I am one who happens to think that the rumors on his dad affected people's vote on this season's American Idol. I, for one, thought that it gave other people the chance to "not like" the sweet faced young kid.
The rumors started when Naomi Judd who was a judge from a show (Star Search) where David previously was a contestants was reported to have said that the dad [Jeff Archuleta] was "the worst stage dad". This was then followed by reports that his father was banned from the backstage of the American Idol show for having a hand on the change in the lyrics of the song "Stand by Me" that David sang causing AI producers additional money in song rights, whatever.
Somehow, the banning by AI, corroborated (in people's mind) and made it look that the dad was somehow "evil". In a way, giving David a bad publicity and making people pause and think before voting for him. I would think people (especially the older folks) stopped and wonder, "If I vote for David A, would I be rewarding the dad too, Hmmmm..."
It's a Shame
I like the Archuleta kid. I thought he gave the better performance in the finale. It's a shame as the rumor affected his votes (I think). The rumor was certainly a distraction but is David's dad really a stage dad? or was it circulated just to give American Idol additional drama, other juicy and newsworthy "scandal".
I don't think David will grow up the way he has shown to us if not because of his parent's upbringing. David has been sweet, humble and full of enthusiasm. Give that credit to the parents for a good upbringing. The father and son relationship is one of the best type of relationship in the world. In my view, the dad was misunderstood. David seems to be unmindful of the all the talks about his dad. Good for him.
Below are some reactions from David Archuleta himself:
"I heard one thing where [my dad, Jeff] refused to give me water or something like that and that’s the weirdest thing," the American Idol runner-up said Friday in a conference call with reporters. "I mean, I am 17 and you know, if I want water, I am pretty sure I would just go get it anyway."
"He understood that I didn’t like to hear anything going on in the news about me, good or bad, because I didn’t want it to distract me or let it go to my head or anything like that because I just wanted to stay myself as I was at the beginning of the competition before all this happened,"
In the end, good thing American Idol is now over, we can now see who among this crop of talented contestants will go on and have great singing (or showbiz) careers. Kudos to all contestants and the Top 24: David Cook, David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado, Amanda Overmyer, Carlie Smithson, David Hernandez, Jason Castro, Ramiel Malubay, Kristie Lee Cook, Michael Johns, Alaina Whitaker, Alexandria Lushington, Amy Davis, Colton Berry, Danny Noriega, Garrett Haley, Jason Yeager, Joanne Borgella, Kady Malloy, Luke Menard, Robbie Carrico, Brooke White, Chakizee, of course, Asia'h Epperson.
David Archuleta and the Stage Dad Rumor
To Luke Menard of Idol Season 7: Get Well Soon!
Luke Menard is one of AI Season 7's Top 24 contestant along with Asia'h Epperson.
Recently, in the news, the former American Idol contestant has been reported to have Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer. Luke’s acapella group Chapter 6 put out a statement that he has a very curable cancer and is in good spirits. The group made it clear to his fans that “the prognosis is good.”
Now, I don't know what Hodgkin's lymphoma is, but according to wikipedia,
Hodgkin's lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma first described by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832. Hodgkin's lymphoma is characterized clinically by the orderly spread of disease from one lymph node group to another and by the development of systemic symptoms with advanced disease. Pathologically, the disease is characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. Hodgkin's lymphoma was one of the first cancers to be cured by radiation. Later it was one of the first to be cured by combination chemotherapy. The cure rate is about 93%, making it one of the most curable forms of cancer—if it is detected in the early stages. Later-stage cancers show a significantly worse prognosis[1].
Luke, this small community of Asia'h Epperson fans wish you well. You get well soon!
You will be in our prayers.
On David vs David: My Thoughts on AI Season 7 Final
Back to blogging again! I love it when I take some time off for myself and rejuvenate for a while. It keeps you fresh and ready for the next wave of things to come.
On David vs David
Yesterday's show crowned the "Cook" as the new American Idol. Good thing for him. He has shown himself as a really good performer and crowd pleaser. I loved his rendition of the "Billie Jean" song. In my opinion, that's his best performance on the entire show. For the "Archuleta" kid, he will always be a star. His personality is often times dull as he's always nervous and speechless whenever he gets to talk to Ryan after a performance. But I think he will go far and be able to leverage his runner up performance on this season's AI. Hey, the kid can really sing. Hollywood can easily do a personality makeover on this boy.
I'm a bit surprised about the result. Are you?
Going into Tuesday, Archuleta is, of course the clear favorite. I guess for the whole season, he's the clear favorite, as for sure, he'll get the vote of the tweens and the teen crowd. I was actually routing for the "Cook" at this point as I think he's the more commercial whom I think has the better chance of selling more albums than Archuleta.
The "finale" night was a different story though as I saw Archuleta giving all his best and really showing that he wanted to win it. I thought it was his night and he won it handily, to quote Simon, by a knockout. I just didn't sense in Cook's performance that night that he truly wanted to win the competition. He did a fine job but I wasn't blown away. So from wanting to see Cook win, I went out for Archuleta. I thought he deserved to win more than Cook based on their final performance.
And David Cook Wins it!
I was definitely surprised when I learned that Cook won. He's definitely a good singer, no doubt about that, but I was basing my opinion on the last performance as I thought Archuleta clearly came out as the winner on that one. Well, we always never know how things really work. Other people will have their own opinion and I respect that. America has voted and by a clear margin of 12 million votes that went for David Cook. I wonder if many people were turned off by Archuleta's dad that's why they didn't vote for him. We can only wonder.
So, a big congratulation to David Cook!!! Season 7's American Idol winner. All yeah fans of Asia'h Epperson, let's clap our hands.
What Now for Asia'h Epperson?
Asia'h Epperson ... aargh ... Asia'h Epperson .... tsk .. tskk ...
March 6, 2008 will go down in history as another day of infamy! No, China didn't assasinate the Dalai Lama [let me just squeeze here my .. FREE TIBET! cry] ... No, Obama didn't bite Hillary Clinton's ear in their fight for the Democratic nomination (ala Mike Tyson) ... much much worst .... it's the day my American Idol Asia'h Epperson was booted out of the Fox TV program.
Yes, Asia'h fans, grieve with me! Wear your best funeral wardrobe now. It's a monstrosity, an abberation of the existential kind! (whatever that means) Asiah booted out! ... I just can't imagine it! It just won't get out of my mind. I am very sure she's gonna be this season's American Idol but what the hell happened. How could it be? I've used up all three of my phones (1 office, 1 cell phone, 1 home phone) to vote for her. Still, this? America is probably deaf, yes, that's probably it.
Season 7 will never be the same without her. I vividly remembered that fateful night. Tears rolled down my face like the A-bomb being dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. When Ryan Seacrest said that it's the end of line for her, I was stunned. I couldn't feel anything for a second. Speechless, Confused, Dazed?!%
A Historical Perspective:
March 6, 1831: Edgar Allen Poe removed from West Point military academy
March 6, 1918: U.S. naval boat "Cyclops" disappears in Bermuda Triangle
March 6, 1936: Belgium ends Locarno-pact
March 6, 1974: An Italian loses a record $1,920,000 at roulette in Monte Carlo
Now....
March 6, 2008: Asia'h Epperson was voted off the American Idol Season 7
Surely March 6 will go down in history as one of the darkest days specially to all the Asia'h fans out there.
Back to reality
Enough of my long-winded rant, pardon me, (I'm melodramatic ... LOL) it's just my way of saying “Sh** happens!”. Stuff like that happens to the best of them. It's a fact of life and we have to move on. I'm sure she's gonna be successful in her chosen career, be it singing, acting or modelling or whatever. American Idol is not the end of the line. It's just the beginning.
Looking for Asia'h Epperson online
Seriously, searching for information online regarding Ms. Epperson is proving to be a challenge for me. I don't see any “Asia'h Epperson: Official Website” out there. I couldn't even find her Myspace or Facebook profile. Information on her is scant. I can't find anything, other than the fast facts below (taken from the American Idol website):
Age: 19
Hometown: Joplin, MO
Favorite Quote: "Speak it into existence! You receive blessings through struggle. Appreciate it!"
Audition City: Atlanta
Musical Influences: Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton.
Did you see her fave quote above? That's kinda deep. I would love to ask her what it means and how it became her favorite quotes.
From some of the American idol video that featured Asia'h, we found out that she's a small town country girl (Joplin, MO) who has been singing since she was three years old. From a family picture shown, it seems she has two brothers and is the oldest and the only girl. Her mom looks white and her dad is black. What a good combination, as she seems to possess the best of both races. Before "American Idol," she was a waitress at two restaurants in Joplin. In her spare time, Epperson enjoys dancing and acting and also has a passion for makeup and fashion.
Asiah Epperson's American Idol Audition
What's in the name? Of Asia'h, Asiah, Aisa'h or Asia Epperson
In addition to being a gorgeous and talented singer, I really love her name. Asia'h is such a unique name. It's actually my first time to hear of a person with such a name. Hmmm... where did her parent got her name? another good question to ask Asia'h about. I got so curious so I search online to see if there are any other with such a name, it actually yielded other people with the same first name, an Asiah Georgia and an Asiah Lewis came out.
Asia'h Epperson Final Performance!
Latest News on Asia'h Epperson
I'm really dying to hear what she's up to right now. Hope she finds out about this blog and give us a shout and an interview. It would be nice to know more about her. She's very talented, very pretty and I'm sure she would have a great career ahead of her. What's next for her? Here's her response (taken from the American Idol website)
“I really believe the sky's the limit for me. I'm going to take every opportunity that I can. I've been in drama and stuff like that through middle school and high school. So maybe some acting, some commercials, maybe a little bit of modeling here and there. But definitely music, music, music! Music's gonna stay in that -- it's my heart and soul.”
- Asia'h Epperson
