DaveFroehlich's Blog

David Cook has really got what it takes; the moment during last night's American Idol when he's standing next to Andrew Lloyd Webber at the piano.  Webber's telling David how 'sen-sool' the song he was going to perform is, and that David needed to practice by singing it to him like Webber was 'a 17 year old in the chorus line.'  Uh... okay.  I'd find that advice a little hard to process, probably because of an immaturity that still hasn't left me, even in my early 30s.

But clearly, that's not David's problem.  He practiced hard, and I thought turned in an awesome performance of Webber's 'Music of the Night.'  Going into the show, the judges said Webber's music would be some of the toughest the Idols would take on... and I tend to think they were right. In fact, in my completely unqualified opinion, I thought the songs really showed some of them up, but I won't name names... okay, I will, you talked me into it-- Jason Castro.  Jason Castro got shown up.  What can I say; he's an Aggie, so I've been looking for a reason to pick on him.

Back to David, I thought he nailed his song (maybe it helped that the audience was filled with 17 year-old chorus line-esque girls).  People I talk to in the Metro who are pulling for Cook don't even seem to get all that nervous when he performs anymore.  They've seen him come through so many times now they know no matter the song style, he's going to be able to pull it off... I would tend to agree.

Yesterday, we talked to Matt McLaughlin, one of David's original bandmates when they formed the band Axium back in high school.  Matt told us some cool stories about their high school days, played his guitar for us, and let us listen to the first CD Axium made.  Matt's also got one of the more impressive basements I've ever seen: old mismatching Lazy Boy chairs, plenty of sports, beer and cheerleader decor on the wall, even a stuffed deer head wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette.  Total man cave-- well played, sir.

Finally, another nod to my KISS obsession.  Last week, we saw Michael Johns hamming it up with Gene Simmons on the Tonight Show after getting voted off.  Then last night, the cameras find Paul Stanley in the audience.  Stanley performed in a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera' in Toronto several years ago, so I'm sure he really got a kick out of David's performance as well.

Dave