. He’s charming…just like David A. But charm can only get one so far.

Earlier today, while I was busy using official time for personal purposes, I heard some wailing in the background. I realized that one of my staff members had turned the radio on and a woman sounded like she was singing under severe pain. After catching on to some words, such as “my humps” and “what are you going to do with all that junk,” my eyebrows shot up.

“Who the hell is singing that?” I asked my officemate.

“I think it’s Alanis Morissette.” he answered. I listened closely to recognize the voice of the singer whom I idolized for having the balls to say “Would she go down on you in a theater.”

Gasp! It is Alanis Morissette…doing a bad rendition of “My Humps” by the Black Eyed Peas.

What the hell!?!?!?!?!

Is this the same girl who said “you took me out to wine dine sixty nine me but didn’t hear a damn word I said?” The one for whom I’d bought two copies of the same Jagged Little Pill album just in case the other one got damaged? The person whose words made me feel that it’s okay to be mad and that it’s alright to say exactly how you feel? The one who’s snagged the hunky, man-of-my-dreams, juicylicious Ryan Reynolds? I repeat, WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?

If you’re still confused about how I feel about Alanis’ remake of the song “My Humps,” let me clarify it for you: WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING OF? Is she in some kind of funk? Has Ryan dumped her for some busty woman and this is her way of getting back at him?

I love Alanis Morissette. She represented a part of my life. She made me understand things I didn’t even realize that I needed to know. Her songs were the anthems of my youth. How could she have done this?!

Well, I suppose some good things never really last. Maybe genius isn’t consistent. I mean, even Albert Einstein must have had off days, right? I’m sure (hoping) that Alanis will bounce off this weird phase in her life.

“ And all I really want is some patience
A way to calm the angry voice
And all I really want is deliverance”

-All I really want, Alanis Morissette