David Cook - Cookey Report #2 - Tampa, FL - 08/21/08

(Here's the Cookey Report from lizziedoll from Tampa, FL! Woohoo!)

Tampa Florida 08/21/08 Recap of the my idol experience in Tampa.

Before the show.
I arrived at the st pete times forum sometime after 6pm. I was walking around building hanging out waiting to meet up with some of my word nerd friends "Mel, Mandy, and Jess. Not 5 minutes after i got there it started to rain just for a bit so i went into the side of the building so i didnt get rained on and waited. Just a few minutes later i notice a man with a badge on and we started talking. He was very sweet and all smiles. After chatting for a minute he tells me he's the father of one of the idols. Told me he'd see what he could do about getting me a meet n greet. I was so excited i hugged him and thanked him! After our conversation my friends finally arrived. We were all excited to meet each other introducing ourselves and giving hugs. Just as we begin to talk i notice Jeff Archuletta! I'm like look guys and pointing in his direction.. So we all walk over and say hi. He was talking to family and saying he had to go. Right after he says that i asked if he'd take a pic with us and immediately i apoligze realizing he just said he was in a hurry. He just smiled at me and more family came up talking to us. Met his grandma, aunt, and cousins. They were all so kind and so proud of David A. His grandma was intoducing me to everyone in the entire family. As we were all chatting jeff came back over and put his arm around me. He was like "cmon i'll take a pic with you guys" I thanked him telling him and the family how i have heard so many positive things about him and how he treats Davids fans. They all thanked me for saying that. Aslo, i talked to his grandma and aunt about how proud they must be of David. I told them how it amazes me how well he has handled himself through all of this at such a young age. I asked the family how the video shoot went but, they hadn't even had a chance to talk to him about it yet because he's been so busy. His grandma
was telling me how he and David C were good friends. It was very random lol Just before we left his cousin came up to us with Davids hat. He was like who wants to buy this hat? I swear Davids worn this hat before, you can smell it.. He was just being silly and having fun with us. We said goodbye to the family and went to the show to get there in our easts just in time for the show!

Now onto the show
This is just my opinion on how each idol did
Chikezie
I was in row 7 so when he first came out i was just standing there with the biggest smile on my face I had waited so long for thiis show i just couldn't help but, realize where i was at and realize how lucky i was to be there at that moment! My phone was in my hand ready to call Rickey "even though it was no where near time to me to call" lol and my camera was ready to take pics! I was all smiling and taking pics of him and he saw me taking a pic of him with my goofy look on my face. He smiled really big and kinda waved at me.. The girls next to me were like "omg did he just wave at you!" I couldn't do anything but, shake my head yes and smile. I liked his performance and he sounded better than i thought. He went to the side of the stage and was touching hands with all the little girls and actually laughing while singing cause these little girls all ran down from there seats to touch him and were so cute. He made sure to get to each of them. It was very sweet!

Ramiele
I love this girl. She looked so adorable and was very photogentic i might add. She definately sounded a lot better live! Loved her Jackson 5 dancing skills she bust out with! She was just having a great time and you could tell. I think she has more to offer than people realize.

Michael
I thought he did extremely well. He is quite the showman thats for sure. You can tell how much he loves to perform. I definately enjoyed his performance and thought he looked really amazing in person! He was just full of energy and sang really well.

Kristy Lee
Not much to say about her. She did good. Nothing great and nothing that really stood out.

Carly
Carly was amazing! She looked and sounded fabulous! She was very attentive to the audience and noticed the guy in front of me while in between songs that was holding up a sign that said "Carly will you marry me?" She looked over repeating what the sign said and was like "I'm already married" and scrunched up her face with a cute smile and said "sorry". She was really sweet! I did notice all the idols were drinking water and she had what i thought was orange juice. Not sure if she just likes OJ or may not have been feeling well because she didn't come out after the show. I'm not positive but, i don't remember anyone saying she was out before the show either. Anyway, She was awesome! There is one note at the end she hits that is just unbelievable! Loved her!

Brooke
I really like brooke. She's sang well and did a good job. Nothing stand out but, solid. Not much to say really. She was smiling alot and had everyone snapping along of course.

Jason
Jason was just as i expected from him. Laid back, yet fun. He had a group of girls that went up to the side of the catwalk and there was a little girl down there that he kept smiling at. When he was done he walked by the girls giving them a huge smile and waived. He was paying alot of attention to this little girl and it was adorable.

Syesha
She surprised me more than anyone. It was her hometown show. She mentioned that a few times thanking them for all the support. Vocally she was phenominal. You could tell she in the moment with her last song. When she was done she got a standing ovation! She earned it. The ladies around me was looking at each other with their arms out showing me and each other goosebumps. She really impressed me! The best part was. There was a girl probably in her 20's. Well, she was litterally standing dead center at the end of the cat walk and was the only one! She was right in front of Syesha doing the same moves she was singing along to her. You have to get this mental picture of this girl being all dramatic like Syesha getting into it while she was performing! Hilarious to watch!

David A
I'll start with this. The minute he hit the stage the crowd jumped up like the winning touchdown was just scored at a football game! Everyone popped up like popcorn at the same time! It was perfect. He started out on piano and then walked up to the top of the stage. Standing there watching him on stage live i thought to myself how much taller and more mature he looked up there. He really sounded and looked great! This is one talented kid going places thats for sure.

David C
What is left to be said about this guy that hasn't been said? . He really has it all. When he is on stage you are his till he leaves and thats it! He definately commands the stage and by far connects with the audience more than anyone. If you have a glowstick, poster, or anything else that will grab his attention he'll notice. He did his best to acknowledge as many people as he could and that says a lot about his character. He really cares about the fans and giving them the best show possible and it shows. He tries to make you feel apart of this journey and made so many fans feel special by smiling and pointing hello to them. What a class act! He did mention that this was the hometown for Syesha and said it wasn't his hometown but, he's been to florida on family vacation before lol The most touching part was when he dedicated my hero to Lindsey Rose and His brother Adam. He said "Lindsey i don't see where your at cause it's dark" I believe it was her section that went crazy trying to get his attention and he looked over there and smiled so i think he did see where she was sitting. When he was done he pointed to the AC on his guitar. For me he made the night!

Now for after the show
we had to go wait in a certain section to be escorted. Everyone please note that if you have an after party pass ask security before the end of the show where to go and go directly there when the show is done. Very important and you'll find out why later. Anyway, the security guy for the idols comes otu and makes an announcement saying that we were getting the "abbreviated" version of the meet n greet because all of the idols were leaving on a Jet. He said to get to the idol you wanted to meet first and get what you need so you don't miss out cause they only had 20 minutes and there were lots of people going back there. So of course when he tells everyone to come with him people started to get kinda edgy trying to hurry and telling everyone to go quick. So i get back there and the idols were strategicly place around waiting. First person i walk directly into was Michael. He already had people in front of him asking for pics and autograph. I waited my turn then got a pic with him. You could tell he was stressed and in a hurry to make sure everyone got what they wanted. I said to him "so this is the abbreviated meet n greet huh?" and really didn't say much. I thanked him then walked around the corner and saw Ramiele. I was waiting to get a pic with Ramiele and this lady walks up with her little daughter Jordan who was adorable by the way. Ramiele smiled at her and asked if she wanted to take a pic. The little girl was like no i can't my mommy didn't bring a camera. I jumped in and said here i'll take a pic for you and send it to you guys and you can get my pic with her. We took turns and while i was taking my pic with Ramiele she pulled this girl in the pic with us. I think she knew her, not sure. Next i saw David A. What a sweetheart this kid is. He was hanging out with the largest crowd trying to push there way to talk to him. It was really nuts! I ended up talking to this lad y and her daughter while waiting and the lady was like "you with the camera, what are you doing? Why aren't you taking pictures?" I told her my camera was not cooperating and she grabbed it anyway and started taking pics. So she did get some pics of David signing and me standing there trying to get a pic with him lol. I ended up walking away and going over to Jason. Saw Syesha and Kristy Lee on the way but, didn't stop because i was still trying to figure out where David C was. People at this point were really sad cause we were starting to realize it just wasn't happening. I think he was backstage still with Lindsey Rose so i'm good with that and not upset at all. So i get over to Jason and he sees i'm obviously waiting to talk to him so he steps towards me with a cute smile on his face. I really wanted to melt. What made the moment even better was that he put his arm around me and someone was still talking to him so we stood there just hugging for a minute waiting. I said "it's cool, we can cuddle for a while" and he just laughed. I took the pic with him and then told him how sweet his mom is and that i'd chatted with her at Rickey.org. His eyes got big and he smiled like yeah. I so wanted to share this with Rickey when i called in but, i was having phone issues and my mind was racing just trying to process what was happening. At some point during all this David A's aunt walks up to me with that little girl Jordan again. She tells me she was lost. I'm like oh i know this little girl and i said come here Jordan i'll help you find your mommy. His aunt said to me "your very helpful and kind" i was like thanks. A minute later Jordans mom found us. At some point everyone was pretty much gone or leaving. It was just a handful of fans and David A's family. I went over to say goodbye to the family and started chatting with his grandma again. She was so excited to tell me about him be ing number 1 on itunes. Too cute. She was telling me how much the fans meant to her and thanking me for supporting him. Right before i walked out i called Rickey and thats what you all heard. Someone came up with a big bobblehead and took a pic of David holding up cracking up. Right after that i had him say hello friends and he had the biggest smile on his face leaning into the phone when he said it. It was very goofy and cute. I walked out right after that to find my friends by the buses.

Heres what happened at the buses after the meet n greet
I get around and find my friends walking away from the buses. I still see about 30 people hanging out. It wasn't 2 seconds after i was telling my friends they had already left to get on a plane and David A was the onlyone still there when i left i hear girls screaming DAVID! So we went back down and he came out to sign and chat with everyone. When he was done and left these 3 teenage girls were standing there with there dad or whoever he was. The guy yelled for Jeff Archuletta to come over. Apparently, these girls all had backstage pass and because they were quick enough to get to the meet n greet they wouldn't let them backstage. They were denied and being told there was no meet n greet! The dad explained to Jeff how upset the girls were and to please have David come back out for them. Of course Jeff brought him back out AGAIN! the girls were so excited. Once they all left i hear that man and the girls,who had the best view cause of where they were talking to David and Jeff, say "look there goes David Cook, He's in that car right there with the tinted windows" Well, the car pulls out and doesn't stop or roll down a window so 2 girls standing there stepped off the curb and screamed F U David Cook! and flipped him off! It was the rudest thing i'd ever seen. The same girls were running when David A came out and knocked into me and i'm still in pain today becaues of it! Next thing ya know these parents behind me tell the 3 teenage boys to chase after the car cause it's stopped at the stop light! Great parenting skills by the way! The kids ran in the street "dangerous!" and went right up to cook's car. I screamed at those boys to get back and finally they came back before they knocked on the windows. What a night! That was my story. I know it was long but, hope you enjoyed it.
Thanks for reading
Liz "lizzidoll"