American Idol: David Cook Vs. David Archuleta

On the May 20th episode of American Idol, David Cook and David Archuleta faced each other one last time for the title. For this last battle, there were three rounds: round one was songs picked by Clive Davis, round two was songs the contestants picked from the songwriting contest, and the third round was the contestants' choice.

David Cook's first song was "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2. Randy said it was "hot," Paula said "You may not have found what you're looking for, but we have" and "David Cook has arrived." Simon said, "I thought it was phenomenal." Cook put his own spin on the song as he often does, and I thought it was very well done.

David Archuleta sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John for his first round performance. This is the type of song that is perfectly suited to Archuleta and he sang it very well. Randy said it was "flawless" and "unbelievably molten hot," the best performance of the season. Paula said, "The sun is never going to go down on you" and "it was an unbelievably beautiful performance." Simon thought it was "arguably the best you've done so far." He also said, "Taking everything into account, round one goes to Archuleta." Although it was a great performance, if I were forced to pick between the two, I would still pick Cook.

When round two began, David Cook chose "Dream Big" and accompanied himself on his guitar. This round was really enjoyable to me because since they were new songs I'd never heard them before and had no preconceived notions about what they should sound like. Cook did an excellent job with "Dream Big" and it's a great song-I can easily hear him singing this on the radio. Randy said he sang his face off; Paula said "this is a great way to take a song we don't know and make us fall in love with it." Simon thought "it was a bit of a lightweight." He didn't think it was a winning moment, but I did.

Next, David Archuleta stepped up to sing "In This Moment." This is another song that is well suited to him (and the occasion), but I didn't like it as well as Cook's performance or song. Randy wasn't crazy about the song either, but he used the old cliché that Archuleta could sing the song book if he wanted to. Paula said he was on fire, and Simon said he chose the better song and "round two goes to David Archuleta."

In the third and final round, David Cook took the stage to sing, "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. Once again, he played the guitar and put his own style on the song. Andrew Lloyd Weber told him to make this a passionate cry, and he did. I felt he put a lot of his soul into the song-it gave me goose bumps, but then it is one of my all-time favorite songs. He even cried at the end. Randy said he showed the sensitive side of David Cook, "very nice." Paula applauded him for his truth, and Simon said he was one of the nicest, most sincere contestants they'd had. However, he thought it was "completely and utterly the wrong song" for this moment. He thought Cook should have reprised one of his earlier, very successful numbers, but Cook said this was "a progression" and didn't want to do something he'd already done.

David Archuleta, on the other hand, followed Simon's advice and sang "Imagine," which had impressed me greatly the first time he sang it. However, this time he didn't play the piano while he sang. This was a safe choice for him, since he knew the judges liked it before. He changed just enough of this song to make it his own, but still respecting the original piece. It was a very nice, solid performance, although I wish he'd been braver and tried something new. Randy said, "You are so good tonight, you are exactly what this show is about." Paula said he left her speechless and was stunning. Simon said "we've witnessed one of the three best finals" and Archuleta's performance was "a knockout."

In the end, Randy and Paula didn't seem to make a pick as to which they liked better, but Simon seemed to think Archuleta won the night. I still cast my votes toward David Cook, but at this point it really doesn't matter-both will have a career in music, there's no doubt about it.