Our new "American Idol" is... DAVID COOK!!!!

Here we go - it's time for the results...

The judges say a bunch of nice things about them and I can't believe it - Simon is actually apologizing to David Cook his comments last night, saying it verged on disrespect. He says they both tried their best and for the first time ever, he doesn't really care who wins, because they've both done terrific.

Just seconds away now...

Our winner, by 12 millions votes, of "American Idol" is.... David Cook!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Finally, America got it right - I hope his brother is in the audience to see him win!!!

And to my cousin, Christian, I TOLD YOU SO!!!

Until next season everyone...

George Michael, baby!!!

For the last time, the top 12 are performing. The top 6 girls, dressed in black, come out singing "Faith," and then the top 6 guys come out, in suits, to sing "Father Figure." Is George Michael coming out next? Can it be??? Not yet - they all sing "Freedom" next. Where is George Michael?! They can't possibly be singing a medley of his songs, without having him come out and sing himself. C'mon - I want to see George Michael!!!

YES!! here he comes!!! This is almost as good as when Prince performed!! I mean, who doesn't love George Michael?

He sings "Praying for Time" and he sounds just like he did 20 years ago when the whole world was in love with him, before his arrests, before the drama. He looks older, obviously, not as sexy as he once was, but I still think he's awesome. The past hour and a half has been totally worth it just to watch him perform - just wonderful.

I'm kind of in awe right now, maybe even a little speechless. I know many of you will think I'm gushing, or that he wasn't good, but I so love George Michael - this is about as close as I'll ever come to seeing him in concert and it's just amazing. I wish he had done one more song.

Wait!!! He's gong on tour! I cannot believe this - I'm so going to that show! Unbelievable!!

The Pips and Carrie Underwood

So it's true... I had that they were going to do like a spoof with Gladys Knight, having Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. pose as her Pips. I thought it was too stupid to be true, but here we are and that's exactly what's happening right now. I suppose it's funny because of its silliness, but really, it's just filler. the one good thing about it is that the money raised by the downloads of that video will go to charity.

Next up, of course, is Carrie Underwood. She's singing "Last Name." It's getting to the point where it's not a season of "Idol" without a Carrie Underwood performance. Not that I'm complaining - I think she's awesome. And she looks beautiful tonight.

I've been fast-forwarding through most commercials, but I just caught one with David Archuleta mimicking the "Risky Business" Tom Cruise scene, I guess advertising for Guitar Hero or something. It was cute.

One Republic and Jordin Sparks

Oh my goodness - does it get any worse than this? That guy who auditioned with his own song - the one who sang "You are my brother, best friends forever..." Remember him? Well they actually brought him to the stage - he's wearing the same outfit with the winged hat and everything - just beyond ridiculous. They even get USC's marching band to accompany him - seriously? Can I change the channel?? Please?

One Republic is up next, singing "Apologize." Finally, a song I can get into. I love this song. They must have known how stupid the last segment was - they had to make up for it. Well, they've got Archuleta singing along now. Where's David Cook? I'd like to see what he could do with this song. Huh - I guess it's just an Archuleta number. Very nice. I suppose it's only fair that he get a song by himself - David Cook had ZZ Top.

And now it's Jordin Spark, singing "One Step at a Time." I have to say, she's way more successful than I thought she would be. I thought she'd have maybe one big song and that would be it, but she's had a few hits already - perhaps it's just the beginning for her.

ZZ Top for the older crowd and Jonas Brothers for the kids

Next up is David Cook performing with ZZ Top, singing "Sharp Dressed Man." I don't know if David is a fan of theirs, but even if he's not, how cool to sing lead for such a famous band?

Brooke White comes out next to sing with Graham Nash. They perform "Teach Your Children." It's a good thing they started off well - can you imagine if she had stopped and asked to start again?

I have to be honest - we're about an hour in now and I'm starting to get bored by all these performances - I hope the next hour goes by fast - I just want the results.

Well, the next performance is clearly meant for the younger crowd. The Jonas Brothers come out and sing "S.O.S." I tried to get into it, I really did, but no, I'm no longer 12 and their appeal is lost on me.

In case we didn't get enough of the crappy auditions that went on for like a month at the beginning of the season, they are now playing a video of some of the worst auditions. Yawn... wake me up when it starts to get interesting.

Jimmy Kimmel and Bryan Adams

Jimmy Kimmel comes out and does a comedy thing. He's actually pretty funny. I'm usually waiting for him to be annoying, like his girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, but he did a good job.

The top 6 guys are next, singing "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams. I understand now why David Hernandez didn't quite make it to the end - he's awful and has shown no improvement since his ouster. Jason Castro had a minor slip-up (a little out of tune, OK... a lot out of tune) but there's need to dwell on that.

They have the Davids come down the steps, almost like royalty, to sing Bryan Adams' "Heaven," which can only mean that in moments, Bryan Adams will come out onstage, too, perhaps to plug a new song or album.

Yup, here he comes, to sing "I Thought I'd Seen Everything," and then "Somebody." I remember, way back in like, 1986, before Bryan Adams was really, really huge, my babysitter, Beth, was crazy in love with Bryan Adams and had actually met him at some local show. Who knew he'd end up being so big?

Donna Summer, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns

The top 6 girls, all dressed in beautiful red dresses are singing Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money" and "Hot Stuff." Then some dancers come out and do some stuff and then Donna Summer herself comes out to sing her new song, "Stamp Your Feet."

Wow - I hate to be mean, but her hair looks awful - it's clearly a wig and doesn't look natural at all. She sounds good, though - better than past performers. I don't know about the song though. It's not really my cup of tea.

Yeah...after the new song, she goes back to one of her biggest hits, "Last Dance." What's with Syesha getting so much play? Why would they let her sing with Donna Summer?

Next up are Michael Johns and Carly Smithson singing, "The Letter." They sound terrific together - their voices blend perfectly. It's been so long, even her screaming doesn't bother me.

A bunch of filler... and JASON CASTRO!!!

Syesha Mercado is back, singing Seal's "Waiting for You," with Seal as a special guest. I'd like to say she did great, but it was really just mediocre - the difference between her and Seal was just so blatantly clear.

The best part of the show is coming up now - Jason Castro is back!!!! I've missed him these past couple of weeks - and he's back to perform "Hallelujah," arguably his best performance while on the show. Oh, he looks so good and sounds great! I wish he had stayed just a little bit longee - he was really the most interesting contestant this season.

Moving on, it's for the Ford commercial, set to "Let the Good Times Roll." They got some former contestants to take part - Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, Ramiele Malubay and Chikezie Eze were back - it's been a while since we've seen them.

Have they done this before? I can't remember - I'm sure they must have, but anyway, after they show the commercial, Ryan hands the Davids keys to their very own Ford Escape hybrids.

Probably paid advertising for "The Love Guru"

With no introduction, David Cook comes out singing "Hero," by Nickelback and is quickly joined by David Archuleta singing the harmony. Then in the second verse, they switch it up with Archuleta singing the melody and Cook the harmony. It's pretty good although Archuleta seems a bit out of place - this song is so not his style - it's totally a David Cook song, but still, it was nice to see them singing together.

Then, in an obvious plug, they show a video clip of scenes from "The Love Guru," and show the Davids at the theater, watching it and laughing. I think it looks ridiculously stupid, but that's just my opinion - I'm sure people will go out and watch it - I mean, millions watched Borat, right? Oh boy, this guru thing is going a lot longer than I thought - they actually have the Davids meet Mike Myers, dressed in character. He tells David Cook to lose the facial hair and makes some joke about how David Archuleta is prepubescent. There was some other stuff, but it was really dumb - the only funny part of the whole thing is when the guru tries to shave David Cook's face and puts a huge blob of shaving cream on his face - half of it falls off and David Archuleta quickly reaches out and catches it, which then gets David Cook laughing.

Geez - this is still going... Mike Myers shows up onstage dressed in character and tells Randy that he is his dog, tells Paula he loves her and tells Simon he loves him even more. I'm not sure I can take too much of this stupidity. He says the movie opens on June 20, andthankfully, this segment is now over.

Group song... and dance

It's the beginning of the end... in two hours, it will all be over and we will know the winner of this season's "American Idol." I, for one, cannot wait. It's been a long 4 months and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night's premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance."

So, let's get started. Ryan says that 97.5 million votes came in last night - that's incredible. He also says that one David received 56% of the votes, while the other received 44%.

They flash to the contestants' hometowns and it's amazing how many people have gathered to watch this finale.

YES!!! The top 12 are doing a group song with former contestants of "So You Think You Can Dance." They do "Get Ready" by the Temptations. It was OK - I was expecting a little more dance performance, but it was still enjoyable.

In "The world I know," David Cook would have put forth some effort to win

Round 3 is contestants' choice - they can choose whatever they want. In the past, I believe they've been able to choose their favorite song of the season. This year it seems like they can sing anything at all. Well, if David Cook is smart, he'll choose one of his many "wow" performances of the season... like "Hello," or "Eleanor Rigby," or "Billie Jean," or even "Always Be My Baby." David Archuleta has two choices - either try to relive his one shining moment by singing, "Imagine," or he could try something new - maybe an uptempo song??? Doubtful.

Anyway, looks like David Cook is not as smart as I thought - he chooses to sing "The World I Know" by Collective Soul, and as expected, David Archuleta is going with his security blanket song, "Imagine."

I'm beginning to wonder if David Cook even wants to win, because I have to be honest - it doesn't seem like he's really trying his best tonight. It makes me rethink the statement he made early on... he said that as far as he was concerned, the competition was over. It's been said before that winning "Idol" is actually a detriment to the "rockers," that it carries some kind of stigma. Is it possible that David may not really want to win the title, knowing that he'll probably sign a recording contract either way? I don't know - it's all I can think of to explain his choices tonight.

Anyway, the good thing is that David Cook's song is very nice - he plays the guitar and it's just a real mellow number, no running around the stage, he just stands in the middle of the stage and sings - and he sings the song perfectly. He does a fantastic job, but I still feel like he could have had this competition in the bag if he had sung "Hello."

He's really emotional and I wonder why - is it because it's the end of the show, or is it because he's singing on the stage at Nokia Theater or is it something deeper? Is he thinking about his brother, his family, his life? David Archuleta was emotional after Round 1 and has been on several other occasions, so it doesn't spark my curiosity as much. Plus the song he just sang is really deep - I wonder if it holds some meaning for him. Here are the lyrics...

Has our conscience shown?
Has the sweet breeze blown?
Has all the kindness gone?
Hope still lingers on.
I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why.

Are we listening?
Hymns of offering.
Have we eyes to see?
Love is gathering.
All the words that I've been reading
Have now started the act of bleeding
Into one.

So I walk up on high
And I step to the edge
To see my world below.
And I laugh at myself
While the tears roll down.
'Cause it's the world I know.
It's the world I know.

Anyway, Randy tells him one of the cool things about him is that he's showing people a lot of different sides of David Cook tonight, that this was a nice sensitive side of David and he loves Collective Soul and he thinks this is the kind of record he could make and get by with, that it was a very nice job. Paula says something about how he's standing up there in his truth and again, I apologize, but she sounded so ridiculous, I fast-forwarded her. Simon says he just wants to say publicly that he is one of the nicest, most sincere contestants they've had. He says he thought it was a beautiful song, but he's going to be honest with him, it was completely and utterly the wrong song choice for him tonight, because he should have sung "Billie Jean," or "Hello." Simon asks him if he understands what he's saying and David says "Yes and no." Ryan asks him to elaborate and he says that for him, this whole competition has been a progression and the way he was looking at it was, "Why do something I've already done?" But he says that he understands what Simon is saying, and for that, Simon gives him a little wink.


David Archuleta is next and to be honest, there isn't much to say - he sings "Imagine" and he sings it perfectly, just like he did the first time. OK, OK - I'll take a moment to be a softy about him - I was just thinking what it must be like for his parents - yes, even his crazy stage dad - to be sitting in the audience listening to their son sing like an angel. They must be so moved by him, so proud of him. But going back to the song choice thing, I think it could go either way for him - it could be seen as smart to choose a song he did so well with the first time around, especially one so popular, but next to David Cook, who some may say dared to do something new, David Archuleta runs the risk of looking a bit repetitive and cowardly. I guess we'll see tomorrow which way America saw it.

Randy says he's real happy and proud that it's the two Davids standing on the stage because the judges thought all season it would come down to this, and he tells David that he was so good tonight and that he's exactly what this show is about, finding the best singer they can find and the best singer of season 7 is right there. Paula says she's speechless, that he was stunning tonight. Simon says that at the end of the day, the show is about finding a star and tonight, he thinks they've witnessed one of the great finals, but here's the difference. In his opinion, David came out there tonight to win and what they have witnessed is a knockout.


So time to guess, I suppose. It's a tough one tonight, because if we're basing it on just tonight, I would have to say that David Archuleta is winning... but a competition that is won in one night alone isn't really a competition worth watching. Now, if you take the entire season into account, it gets even tougher, because they've both been good. In my opinion, though, David Cook has been better - he's been more daring, more original and more contemporary. So, like I said, it's a tough call. But, I'm gong to go with what Simon said a few weeks back. He said if this competition was based on talent, David Cook would win it. And I think this competition is supposed to be based on talent, so for that, I'm gong to stick to my guns and say that David Cook wins tomorrow night.

If we all "Dream big," David Cook may take home the prize

Round 2 is the song-writing competition. This year, instead of making both contestants sing the same song, which can unfairly tip the scales in one direction, they decided to choose 10 finalists and then let the Davids pick the one song they wanted to sing.

David Cook chooses "Dream Big," by Emily Shackelton and David Archuleta chooses "In This Moment" by Ryan Gilmore.

David Cook goes first and this is a perfect example of how a song can make you or break you. I understand that both these songs are new, but the song he chose is just bad. I mean no disrespect to the woman who wrote it and I completely understand why David chose it - it's probably the only song that fit his style of music. But, it's just not a catchy tune - the melody is not very pretty - even the chorus is kind of bland. Maybe I'm speaking to soon - maybe it's a song that needs to grow on you...

OK... I took the time and watched the performance three times and yes, the chorus does grab you a bit more after hearing it a few times. But, still, I don't think this song helped him move any closer to a win. He would have been better off singing a ballad, showing us one more tie how versatile he can be. Oh well - what's done is done.

Randy says the song was just OK but what made it really work was his voice, that he was singing his face off. Paula says some stuff, but I missed it and don't feel like rewinding - I apologize if she decided to choose this moment to say something profound or coherent. Simon, using a boxing analogy, says it was a bit of a lightweight. He thought the end was OK, that he made the most of what he had. He says that bearing in mind that this is supposed to be like a winning song, it didn't feel like a winning moment. He says the good news is that there's a third song and gives him a 61/2 out of 10.


David Archuleta is next and no big surprise here - the song he chose is a ballad. And even worse, you can tell right off the bat, his song is better. I hate to sound biased, but I am biased. I think David Cook is more deserving of this prize and while David Archuleta is great, I'm not convinced he'd sell CDs or concert tickets. But getting back to Archuleta, his song has a very simple, but catchy chorus and he sings it beautifully. He clearly wants to win this competition and is putting absolutely everything he has into tonight.

Randy says again, he wasn't crazy about the song, but he is so in the zone, he could sing the phone book and it would be good, so that was another hot performance. Paula says it was another heartfelt performance, that it's like he's on fire tonight. Simon tells him he loves the egotistical lyrics, how fantastically self-centered. I wasn't really listening to the lyrics - maybe he's talking about the lyrics mentioned before he started singing - something about looking at himself in the mirror and seeing perfection or something like that. I don't know. Anyway, Simon says Archuleta definitely chose the better song, much more in keeping with the night. Round 2 goes to David Archuleta, he says. I agree, but for me, I would rather it be worded Round 2 goes to Archuleta's song.

"Don't let the sun go down on me" while David Archuleta is singing

This it everybody!!! The final week. I can't believe it's almost over - one last night of performances and then tomorrow night's hour and 58 minutes of filler and two minutes of results. I hope tonight is a respectable final performance night - last week left something to be desired, in my opinion.

Oh how cheesy... they actually turned this whole "Battle of the Davids" into a boxing match - they even got that boxing announcer guy to do his thing. I suppose it's kind of cute, but a bit unnecessary.

So as expected, the Davids will each sing three songs, with Clive Davis and Andrew Lloyd Weber offering up their opinions, I suppose.

So David Archuleta won the coin toss last week and has decided to go second - no big surprise there - going second is always best - it ensures that your voice is the last one heard. But maybe not when you're up against David Cook. If he's on tonight, we're in for some real memorable performances, the type even David Archuleta can't beat.

Ryan talks to the guys for a bit about how they prepared for the finale and how it feels to be on that big stage at the Nokia Theater. Ryan then asks Randy what it will take to win this season. Randy says that they have to leave everything on the floor, that they have to bring everything they've got, that this is a duel for the king of Nokia. Paula says to enjoy it and soak it all up and may the best man win. Simon says you have to have a desire to win and you've got to hate your opponent.

Ryan then asks the guys if they have anything to say to each other before they start. David Archuleta says that David Cook is awesome and he just wishes him the best and then people started cheering, so the rest of what he said was completely garbled. David Cook says that now whatever he says will just be trite, but he says that the whole season has been amazing from 24 to 2 and that David Archuleta has been one of those consistently nice people, so as far as he's concerned, the competition is over and they're just having fun.

OK... so let's get to it... First round is Clive Davis' choice. He chooses for David Cook "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," by U2, and he chooses for David Archuleta "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," by Elton John.

David Cook is up first and he starts out perfectly - with this smooth sound, it almost seems like he's singing one continuous sentence - it works great with the song, makes it softer, somehow. Then in the second verse, he takes the microphone off the stand and starts working the stage - he walks into the crowd and up on to that walkway behind the judges - he gets the audience behind him, clapping, some people standing up and dancing. It's actually a terrific performance, but I'm a little surprised that on a night like tonight, he didn't choose to be daring - he didn't alter the song, really, and while the performance was great, this is the finale and the thing people love about him is how he makes these songs his own and I think the expectation was pretty high. So, again, while he was fantastic, it was still disappointing, somehow. He's capable of so much more.

Randy says he thinks it was a great way to start off this duel of 2007 (huh? we're halfway through this year - how can he forget it's 2008??) He says it's a very nice song choice, that he doesn't know if he did everything he could with it, but he loved the scoop of the note at the end, that it was hot. Paula says he may not have found what he's looking for, but they have found it - David Cook. Simon says that at the start of the show, he looked very tense, very emotional, and he could understand why, and taking all of that together, he thought it was phenomenal.


David Archuleta is next, and he starts off sitting on the steps, with just a spotlight on him and as he hits the chorus, he gets up and walks to the front of the stage. He does his signature move, the outstretch of his arm, palm up, and some of the "dancing" he did last week, but that's about all he does. His voice, however, is flawless. I'm reminded of the first time he really caught my attention. I think it was his final audition during Hollywood week and I think he was singing Bryan Adams' "Heaven," but I'm not sure. I am sure, though, that he blew me away. After that audition, I was sure he would win this competition - his voice was so clear, so pure, so amazing. But, as we've all seen, not much has changed since then - he's still consistently good, but up until tonight, he's only had one real shining moment - when he sang "Imagine." That's why this performance is so great - it took me back to that first moment when he knocked my socks off - it's just such a shame that it's taken so many weeks for that extra something in him to return.

Anyway, Randy says it doesn't matter what happens, he has to know one thing - this was one of the best performances this whole season and he picked the right time to peak. He says it was flawless and unbelievably molten hot. Paula says she's got chills up and down her arms and she says the sun is never going to go down on him because he bring so much sunshine to the whole world with his singing. Simon tells him that he thought he was OK last week, but tonight's performance was arguably the best he's done so far.

He then adds that taking everything into account, Round 1 goes to Archuleta.