David Cook Wins American Idol!

The top 2 Davids, Archuleta and Cook respectively, gave a stand-out duet performance of Hero. I was a little surprised by how great they sounded together, but they are both excellent musicians so I guess I shouldn't be to amazed.

My husband (David also) and I talked about how it would have been good to see Archuleta perform songs like this before. I think it would have shown people more of an edgy side.

After viewing the 2-hour show last night the suspense had built and when Ryan Seacrest announced that David Cook had won we all yelled out, "YES" in unison and started clapping and cheering for our Missouri boy. I'm not sure that he was expecting to win, but he definitely deserved it!

David Cook Singing "The World I Know"-American Idol Finale

Even though I would have liked to hear David Cook sing a song that rocks a little bit more, it was refreshing to hear the tender side of his voice through this ballad.

More importantly, even if not everyone agreed with his song choice here, DC definitely sang this from his heart and was moved to tears at the end. It was beautiful.

I've heard some criticizing him for his response to Simon's criticism. When DC said that he wanted to sing a song that he hadn't sang before on the show, that each week had been a progression, I don't think he was taking a mean-spirited slam at David Archuleta (because Archuleta repeated Imagine). He was just being honest and chose to take more of a risk by doing something different.

David Archuleta Performing the Beetles Imagine-American Idol Finale

Although this was such a beautiful performance, I would have liked to have seen David A. choose a song that he hadn't performed before. Either way, it was nearly flawless.

David Archuleta Singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"-American Idol Finale

David A. really brought an impressive performance to the finale with this one. It's interesting how he seems so in his element while singing, but then when he is receiving the judge's feedback he looks like he's extremely nervous (not that I wouldn't be in front of 7,000 people) and almost ready to pass out. DA seems like such a nice kid and is such a talented singer. His vocals are pretty hard to beat. Even though American Idol is a "singing competition" (as Simon keeps reiterating) I think it's a little more than that in the end.

For example, when Taylor Hicks won a couple of seasons ago, he obviously had a lot of fan support, but I've never heard one of his songs played on the radio. Elliot Yamin, who finished 3rd that season has had some pretty identifiable songs though, and is arguably a bigger star than Hicks.

David Cook Singing "Dream Big"-Top 2 American Idol Finale

I loved this performance and totally disagreed with Simon. . . I also thought the song was great. I liked Randy's comment about how he was "singing his face off."

American Idol Finals Tuesday Night 7/8c-American Idol Mania

It's hard to believe how quickly this season has flown by! It all comes down to the 2 Davids, Archuleta and Cook. Although I admit that early in the season I was rooting for David A., I'm now cheering for David C. In addition to being a fellow Missourian, David Cook has impressed with his originality and vocal maturity. It's hard to compared the 2 because their styles are so different. Judging from the screaming preteen fans Archuleta has, I predict that maybe he will win. I think it will be close and I don't believe it will matter much if David Cook comes in second. His talent and ability to rock the house are going to take him far. In fact, I think he might even give Chris Daughtry (one of my favorite Idol contestants) a run for his money. Only time will tell, but I'm looking forward to Tuesday night's performances.