American Idol Finale: David Cook Vs. David Archuleta -- Who Has the Edge?

Many people predicted it, but a lot of people know that American Idol has a vast history of throwing major curveballs. The stage has been set for what is one of the most anticipated finales in the history of American Idol. Ryan Seacrest will host the event, alongside Randy, Paula and Simon. Ryan has stated during top three week that the votes were closer than ever, and I would imagine that they would be similar this week. There have been reviews and recaps that have went the way of Mr. David Cook, as well as Mr. David Archuleta. Let's break both of the Davids down so we can see who the real favorite is, shall we?

During top three week on American Idol, there was no doubt that David Cook stole the show. It was Cook's night, and there was nothing that any of the other contestants could do about it, except wait for their fate the night after. While David Archuleta also performed flawlessly, as he does every week, Cook had the upper hand. During the top three results night, Syesha and Cook were in the bottom two, which one of them then went home; Syesha being the one voted off. Even though Archuleta was safe first, there isn't going to be much room for error during the finale.

David Cook:
David Cook's three songs on top three night were; "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face;" "Dare You To Move;" and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing." Overall the judges were happy with the way Cook performed his choices, but during "Dare You To Move" Cook had an iffy couple of minutes. Randy told him that it wasn't his best that night, Paula said that she felt like Cook got to the beginning when it hit the end of the song, and good ol' Simon said that it wasn't the best melodic song in the world.

Even though the judges weren't pleased with one out of three of David's songs, his other choices definitely made it up, and as Paula said during "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing:" "See ya' in the finals." The crowd was very into it when she said that, and Cook's eyes really lit up. As top three week came to a close, Cook and Archuleta both slowly walked over to the sofa in total relief. But the tension will rise even more when the finale starts, and Cook's fanbase is large, possibly even larger than Archuleta's, but it's hard to tell. Cook seems to have the teen votes as well as young adults. We will find out soon enough.

David Archuleta:
David Archuleta hasn't had many, if any, off nights, and the judges idolize him as well as his fans do. The difference between Archuleta and Cook is their singing styles, their stage presence, and their fan base, which should make for an interesting finale. First though, let's discuss David Archuleta in a nutshell...

The three song choices on top three night for Mr. Archuleta were; "And So It Goes;" "With You;" and "Longer." Just like every week Archuleta performs, I thought they all were excellent, but the judges weren't AS dazzled as I and all of Archuleta's fans were. It seems like the middle round of top three night was the low point of the evening for both Davids. After Archuleta finished "With You," he stood there like a statue as he always does (very professional for his age) and awaited the judge's remarks. Randy stated that he didn't think it was the right song choice for David A, Paula said that she thinks he should be singing these types of songs, and Simon uttered that it was a little bit like a Chihuahua trying to be a tiger. (Must be a Bristish joke?) Archuleta's fans were really excited though, so he felt confident.

During "Longer", the judges were satisfied with the results and it was more than likely that this song put David A. into the finals, although his rather large fanbase was the culprit overall. Seeing that the girls scream whenever David A. is nearby, he could literally sing bad and they would still vote for him, but is it possible for him to even sing bad? I had stated earlier in this article that David Cook has a lot of fans as well, perhaps even more than Archuleta, but it's hard to say because Seacrest even said that the votes were really close. Archuleta seems to have a majority of the younger kid's votes as well as senior citizens.

Conclusion:
In my personal opinion, David Archuleta has a larger fanbase, although it isn't by a lot. David Cook has a stronger stage presence than Archuleta, but that can be corrected. This is a singing competition, so voters are obviously focusing on the 'singing' part. Cook has a spectacular rocker voice, and he totally reminds me of Chris Daughtry, but we all know that he is David Cook. Archuleta has an amazing voice that is suited for ballads, and I can even see him singing Josh Groban type songs, which would be a huge honor and success seeing how popular Groban is.

Obviously both Davids are going to receive contracts, and I would pay to see either one of the Davids perform live, I am just really curious as to what genre Archuleta would be mainly considered under. Currently he is definitely a ballad singer though.

As to who has the edge in the finals? I have been going this way since the beginning of American Idol, when I first chose a favorite, and I will continue to go with that pick. David Archuleta is my pick for the winner of the seventh season of American Idol, but it's going to be right down to the wire, and we will see quite a bit of sweating going on. Like I said before, these two amazing singers will both go somewhere, and we will hear both of them on the radio. Congratulations to both Davids, you deserve this fame!