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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > April > 16
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
4/17: Kristy Lee Cook exit interview
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kristy Lee Cook came across as poised and articulate, largely avoiding the pablum and cliches that came out the mouths of Ramiele and Chikezie. Some have complained she was a bit of a country robot on stage and was not the emotional lump that Brooke sometimes is. But I ultimately liked her for her rather grounded and rationalized approach to the show.
She admitted never having sung much in the way of non-country tunes and was hamstrung by the song choices during the semifinals, when she was also ill. (In past years, she would have had a greater chance to show off her country chops earlier.)
She felt more comfortable post Beatles. And she defended her take on “Eight Days a Week.” When I asked her about that, she felt the judges’ negative comments shaped America’s opinions about it.
*I’ve had mixed feelings on it. A lot of people actually liked it. A lot of people I worked with on the stage and the band. They absolutely loved the version… I thought it was kind of cool and deserved a bit more praise. I did make it my own.” One lesson she’s learned is to ignore the judges when watching the show and making her own judgment.
Cook said picking “God Bless the USA” wasn’t necessarily at attempt to save her own hide by going the patriotic route. Rather, she said her dad, a Vietnam vet, loved the song so she was thinking about it when she saw it on the list of songs the year she was born. Then her sister called and suggested the same song, which Kristy has sung before. “That was an instant yes in my mind,” she said.
Her fiance Andy also proposed to her secretly in a sauna March 15 and did it officially on “Idol” this week, though I don’t think that ended up on camera because I don’t remember it.
She would have sung “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” for Andrew Lloyd Weber. That would have been a serious challenge!
Cook was naturally surprised she got booted this week. “My performance was pretty strong this past week. I’m happy I went out on that note.”
How about serenading Simon? “He later said, ‘You made it kind of awkward for me.’ I said, ‘Now you know what it’s like!’ “
And being in the bottom three so many times.: “I kind of built up a stamina for it and kind of got a little tougher each time, and finally, kind of learned how to control the emotions that were coming from the whole situation.”
In other “Idol” news:
-I decided to check on my top 12 on March 8 before David Hernandez was eliminated. I’m not doing too badly. I actually had Michael Johns ranked at No. 8. That’s the only one I’ve gotten right so far exactly right. (I had Kristy Lee at 12, Chikezie at 11, Ramiele at 10 and Amanda at 9.) But my top 7 were: 1- David A 2- David C 3- Syesha 4- Jason 5- David H. (whoops!) 6- Carly 7- Brooke. I was clearly optimistic on Syesha but who knows?
-My bud Chris Sligh does a fine job sifting through the Mariah performance show.. He was bored by David A., underwhelmed by Carly, impressed by Syesha, okay with Brooke, enjoyed Kristy, rocked by David C. and pimped Jason C.
-I did want to note that Tuesday’s ratings (23.6 million) for “Idol” were the lowest Tuesday show in five years, since season two, according to Hollywood Reporter. The results show finished at around 23.3 million, down about 23 percent from a year earlier. the biggest gap this year (excluding “Idol Gives Back”). And thanks to Michael Johns, I had my best week last week on the blog in terms of page views at about 60,000 though this blog is still down significantly in traffic from a year ago.
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4/16: Top 7 Idol elimination night. Surprise! Again! Kristy Lee Cook a goner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, we all got it wrong again! Kristy Lee Cook, the country gal I thought was safe, is going home.
Cook started with so much promise (“Amazing Grace”!). Then she went into a long funk yet somehow lasted week in, week out. She was a perpetual bottom three dweller, that stinker of an “Eight Days a Week” still stuck in our craw weeks later. Then she dug out that Lee Greenwood nugget a couple weeks ago, a song pick that impressed everyone (including Simon) for her shrewdness. Her “Anyway” last week was a highlight. The consensus was she was on the rise, that she could even finish in the three or four.
But for the second week in a row, “Idol” threw us for a loop! Her fans again must have figured she was safe while Brooke and Syesha gutted it out.
In her farewell, Kristy Lee does a lovely serenade of Simon of “Forever.” By the time she was out, I liked her more in her departure than for much of her run. And she always looked hot!
Idol did the annual split into threes and try to get a fourth to pick which group to join.
And they faked out Syesha by sticking her in the “safe” group, then swapped her with David Cook, who was obviously safe. They also tried to get David Archuleta to pick which group to join and he did the “sit in.” (Who did that before? I’ll have to go back in my files here to find out what happened the past three seasons.).
Cook helped him out by joining him Indian style in the center. And well, Cook was right. He was safe with Carly (!!) and Jason.
So the bottom three were gals as expected: Kristy Lee, Syesha and Brooke. The bottom two were Brooke and Kristy Lee. Simon says Kristy will go. And he’s right!
Okay, let me re-wind to the beginning. An excruciatingly boring group sing of “One Sweet Day.” A respectable performance by Elliott Yamin. A rather toothless (or let’s say, vocally constrained) Mariah Carey. More jokes between the judges over silly viewer questions. And that weird marionette Ford ad. Did I miss anything?
Oh, yah— Andrew Lloyd Weber is the mentor next week.
In the meantime, here’s other “Idol” news:
The four performers who have played instruments in the top 12 are still alive— the two Davids, Brooke and Jason. Entertainment Weekly notes this phenomenon and you have to wonder—without the guitar or piano, would Brooke and Jason still be in the competition?. Good topic! I’ll pose that question as a lead blog entry later this week or early next week.
Ratings last night were 23.6 million, down 11 percent over the same episode a year ago, the final week of Sanjaya. E! online poses the question—can we blame Sanjaya for the 8 to 10 percent decline in ratings this year or simply a broader case of “Idol” fatigue?
David Cook’s stricken brother Adam, who attended Tuesday’s show, has brain cancer and sat in the front row. More here, courtesy of People.com.
“His brother came to town a few days ago, and he’s not in the best of shape and you can tell it’s affecting David and everything,” says dancer Lacey Schwimmer, of So You Think You Can Dance, who has stepped out with David recently. “But I think it’s a good thing that he’s here because it shows that his brother is still supporting him.”
- If you are a fan of comic Lewis Black, check out his hilarious “debate” show tonight in which two comics argue over two topics and Lewis deems which one is more evil. Last week, it was Dick Cheney vs. Paris Hilton. (Cheney won.). Tonight at 10:30 p.m., it’s high school vs. American Idol. So is getting noogies and wedgies more evil than listening to yet another version of Heart’s “Alone”? Is taking the SAT worse than Paula’s ramblings? We shall see. It’s Comedy Central’s “Lewis Black: Root of All Evil.” I’ll review it tomorrow.
