Brandon

By Brandon Scott

American Idol Finale Preview

Posted May 19, 2008

It seems crazy that in just two days, America will crown its Idol. Since week one, the common prediction has been that it would come down to these two guys and the predictions were right.

In one corner is David Archuleta, a high school student who was the youngest in the competition. The 17-year-old from Murray, UT auditioned in San Diego and hasn’t missed a note yet.

In the other corner is rocker David Cook from Blue Springs, MO. The 25-year-old bartender auditioned in Omaha and his originality has brought him to this point.

This is guaranteed to be the closest vote in the show’s seven seasons. Usually, there is a clear frontrunner, but even Vegas can’t agree on who the odds on favorite is.

BETCRIS.com is giving the edge to David Cook with a 74 percent chance that he will be named the winner on Wednesday night, while David Archuleta has only a 32 percent chance.

Over at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Casino, the odds fall in Archuleta’s favor with the teenager at 5:6 odds and Cook with even money.

“Archie” and “Cookie,” as the online community have named them, will battle it out for the title of American Idol Tuesday night and as usual, spoilers for the Idol 2-night finale have been leaked and here’s what we’re hearing.

On Monday morning during an interview on KIIS 102.7 FM in Los Angeles, Nigel Lythgoe (an executive producer for Idol) gave away some of the details.

The contestants will be singing three songs: 1) One song chosen by Clive Davis, record producer and leading executive in the music industry 2) One song the contestants chose from their past performances and 3) one of the Top 10 songs from the online Songwriter competition.

According to Lythgoe, Archuleta will be reprising his rendition of “Imagine” that sent him to frontrunner status early on. Another rumor is that Clive Davis’ song for Archuleta is the Elton John classic “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

The only song that has leaked out of the Cook camp is U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I’m sure as the hours draw closer, more and more about the performances will come out.

Another rumor is that David Archuleta won the coin toss and elected to go second. Ruben Studdard was the only contestant not in the No. 2 spot to win the title, so history favors Archuleta.

The contest is seriously up for grabs and the smallest mistake could cost either contestant everything.

ANALYZING ARCHULETA

I’ll be honest; I’m a fan. I know he may not be the most marketable player in the contest or the most original, but the kid has not missed a note. The judges continue to refer to the show as a singing competition and BY FAR, Archuleta is the best singer. He has been consistently a top performer from week one.

Neil Diamond called him a music prodigy and he really is. He’s going to remind the America why they loved him with “Imagine” and then take it to a new level with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me.” As for the song from the online Songwriters contest, who knows? But it is usually a strong vocal ballad — a genre where Archuleta shines.

Don’t let the boy-next-door fool you. He knows what he is doing, regardless of whether his father will be backstage with him or not. (Jeff Archuleta was banned from rehearsals and backstage after telling his son to add a lyric from Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” during his performance of “Stand By Me.”) David’s been doing this his entire life and he’s more than ready to begin his career in the industry.

CONSIDERING COOK

On the entire other side of the spectrum we have David Cook. He’s had a few rough moments throughout the competition but he has taken risks each week — something the judges love. While the majority of his “original” arrangements were actually arrangements that other artists had previously done, most of America will never know that. I’m not a big fan of contestants getting credit for something they didn’t come up with.

But, I have to give credit where credit is due. Cook’s debut album should be pretty much set. He is definitely the more marketable of the two Davids. They both have a huge fan base that are going to vote for them regardless of what happens, but Cook fans seem to be hardcore fans: most of them love Cook and hate Archuleta. While Archuleta fans like them both, they like Archuleta a little more.

Occasionally Cook will have a down moment and he cannot afford one Tuesday night. If he rocks it out and nails his vocals and performs at the highest level he can, he will win the title regardless of how Archuleta does.

THE FINALE

After the show Tuesday night, I will post my usual blog with my prediction for the winner. I’ve never seen a finale show where an obvious winner didn’t come forth, but this could be the one. We'll find out in less than 24 hours.