2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
Technograph'American Idol' gets down to its final 2 contestants
By Erin Carlson, The Associated Press
Posted: 5/15/08 Section: Diversions
NEW YORK - It'll be David vs. David.
Syesha Mercado was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday night, paving the way for the expected showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook.
Mercado, a 21-year-old actress from Sarasota, Fla., was the last woman standing on the top-rated Fox contest. The big-voiced belter surpassed a more accomplished singer (Carly Smithson), a fan favorite (Brooke White) and a statuesque country crooner (Kristy Lee Cook).
While other contestants floundered, Mercado challenged herself with ambitious song choices like Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." She showed more personality - and lots of leg - while swiveling her hips in a glittery gold minidress for a rendition of "Proud Mary." She cried when Paula Abdul gave her a standing ovation last week.
Abdul held the sugar on Tuesday's performance show, telling Mercado that she thought her performance of "Hit Me Up" wasn't "good enough to get into the finals."
With Mercado out of the way, "Idol" can now fully hype the David vs. David matchup.
There's Archuleta, the 17-year-old singing prodigy from Murray, Utah, with the overly involved stage dad. And there's Cook, the 25-year-old former bartender from Blue Springs, Mo., with an emo edge that the angelic Arculeta lacks.
Who will snag the title next Wednesday?
One thing is for sure: His name will be David.
Syesha Mercado was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday night, paving the way for the expected showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook.
Mercado, a 21-year-old actress from Sarasota, Fla., was the last woman standing on the top-rated Fox contest. The big-voiced belter surpassed a more accomplished singer (Carly Smithson), a fan favorite (Brooke White) and a statuesque country crooner (Kristy Lee Cook).
While other contestants floundered, Mercado challenged herself with ambitious song choices like Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." She showed more personality - and lots of leg - while swiveling her hips in a glittery gold minidress for a rendition of "Proud Mary." She cried when Paula Abdul gave her a standing ovation last week.
Abdul held the sugar on Tuesday's performance show, telling Mercado that she thought her performance of "Hit Me Up" wasn't "good enough to get into the finals."
With Mercado out of the way, "Idol" can now fully hype the David vs. David matchup.
There's Archuleta, the 17-year-old singing prodigy from Murray, Utah, with the overly involved stage dad. And there's Cook, the 25-year-old former bartender from Blue Springs, Mo., with an emo edge that the angelic Arculeta lacks.
Who will snag the title next Wednesday?
One thing is for sure: His name will be David.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.
Be the first to comment on this story