American Idol Season 7 concert review

Pre-show
While I was inside the Arena interviewing a few of the Idols, my husband and kids were out at the busses getting autographs of Kristy Lee Cook, Chikezie Eze, Brooke White and Michael Johns. My son was next in line to see David Cook, but David had to run to make it inside for the press interviews. We were 0 for 2 with David Cook!
We met the rest of our group at the front of the Arena and headed inside to get our seats.
Joe Louis Arena is home to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and it felt like it – it was very cool inside; I wondered if the ice was under the flooring. It holds 20,058 people at capacity. During the concert there were a few sections roped off but looked more than half-full to me.
Before the Idols came out, the giant Poptarts, the warm-up man, videos from past Idols, the top 24 of Season 7’s journey plus Josiah Lemming, who everyone collectively sighed over and the commercial for the new American Idol exhibit at Disney, entertained us.
The Idols went on stage in reverse order of their finish, counting down to the winner, David Cook.

First Half
#10, Chikezie Eze, Chikezie started out the show and was one of my favorites from the auditions. Showing some love to Detroit, he donned Henrik Zetterberg’s Red Wing Jersey and the crowd went wild! His set included I Believe to My Soul, Caught Up and So High. If American Idol’s winner were based on this night’s performances, he would be right up there. Although not a surprise to me, I think the crowd was amazed at how good he was!

#9, Ramiele Malubay, I don’t know if it was the loudness of the crowd she was playing to or she just found her groove, whatever it was, Ramiele’s set was fun and perfect for Motown! She performed I Want You Back, Love Will Lead You Back and If I Never See Your Face Again. I Want You Back was received the best – she reminded me of Sally Field when Sally said, “You love me, you really love me!” I think she was rather shocked by the crowd’s response!

#8, Michael Johns, I cannot decide which song I liked the best. He got the Red Wing love too when he sang We Will Rock You/We are the Champions in Hockeytown home of the 11 time Stanley Cup winners! The heat got turned up during It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright and Dream On got everyone back on their feet!

#7, Kristy Lee Cook, another favorite of mine, sang two songs I did not know, Squeezin’ the Love Outta You and Cowgirls. She got the best crowd reaction during God Bless the USA, starting with the line “From Detroit” and had almost everyone standing. The ones who were not probably couldn’t – I have never seen so many older people at a concert in all my life. It was a good song for her although I wished she had sung Anyway in her set.

#6, Carly Smithson, Rocked it out! She sounded great in all three songs, Bring Me To Life, Crazy on You and I Drove All Night. I thought Crazy on You and Bring Me to Life were the right choices for her but I was longing for Blackbird. She has really grown on me.

#5, Brooke White, made a grand entrance, rising up from the floor seated at the piano and performed Let it Be. She announced she had been sick and on vocal rest, but even so, she shined! 1,2,3,4 was folksy and upbeat and her last song Yellow was beautiful! Yellow is my new favorite color!

A strong group performance of Pride (In the Name of Love) from the previous performers ended the first half.

Intermission
Guitar Hero live, on the big screen and air guitar filled the time before the second half. The 70’s video of the top 10 was a highlight – Jason plays the drums in it, David Archuleta looks like Fez from the 70’s Show and Chikezie sports an afro! One thing I missed during the intermission from last year was the text messaging on the big screen.

Second Half
#4, Jason Castro, His set was the one I had been looking forward to the most. When he was announced, the noise level of the crowd was deafening. While the crowd was loud in the first half, it was even louder in the second half. He sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow while playing the ukulele, and played the guitar on Crazy and Daydream. Of the three, I thought Crazy was his best performance, the strumming and beat of the arrangement was different from any other version I have heard, and the vocals were very strong. Although the crowd was more familiar with the other two songs and both were received well, Crazy was a surprise. Based on the screams and applause, I think the crowd loved it! My only complaint: his set seemed too short (maybe that was just me!)

#3, Syesha Mercado, When she was on the show, I thought she was okay, a good voice but nothing unique. I was wrong. She blew me away. She sang Umbrella – great song choice for her and the crowd was very involved in the song. If I Ain’t Got You, was also a winner. However, her last song, Listen, showed her depth and range of vocals. Technically, I do not even know what that means but I felt what she was singing. She received a well-deserved standing ovation.

#2, David Archuleta, Thunderous noise. Clapping, screaming, jumping up and down, screaming and did I mention screaming? This must have been how teen-agers reacted to the Beatles. Except that this was done by people of all ages, while the high-pitched screams came from the youngest fans, I have to admit I screamed with the best of them. Angels, my favorite song of his almost made me cry. Apologize, incredible. Stand By Me was very good, I loved the Beautiful Girls mix and his last song, When You Say You Love Me, was loved more by the older crowd. At one point during his set, he thanked the audience; they responded by cheering loudly, the noise level got so loud that he started giggling, the more that he giggled, the louder the crowd got. It was hysterical!

#1, David Cook, the 2008 American Idol. This is when the rock concert began in earnest. What was great about the entire night, almost all genres were covered, maybe a few were left out but there was definitely something for everyone. No one disappointed, even if I did not agree with song choices, they were all mini-concerts worth paying separately for. The noise for David Cook was just as loud as for David Archuleta but the high-pitched screams were replaced somewhat by lower, more experienced yells! Yes, the Cougars were out in full force! Cookie showed his performance skills well, working the stage at both ends and the crowd loved him. Hello, took us older folk back in time. Most everyone knew the words to Time of My Life, so we helped him sing it! I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing and My Hero increased the crowd reaction with each song. When he videotaped the crowd to document his time in Detroit, I didn’t think it could possibly get any louder. Wrong again. Billie Jean brought down the house.

I think everyone was worn out when the entire group came out for the final performance of Please Don’t Stop the Music. I was totally satisfied and exhausted. My only suggestion is that they need space in the venues for dancing. I apologize to the people seated behind me. Sort of.

Rhonda Cloutier lives in Santa Rosa Beach. You can reach her at IdolBeat@gmail.com.