american idol 7 - finale

Round 1 - Clive Davis Choice

David Cook - I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR - At first, I wasn't thrilled with the song choice, but I have to say that I totally dug David's performance! The pacing was nice, and I loved the way he ended the song. For me, it was the best of the night!!



David Archuleta - DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME - I was surprised yet again by the song choice because isn't that song associated with, like, Clay Aiken's best performance ever? Not that I'm a Claymate or anything, but were the producers setting him up for failure or what? He still managed to deliver a great performance vocally.



Round 2 - Contestant Choice of Songwriter Entries

David Cook - DREAM BIG - He took a cheesy song and infused it with an energetic, edgy vocal. Thank goodness he didn't pick some sappy ballad. At least it wasn't as bad as last year's THIS IS MY NOW. I vote that the producers do away with coronation songs altogether!



David Archuleta - IN THIS MOMENT - This round easily goes to Archuleta. I mean, c'mon, cheesiness is his thing. No one can take that from him!



Round 3 - Contestant Choice

David Cook - THE WORLD I KNOW - I applaud Cookie for taking the road less traveled and choosing to perform a new song. And, what a fabulous song it was! Good performance, but his first was the strongest. **Side Note: I totally disagree with Simon. Sure, David could have sang BILLIE JEAN or HELLO, but then he would run the risk of it not sounding as good the second time around. Even Blake's redux of YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME in last year's finale didn't go down well as sloppy seconds IMO.**



David Archuleta - IMAGINE - Since I gave props to Rocker David for performing a new song, I have to knock little David down a notch for picking a song he has already done. He did, however, pick a great one and he sang it phenomenally well!



Is it just me, or were the judges reeeally pulling for Archie?! I agree that he did a wonderful job tonight, but by no means was it a KNOCK OUT. Simon totally threw David Cook under the bus. Cook was solid, and he performed with the fervor and grit of a rock star. His originality and versatility this season makes him one of my fave AI contestants ever.

At the end of the day, comparing the Davids is like comparing Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks. Yeah, they both can sing, but who's more relevant to what's happening on the music scene today? Who still has a record contract and has enjoyed mainstream success? I think we all know the answer to those questions, which is why the vote for this year's Idol is a no brainer. Don't believe me? Check out the DialIdol.com results by clicking here.

**AMERICAN IDOL 7 will be David Cook.**