American Idol : the Sequel

This is probably the one article I thought I'd never write. After the first round, there was no doubt in my mind that unless something very strange happened, David Archuletta would win the competition even if he just would appear on stage. Now, 2 weeks later, things have changed, and how.

Now don't get me wrong, I still think he will win it. Even if he's not the best performer in the end, what counts is the public vote, and as long as he stays young, pretty and looks awfully cute on television, nobody can beat him. At least he's been given a challenge now. So what happened?

Let's start with Archuletta himself. Last Tuesday he showed signs of nerves (and of being human) for the first time, by actually forgetting a few words in the beginning of his song. The theme was Lennon & McCartney, and after his amazing version of 'Imagine' earlier in the competition, it would have been an incredible effort to top that. Instead, he pulled out another Stevie Wonder imitation (which he does very well, but we need to see a different side of him) and didn't nail it as good as we've come to expect from him. The fans won't let him down and girls will keep fainting wherever he appears, but he better gets his act together, as a few other competitors started growing in the competition and proved to be worthy adversaries.

So who could beat him? I don't want to be sexist, but from what I've seen, the top 3 contenders are all gonna be boys. There's 2 or 3 girls that could become outsiders (Brooke White and Carly Smithson), but in the end they rely too much on their personal gimmicks rather than the all-round performance some of the guys can provide us with.

Who will be the next American Idol then? Hard to say, but my money still goes to Archuletta. His fan base has grown to astronomical proportions and it will take more than a few good performances to beat him. But. BUT. The last 2 weeks, David Cook and Jason Castro seem to have finally freed themselves from the Archuletta trauma from the first weeks and are seemingly enjoying themselves on stage, giving away killer performances. Castro's vulnerable side works exceptionally well and he's shown to be able to deal with the pressure. In interviews, he's even going for the 'cute' vote, which seemed destined to go to DA.

Cook saw the light as well, and rather than being the pompous over-confident world-star he tried to be in the beginning, he realized he's got more than enough quality to make it a long way in this competition without the whole act. I'd even go as far as to say that his 2 last performances were better than anyone else's.

The only performer that sort of disappointed me over the weeks is Michael Johns. He's got the voice, he's got the looks, he's got the charisma, yet something doesn't seem right. What's more, he seems to copy his act every week, without really improving, where the other guys are getting better and better.

A great deal will obviously depend on the songs. If DA finds a way to shine, he'll win. If not, Castro and especially Cook could be dangerous outsiders. As Simon rightfully said (and what sounded like a sort of complaint against the whole AI system) it will also depend on whether it will remain a singing contest or whether it'll turn into a popularity contest.

No matter what happens next, it's turned into a far greater competition than anyone had hoped for, and one can only hope that not only the winner but the other finalists as well will get their chance in showbiz. Some of them definitely are star material.