I was so pleased that my sister asked me and our mother to join her and her friends at the American Idol concert when it was in Dallas on August 25th. We had a great time!

We've watched AI every season in our house. John and I are not crazy about the audition portion of the show, by the time it's over we just want the show to get on with it! I personally would be terrified to audition for the show because they can really be cruel in their portrayal of the singers. It's fun to watch those kids dreams come true though, even if they don't win.

Back to the concert. We had a birds-eye view of the stage. I had never been to the top level of the American Airlines Center auditorium. It was quite something.

The top 1o performances were:

Chikezie Eze - He really came into his own during his last couple of times on the show and it definitely showed during the concert! He was very good with the crowd and seemed at ease.

Ramiele Malubay - Poor girl, I could never figure out how she made it as far as she did on the show. The concert was no different.

Michael Johns - Excellent! Besides David Cook he was definitely my favorite of the night. Just great with the audience and good vocals too. I could have listened to him longer.



Kristy Lee Cook - Would she be in the top 1o if Carrie Underwood hadn't blazed the trail for country singers? Her rendition of "God Bless the USA" was a hit with the audience.

Carly Smithson - Nice performance

Brooke White - Very nice. She is very personable onstage

Jason Castro - Definitely a crowd favorite because he is from the Dallas area. He seemed so happy to be home and even brought a Texas flag on stage. He's got his own style and it was fun to watch him.



Syesha Mercado - She may have been sick because her voice was not up to par. She seemed to be screaming most of her performance. I hope she hasn't blown her voice!



David Archuleta - The screams for him were very loud from the teenage girls. He has always been a little too Disney for my tastes, but he has an excellent voice. Now if only he would stop acting so surprised when someone tells him he can sing!



and finally....

David Cook - He's the real reason we went to this concert. My sister was VERY excited to see him, as you can tell.



What can I say about David Cook? He was great! He was very comfortable on stage, seemed very grateful to be there. He even took video of the audience from the stage. Very cute.



My sister. Tiffeny, couldn't take her eyes off of him even while her picture was being taken. :)





The whole group came out for a final song. That's David Cook in the center with the cowboy hat on.



It was a great evening. Thank you Tiffeny, I love you.