05/21/08 102 KISS FM Los Angeles CA

The morning of the finale of American Idol Season 7

Ryan Seacrest with David Cook, David Archuleta, Simon Lithgoe {several others also in
studio. Transcript begins after the Davids enter.

Ryan: Are the Davids here? Oh, look at the Davids, look at the Davids. The Davids and
the Nigel. Nigel's making out with Ellen. KISS FM in the morning. So guys,
congratulations on making it through a season of American Idol.

Davids: Thank you.

Ryan: Let's just go back to last night. How did it feel during the show...Cook---

David: Uh, you know there's nothing bad about playin' in front of 7000 people. So for me
man, it was just fun. Like, the judges could have said anything and I still would have
been on cloud 9. So I just had a good night. It was fun.

Ryan: And Archuleta, you looked like you were gonna drop to the ground about 3 or 4
times. I mean, even more so than normal. What'd ya think?

Archie: It felt so good being up there on that stage, knowing I did...I gave it my all. That's
what took it out of me.

Ryan: Well, what do you think was the most difficult part about that, that final show?
Was it picking the song, rehearsing the song? Was it memorizing the lyrics? What was so
tough?

Archie: I think rehearsing the song was pretty hard. Just finding the time to rehearse was
really hard for this past week.

Ryan: I like the boxing thing. Where'd you come up with that?

Nigel: Well, it was one of those things that I was rooting for 2 guys to be in the finale.
Because if it had been Syesha we would have been really stuck. [laughter]

Ryan: Although it would have been a good rope shot.

Nigel: She could have skipped. She could have done the skipping.....

Ryan: I mean, I thought that was a fun way to start the show. Those tape clips were great.
Did that pump you guys up?
David: Uh, yes and no. For me they were kind of funny. I got a kick out of them. I'm
trying like to get into some kind of serious mode to do these songs properly and I look up
to the right and see this video and like [snort, laugh] ...you know....

Nigel: What's quite frightening and what no one is speaking about is the 8 new songs
they've gotta sing tonight on the show.

[Break]

Ryan: World exclusive: David Archuleta and David Cook with us this morning and our
executive producer of American Idol, Nigel Lithgoe.

Ryan: Can you tell us a little about what's happening tonight? It's a 2 hour finale,
obviously. I don't know who I'm allowed to talk about and who I'm not allowed to talk
about.
So you do it

Nigel: Well, no. I'm not allowed to talk about anybody.

Ryan: Well, the contestants, the top 10 or 12 are back.

Nigel: Top ten are back.

Ryan: Top ten are back. Obviously the Davids are singing.

[someone in the studio says Top 12]

Nigel: Top 12? You see, I don't even know. How good am I?

Ryan: Some big names came through rehearsal.

Nigel: Top 5 have duets. We've actually asked Jason Castro to sing "Hallelujah" by
himself. All the others have got somebody to do a duet with. A celebrity.

Ryan: A star?

Nigel: Yeah... no a star.

Ryan: What about the 2 Davids? What will they do?

Nigel: They'll be singing together too. We actually started off by singing "Homeward
Bound". 'cause we thought, ha, they're homeward bound, lets try that Simon and
Garfunkel song. It just didn't serve the purpose well enough. Because they're just such
great singers that it was a bit....no meat to it as it were. And so David Cook actually
suggested a song which is the "Hero" song from Spiderman.
Ryan: Jack Krueger song

David: yeah, yeah ,yeah... great song.

Nigel: And it's really great. Works out very well.

Ryan: How do you guys feel this evening? Wednesday night, the pressure's off.

David: Oh absolutely the pressure's off. I think...I think tonight's just about havin' fun.
The votes are in so nothing can change that, right?

Nigel: There was a magic moment last night which nobody saw. Which was when
Cookie finished his final song, he and his mom just embraced in the commercial break,
for about a minute, just holding each other.

David: Mmhhmm.....

Nigel: And it's those sort of things you want to capture on camera, actually because they
just mean so much.

David: Ohh, sorry. I could have waited. [laughing]

Nigel: It's one of those things you want to capture on camera but you shouldn't because
it's such an intimate, private moment.

David: It was just one of those moments where I was, ya know, I was at the Nokia
Theater and I'd just played a show to a packed house.Y'know I never thought I'd be here,
so...

Ryan: Everybody gets in the competition. You want to make it to the end. You want to be
the American Idol. But your're also moving on from this competition, but there's no real
rest for either of you regardless of what happens. Right?

David: Yeah, no we get to do a bunch more press after this and then I think we come
right back to rehearsals for the tour, so....

Ryan: How long is the tour?

Nigel: They keep adding dates to it.

David: Last I heard it was July 1st to September 13th. But I've been told not to chisel that
in stone just yet so....

Ryan: You guys, last night when I asked you to say something to each other before we
start the competition. There really has been a friendship that has formed between the two
of you. Have you sort of taken Archuleta under your wing?
David: Well, I don't know that he necessarily needs to be under my wing ......Well, from a
height perspective maybe. [Archie laughing] No but, I told Archie last night when we
were doing a little bit of press. I was like, man you really ruined this night for me and he
looked at me really strange. I was like, 3...4 weeks ago I really started to get this brother
vibe from you. Like you're like my little brother. So I'm standing on the side of the stage
during his performance and I should be, [pissed voice] "man, he's doing better than
me" and I'm just like, "yeah man, that's awesome!"

Ryan: It's impossible to dislike Archuleta, isn't it?

David: It really is.

Nigel: He had that killer look in his eye last night though. He wanted to go out there and
win last night.

David: He did.

Archie: Me?

Nigel: The quiet assasin.

David: mmhhmm.

Archie: [laughing] Uh, OK.

Ryan: Davids both be warned, that whatever Nigel runs through early in the morning,
will change by the time we go on the air tonight. Just go OK and then you'll make final
changes and shift the whole show around at the last minute right before we go on the air.
Otherwise we wouldn't be comfortable.

Nigel: We wouldn't. And I'm sure there other people gonna turn up on the day, that we've
not really spoken about. There are gonna be surprises.

David: [sings] bum... bum... bum.

Ryan: Like... Like....

Nigel: Well, like.......

Ryan: You said the most famous star in the world is going to be on the show.

Nigel: Right now.

Ryan: Right now. the most famous... are the words correct? The most famous star in the
world right now.
Nigel: Yeah, and everybody went to music.

David: That's David Archuleta, right?

Nigel: It is.

David: Ok, that's what I thought, I was just makin' sure.

[studio laughing]

Ryan: Everybody went to the category of music.

Nigel: Everybody went to the category of music, and all I said was the most famous star
in the world... right now.

Ryan: Now I'm confused.

Archie: Me too.

Ryan: Well, good luck to both of you.

Davids: Thank you.

Ryan: We'll see you up there on that stage. Congratulations on everything. You've been
great and a lot of fun. We've been proud of both of you.

Nigel: Absolutely.

Davids: Thank you.

Ryan: It"s KISS FM good luck to the Davids. We'll be right back.