Flashback: Battle of the Davids

It’s probably the most anticipated top 2 yet! The ultimate David Squared showdown between 17 year old student, David Archuleta and 25 year old bartender, David Cook. And now let us go back in time to re-discover their performance in this -MDOC- exclusive!

We first met David Archuleta in his audition, where he sang “Waiting For The World To Change” and even got Randy joining in as well. We got our first glance at David Cook when he sang “Livin’ On A Prayer“. Both were good, and sailed through. But Archuleta deserves a point for getting Randy to sing along.

Archie: 1; Cook: 0

Let’s skip Hollywood week and start off the top 24, where the theme was “60’s night”. Archuleta sang “Shop Along“, it was a brilliant performance and the judges named it best of the night. Little David gained a mass amount of fans by his solid first performance. Cook meanwhile swayed in the bottom group with that emo hair of his which we all dislike very much, barely surviving with his rendition of “Happy Together“. Archuleta naturally received the highest amount of votes in the top 24, while Cook was at the bottom, but survived another week.

Archie: 2; Cook: 0

The top 20 week was themed “70’s night”. Cook was second from last to perform, singing “All Right Now“. Cook’s rocker side and originality outshined the other rocker wannabes in the competition, but his backtalk to Simon might have hurted him a little bit. Archuleta got the pimp spot, singing his infamous famous rendition of “Imagine“. Again he got all the hype from the judges, Paula even cried. She cried! Again, Archie got the highest amount of votes for another week, Cook climbing silently up the stairs. At this point everyone marked Archuleta as their final 2, and we were right.

Archie: 3; Cook: 0

Looks like Archie is leading! Top 16 saw “80’s night”. Archuleta, on a piano, sang “Another Day In Paradise“. Praise was given, but Simon disliked his song choice. Cook powed back with his rock version of “Hello“, and immediately was given high praise for originality. Randy loved that he made it emo, and it could be a single at once. As far as votes went, Archie remained at the top with his die hard NSLGs, and Cook started to garner in fans of all ages. Cook wins for an awesome performance, Lionel Richie even loved it.

Archie: 3; Cook: 1

The theme for the top 12 was the “Lennon/McCartney Songbook”, and we were glad the Davids got some makeovers too! For Cook, his emo hair was gone, replaced by a rocker edge hairstyle which we all fell in love with. He sang “Eleanor Ribgy“, and wowed everyone with his song arrangement. Paula deemed him the dark horse, Simon named him the winner of American Idol. We all hope so too! It was a trainwreck for Archuleta when he performed “Work It Out” and forgot his lyrics on stage. It was truly painful to watch, and the annual top 12 “I-forgot-my-lyrics” curse had found another victim. Votes placed Archie at the top once more, Cook still hanging in the middle.

Archie: 3; Cook: 2

Deja Vu, top 12’s theme repeated itself in the top 11. And it was a bad week for everyone. Archuleta sang “The Long and Winding Road“, and his talent in ballads payed off. Judges loved it. Cook and his little voicebox prop performed “Day Tripper“, and delivered another solid performance. Votes saw Archie and Cook both at the top, but the latter with lesser votes.

Archie: 4; Cook: 2

The theme for the top 10 was “Songs from the Year I Was Born”. Archuleta sang “You’re The Voice“, and was called an animated cartoon character in a theme park by Simon. David Cook got back the pimp spot with “Bille Jean“. It was an awesome and original performance, blowing everyone away. His studio recording smashed the charts in iTunes, placing it at number one overall. Now that’s something. Cook finally overtook Archie in votes, planting himself firmly at number one.

Archie: 4; Cook: 3

“Dolly Parton Week” was the theme for the top 9. Cook sang “Little Sparrow” and went into his falsetto. Archuleta did “Smoky Mountain Memories“, back to ballads. Both weren’t great, but tied at okay. Let’s give them both a point for this round. Although Archie was first again for the votes.

Archie: 5; Cook: 4

Top 8 was “Inspirational Week” as the Idols prepared for Idol Gives Back. Cook sang “Innocent” with a pouty sad face to go with it. At the end of his song, he showed the camera his palm – the words “Give Back” written on it. Awwww. Archuleta sang “Angels” on the piano, he did a wonderful job. Again, they were neck and neck in this, but I’ll credit Cook for his little extra spice. Archuleta received the highest number of votes once more.

Archie: 5; Cook: 5

Top 7 was “Mariah Carey Week”. Archuleta went first, with his song, “When You Believe“. It was awesome, and he set the bar high for the others to top it. Cook delieverd “Always Be My Baby” superbly, and received a standing ovation from the judges and reducing him to tears. Awww, he cried! You don’t see Archie crying. Meanwhile, Cook’s studio recording made another record, his massive sales topped the iTunes chart. Cook beat Archie in votes.

Archie: 5; Cook: 6

The top 6 theme was “Andrew Lloyd Webber Week” aka Broadway songs. Oh-uh. Both Davids did songs from The Phantom Of The Opera. Archuleta sang “Think Of Me“, it was rather boring and forgetful. The judges weren’t hyped about it. Pimp spot went to Cook once more, singing “Music Of The Night“. It was nice as well, but not awesome. Cook gets a point for beating Archie in both performance and votes.

Archie: 5; Cook: 7

“Neil Diamond Week” was the theme for the top 5. This is the worst week ever. Everything was rushed and the show wasn’t organized well, and we saw Paula predicting the future. Back to the Davids, Cook sang “I’m Alive” and “All I Really Need Is You“. The latter performance was better than the best, but they weren’t very significant. Archuleta sang “Sweet Caroline” and “America“. Patriotic much? Both were boring and forgettable as well. Which is why I name this week a huge blunder. Neither Cook nor Archuleta got the usual first place in the votings, instead it was Syesha who raced ahead of them. No points.

Archie: 5; Cook: 7

The top 4 was themed “Songs That Shaped Rock n Roll Week”. Cook sang “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Baba O’Reilley“. The latter was again much better than the first, although neither were superb. Archuleta performed “Stand By Me” and “Love Me Tender”. Both were outstanding and contemporary. Simon commented that Archie “crushed the competition tonight”. Couldn’t agree less.

Archie: 6; Cook: 7

And now the most vital week, the top 3, which both Davids managed to expectedly survive. Paula gave Archuleta “And So It Goes“. It was a nice ballad with high difficulty which he pulled it off. Archie chose Chris Brown’s “With You” for round 2. WTF? It was nice but it was bad. Third time’s a charm, he sang “Longer” and did an amazing job. Duh it’s a ballad. Cook did “First Time I Ever Saw Your Face“, chosen by Simon. It was great with high notes to end it. Cook chose “Dare You To Move“, and it was an average performance. He closed the night with “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing“, and he ended the show superbly. Both the Davids were awesome, but Cook still wins in performances and votes.

Archie: 6; Cook: 8

++++

And so, David Cook wins. We can deduce that David Cook will win American Idol.

As usual, the die hard NSLGs will be voting like crazy for Archuleta for the win, so will the moms and maybe the grannies. Beware the NSLGs. They are scary and will do anything for Archie to win.

The rest of us will be rooting for Cook! VOTE FOR COOK! COOK FOR THE WIN!

Unless Archuleta pulls off amazing performances in the finale, or some miracle happened, I am confident Cook has this in the bag.

I hereby announce David Cook as our American Idol.

What do you think? Leave comments!