Ahhh, Magic Rainbow. Did anyone have any sense when DC premiered Time of My Life (aka, Magic Rainbow) that it would be more than a wonderful memory of a great Idol win? And, man, it was a great moment, wasn't it?

Here's Alan Sepinwall on that moment:

9:59: The accountant certifies the results, Ryan wishes them both luck, and the winner, by 12 million votes, is David Cook!!!!!! Sorry, gonna be impartial for a second. Yes!!!! A total breaking-the-mold choice, proof that you can show actual musicianship and creativity on this show and succeed, and, perhaps best of all, a repudiation of Randy Jackson.

10:01: David fighting back tears. his mom and brother are on stage with him. David calls all the finalists up as he sings the actual coronation song, "Time of My Life." The song is predictably artery-clogging, but Cook's emotions and his affection for his fellow contestants (including David A., who's taking his defeat admirably well) are so palpable that, like Fantasia on "I Believe," I'm okay with it. Justice is served. How 'bout that?

In fact, the Rainbow became the best-selling and longest-Billboard Hot 100-charting coronation single ever. This is despite some naysaying:

Clay and Kelly are very close in the combined totals, and are likely to stay on top. David C. is likely to surpass Taylor on this list (that should happen in a couple of weeks), and he might have a shot at Ruben and Carrie, but picking up another 360,000 downloads to beat Kelly has to be considered an outside possibility.

Well, he got that wrong. Interestingly enough, that blogger was replaced less than 6 months later. Hmmm.

Here's one reviewer's take:

Seriously, who, in 2008, sits down with a piece of paper and a pen and comes up with "magic rainbow"? . . . The good news is that Cook's elegantly grizzled growl is uniquely suited toward making a mess like this work. [T]he way he builds from the gurgley snarls on the intro to a big drawn-out lung-busting note at the end shows that he's already a pro. And the song's construction is time-tested big-payoff power-ballad; I especially like the backing-vocal ahh-ahhs on the chorus. That Cook can make anything of this song is a minor miracle, and it bodes well for what might happen if Clive Davis starts throwing actual good songs his way....

Anyway, this review is the source of the "eminently grizzled growl" and "gurgley snarl" descriptions frequently referenced on CJT. It may, or may not, be a coincidence that, just over a month later, this reviewer left the Village Voice. Seriously, y'all. Don't mess with the Rainbow. [However, he seems to be okay with hilarious lyrical rewrites.]

Artistically, the Rainbow benefited from DC's voice in all of his incarnations, but for me, AcousticDave Rainbow is the best kind of Rainbow. While the one that lives in my AcousticDave playlist is from the Taste for the Cure, I have to cite Walmartian Magic Rainbow as a truly revelatory moment.

And then came the Olympics. The Rainbow closed the Beijing Opening Ceremonies---how cool was that? The next day, I found myself randomly singing it. And then The Rainbow summed up one of the greatest winning moments in Olympic history.

The Rainbow got DC on Oprah as singer of the song of the 2008 Olympics. [And if Oprah says it, then it must be so.] The Rainbow appeared on the ESPYs, and so many other sporting events that (notwithstanding the Rainbow's demands), I can't fit them all on here. And the Rainbow has his romantic side, too, as demonstrated by this waltz on SYTYCD. And tons of montages, especially at the end of the year and now with graduations. And Magic Rainbow just won the song of the year award from a major songwriting association.

This week marks Magic Rainbow's one-year birthday. But it also marks his 52nd straight week as a charting song. That's right: 52 weeks on AC (including 15 as #1), plus 20 weeks on HAC (peaking at #7), plus 12 weeks on HAC Recurrent, plus 18 weeks on Top 40, for a total of 102 charting weeks from 5/21/2008 to 5/20/2009, blowing right past every prior coronation song. He has had over 1.775 billion audience impressions on US radio and over 242,000 spins, and he hasn't stopped yet.

As an additional birthday present to the Rainbow, aided and abetted by his personal graphic designer, MsDarcy, here's a chart commemorating his radio accomplishments: Yeah, Rainbow. CJT <3<3<3 you.

Keeping up with Magic Rainbow has been fun. He has major backbone, the kind that he absolutely refuses to stick in some girl's purse. He has massive amounts of weaponry, serious ninja skills, and a willingness to kick ass as needed. All of this with an upbeat tempo and DC's growly voice. Tracking him may require a certain amount of ducking, bobbing, and weaving, but you've gotta respect that stubborn song, who was told that he couldn't make platinum, get radio play, or survive past June 2008, and ignored it all.

Happy birthday, Magic F***ing Ninja Platinum Rainbow. And many happy returns.

@magicrainbow: Damn, I really *am* awesome. Cavort, cavort, cavort.

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BTW: Each of the above charts can be "clicked" to get a larger version. I also think that the plan is for them to be linked in the CJT OP. And big huge thanks to MsDarcy.

For more links and such on this and other DC AI performances, check out the Nostalgia thread.

Idol Rewind Thread archives

Group Songs Thread

ETA: And one more set of stats: The week after his birthday, the Ninja collected his fourth---count 'em, four---Billboard #1: Hot Digital Songs, Hot Digital Tracks, Hot Adult Contemporary Songs, and Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrent Songs.