David Cook: A Critique of April 29

Last night, viewers across the country watched as the Top 5 contestants of American Idol sang the songs of Neil Diamond. Among those left, David Cook's performance once again stood out as one of the best. He chose "I'm Alive" and "All I Need is You," two lesser know songs by Diamond. By choosing songs that were not chart toppers, Cook may have given himself an advantage--there was no performance comparison to potentially diminish Cook's performance.

However, it is nice to see a contestant do really well on a well known song, which is sometimes a much harder task that David would have been able to do. The one disadvantage to choosing lesser known songs is that the performances are not nearly as memorable because the viewer doesn't have any sort of personal stake in the song. Most of the other contestants at least sang one song the the majority of the viewers would have at least heard once. Nevertheless, Cook's performances were probably still the best of the night.

Cook still, in my opinion, has the greatest chance of winning the competition, especially since Michael Johns and Carly Smithson are no longer on the show. Johns would have been his biggest competitor. Luckily for Cook, two good singers are gone instead of Jason Castro and Brooke White, who should have been voted off instead of Michaels and Smithson.

Based on last night's performances alone, David Archuleta would be Cook's biggest competitor at this point. However, this season has been highly unpredictable and more of a popularity contest. However, if it does come down to the two Davids, the final round would be interesting, indeed. In terms of style, Cook probably has a broader audience. However, the voting could come down to who votes more--the 13 year old girls, or their moms.