Idol Homecomings

This week we'll see footage of each of the three remaining contestants travel home to adoring throngs of family, friends, fans and politicans, usually a fun and touching connection for viewers. I'll never forget Elliot's journey home, with his Mom beaming from ear to ear as they rode together in the convertible...this is powerful stuff. I decided to catch a sneak preview of what they did in their hometowns Friday instead of waiting for Tuesdays' show! Turns out, as always, they did a lot....each of the three kept a frantic pace of sporting events, interviews and appearances...and learning 3 songs to boot.

We'll start with who traveled the farthest from Hollywood: Syesha went home to Bradenton, Florida, and you can read the local news piece here. Syesha's day went something like this: started at 7:00am with a Clear Channel Radio appearance in Tampa, followed by an interview on "Good Day Tampa Bay" at 8am. She scooted down to Bradenton for an appearance from 10:30 to 11 a.m, followed at 12:30 p.m. with a mini-parade for the public down Orange Avenue in Sarasota, which included a private concert for students at Booker High School.

Syesha went airborne at 2:45 p.m. on a SkyFox Flight for a helicopter tour, landing at Sarasota's famous Ringling Museum. She did a "Welcome Home, Syesha" event and public concert there before leaving Sarasota for St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field, where she sang the national anthem at Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. Whew!

Next up is David Cook, who went home to Blue Springs, Missouri. In fact, The City Council declared May 9 to be David Cook Day! Yeah! He also performed a mini concert in the Power & Light District. Here is a cool photo! You know he was digging the entire day.... “In Kansas City, Mo., the crowds withstood wind and drizzle for a glimpse of the shaggy-haired and raggedy-voiced rocker Cook, a native of the suburb of Blue Springs. His hometown tour — during a day which Missouri and Kansas City officials declared ‘David Cook Day’ — started bright and early with TV appearances on the local Fox affiliate, followed by his late-morning appearance at the Power & Light District. ‘What are you guys doing here?’ Cook said, teasing the screaming crowd. ‘Guys, thank you, seriously. … I don’t know what else to say. This is the coolest day of my life.’” ~from the International Herald Tribune.

Like Syesha, there were sports involved....Cook threw out the opening pitch for the Kansas City Royals Friday night...." “Cook, wearing a personalized Royals jersey with No. 08, threw a left-handed low-and-inside pitch to Brett Tomko, a pitcher who crouched behind home plate. Afterward, manager Trey Hillman presented him a framed duplicate of the Royals’ lineup card with Cook listed as the 10th man. ‘My performances are always dedicated to the Kansas City Royals,’ Cook told the crowd.” ~from MLB.com.

Finally, Archie went home to Murray, Utah, no doubt to scores and scores of screamers....he did a radio interview, visited Murray High School, where he is a junior, went to the mall and sang a couple of songs, and again the sports appearance: David sang the national anthem at Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Friday night. Photo courtesey of Robert Galbraith, Reuters.

As for more song spoilers, according to MJ, David Cook will sing “The World I Know” by Collective Soul, and Simon asks him to sing “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack. Randy Jackson chose “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys for Syesha, and Paula has asked Archie to sing “And So it Goes” by Billy Joel. Remember that the final 3 each sing 3 songs: one song is chosen by the contestant, one song is chosen by a judge, the third song is picked by the producers. Should be interesting!