The press conference of the Davids was held at the hotel in one of the function rooms. Whether the press conference was exclusive, was hard to say because there was literally no security. People were just walking in. Nobody had IDs. Nobody checked who was going in. So, Louise (lettucegirl) and I just walked in with the other people. I had a big professional camera, so I looked like press! lol e!

We sat at a table full of other reporters, and we just acted like we belonged! Louise was scared we would get thrown out anytime! lol. I said we should think of a magazine we are representing…I think we came up with DA-FTW (David Archuleta For The World! lol) or something…can’t remember now! There were a few other fans who were able to enter, too. They stayed in a separate table. So, we weren’t the only outsiders there.

Papa Jeff and the band members of both Davids were there too.

When the reporters got up to get food at the buffet table, we joined them. (We were acting like press after all!) We wound up walking behind papa Jeff and Mike Komprass and got to talk to them quite a bit….but I can’t seem to remember what we talked about.

After dinner, the press conference started. Somebody was going around the table asking what magazine each represented. Louise and I got up and went to sit with the photographers who were lining up on the floor in front of the stage! So we had a great unobstructed view of David ( especially his feet and rubbershoes….because we were sitting on the floor!)

The acoustics in the room were not very good. So during the press con we couldnt understand what was being said. That’s why the audio in the videos is not very clear (sorry about that!) So I just decided to focus on taking pictures of David! If you notice in the videos, when Cook would talk I would just zoom in on David!

We were supposed to meet up with Papa Jeff after dinner to talk about the outreach program but they had to leave in a rush to go to the party of Manny Paquiao (the boxer). So we just waved goodbye. lol

After the press con Louise and I were in a trance because we couldnt believe what we did…and that we got away with it! We later found out, that the reporters brought along other friends and members of the family…so it wasnt really exclusive after all? That made us feel a little better!….So, this was our ninja affair with Louis

Francis Simeon got this story from Bernard Lomo (don’t know the exact spelling of the name).

I just heard this news from Francis Simeon.

Well – this is just a rumor — wonder what kind of commercial they would be doing ?? Maybe for Mango chips, Mango smoothies, anything to do with Mangoes – is that the plural for mango ???

Thanks for keeping me busy China! LOL!!

From the Manila Bulletin:

“American Idol” champion David Cook disgruntled some of his Filipino fans by excluding “The Time Of My Life” in his Manila concert set list last May 16.

“The Time Of My Life” was the coronation song of “American Idol” Season 7 which Cook won. The song went as high as number three in the US Billboard charts and became an even bigger hit in Canada (#2) and in the Philippines (#1).

Instead, Cook performed a barrage of unreleased tracks from his self-titled album that left the crowd lethargic. Songs from “Analog Heart,” an album he released during his pre-“Idol” days, made the crowd even more listless.

“We’re playing songs you’ve never heard before,” Cook explained, noticing the lull. “Is that okay?”
The only familiar songs from Cook that night were “Light On” (first single off “Cook”) and his remake of “Always Be My Baby” (originally by Mariah Carey).

“Little Lies” (Fleetwood Mac), although a charter in the US back in the 80s, received little airplay in the Philippines, thus, was hardly recognized when Cook performed it.

The rock singer opened his set somberly with just a guitar accompanying him in “The World I Know;” perhaps in honor of his brother, Adam, who died of brain cancer in March.

At one point, the “Idol” champ mingled with the audience and took a picture of himself using the camera of a fan.

He asked for a show of hands of those who bought his album. Cook, however, must have been let down when the audience couldn’t sing along.

“You guys are still having a good time…right?” he’d check on the crowd from time to time.

To catch the audience’s attention, the singer uttered the Filipino words “Salamat!” and “Magandang gabi!”

“I hope I didn’t butcher ‘em,” he said good-naturedly.

His latest single, “Come Back To Me,” Cook dedicated to newly weds. His doing so had some people scratching their heads.

Part of “Come Back To Me,” after all, goes, “You say you’re leaving as you look away/I know there’s really nothing left to say…”

Cook only gave an encore. Few fans shouted for more the second time he left the stage. Many were more interested in leaving The Mall of Asia Concert Grounds as fast they could to beat the expected traffic jam.

“American Idol” Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta served up a more balanced repertoire.

Although with fewer hit songs (two to Cook’s three), Archuleta was able to keep the audience interested by peppering his set list with four remakes: “Stand By Me” (Ben E King), “Angel” (Robbie Williams), “A Thousand Miles” (Vanessa Carlton) and a snippet of “Beautiful Girl” (Sean Kingston).

The remakes were performed successively at the latter part of the show, thus, establishing a sense of climax. Archuleta also wisely alternated between fast and slow songs instead of a stream of songs that had the same time signature and arrangement.

Archuleta was all over the stage. That’s why after doing certain fast numbers, he would reach for his bottled water and drink which, oddly enough, earned hoots of approval from the audience.

He also accompanied himself on the piano in some songs (e.g. “To Be With You”) and even whistled the instrumental hook in “Your Eyes Don’t Lie.”

The 18-year-old singer had some breathing issues in a couple of the fast numbers. Nevertheless, he was pitch-perfect in most and he was able to reach the high notes especially in “A Little Too Not Over You” and “Crush.”

Other songs that Archuleta performed were “You Can,” “Barriers,” “Don’t Let Go,” “Zero Gravity” and “Waiting For Yesterday.”

By JOJO P. PANALIGAN

SOURCE

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