Hello / Is it me you're looking for?

What else is there to do on a Thursday night but have true confession time? ;~)

For the past...has it really been six years? Well, for the past six seasons of TV, there has been a certain reality TV show I would mock relentlessly, despite not watching a single show. I'm not a big fan of reality TV on principle, but this show held a special place of honor. I managed to maintain my stubborn stance to never watch an episode until last season, when this reality show dared to have people on it from my hometown area of Seattle. My curiosity was, of course, piqued, for how could I resist cheering on native Seattlites? I still only watched the last few episodes, and was quite bummed when the Seattlite lost to another by only one place. Oh well, I thought, it was fun while it lasted. I put it out of my mind and moved on with life, never dreaming that I would watch the show from day one in its seventh season.

Which reality show could I be speaking of? you might ask. Well, my friends...

It's American Idol. And they even have me VOTING every week by phone. Not just my land phone--oh no, that would be bad enough--but my cell phone too.

Here's the thing...this year, on American Idol, they're letting the contestants play instruments if they so choose. And there's a really talented group of people--I would be pleased if Brooke won, for instance, or Carly, or Jason (with his dreamy blue eyes), or David Archuleta--who has quite the amazing voice, and will probably get a record deal no matter which position he places. There is one performer, however, who has it all--the amazing rocker voice that I love, the talent with the guitar, the ability to take songs and arrange them into something completely new and amazing...

This performer, whom I have been cheering for from the top 24 on down to Tuesday night's top 7, is named David Cook. He caught my interest on the top 24 "60's Night" by singing "Happy Together." He dazzled me with a version of Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" that, according to my mother, was ten times better than the original release. He blew my socks off during the two weeks of Beatles's songs with "Eleanor Rigby" and "Daytripper"--rock star style! He took a Dolly Parton country song, "Little Sparrow," and amazed me with his falsetto. Most recently, he took a Mariah Carey song (the required artist of the week, and I wasn't even sure how he would pull this one off, since he's been shining on rock songs) and made "Always Be My Baby" into a bittersweet rock masterpiece.

Check him out on iTunes--each of his songs are $0.99, accessible through the Americal Idol store or just type in "David Cook." If you love rock, you'll love David. And, of course, you can catch him on American Idol every Tuesday night at 8 pm/7 pm central; Wednesday night at 9 pm/8 pm central for the results show. (It is truly sad that I know this. ;~)) David Cook, you rock my socks and you have my vote!