'American Idol' Tracker: Final showdown of the Davids

And so after a journey none could have foreseen three months ago, it ends before a crowd of 7,000 in downtown Los Angeles and tens of millions more at home. 

In the annals of our day, this will certainly be remembered as a historic season –- the crowning of the incarnation of a decade of tween aspirations, or the cutting free of the pop ballads party's iron grip on the "Idol" throne with the rise of the first rocker champion.

Tuesday night at the Idoldome’s temporary home, the full emotional weight of the journey was felt. Back in the crowd were the entire original 12 reminding us of every painful step. Both of the combatants at moments let their cups runneth over with feeling.

Despite judge Simon Cowell’s quip that what is necessary to win is to hate your opponent, "American Idol" remains, especially as personified by the Davids, society’s last refuge of gentlemanly combat. When the norm on TV’s reality competition starts with hair-pulling and quickly descends from there, to see two warriors with this much at stake as they enter the most important hour of their lives openly brimming over with goodwill for the other is nothing short of miraculous. (And confirmed as quite genuine by all observations of them offstage.)

Whatever the outcome, this truly has been the Good War. What promised to be the most talented cast in "Idol" history has indeed left with its ridiculously high median intact -- not a forgettable, disposable face among the group.

Seeing the mighty fallen, from the great Carly Smithson, both the greatest and the most electrifying performer in the history of "American Idol," down to Chikezie, Ramiele and David Hernandez, one is reminded of how many moments they gave us this year, and how much sweat, agony and endurance it took for them to give it. Fueling the emotions pouring off the Davids were heavy intimations of near total exhaustion, that it is time this war was ended; that enough blood has been shed, enough of a toll has been paid by those who believed in their voices and their songs enough to risk standing each week alone on the cold empty stage, risking public humiliation and abuse beyond anything any right-minded citizen would ever endure.   

And clearly, this journey has changed them. (I will have more on that in my column tomorrow, featuring exclusive material on the Idoldome.) The raw youths of January sat in their seats, hardened veterans of show business’ toughest boot camp.

History has shown that among these 12 who were called forth out of the 100,000, some will journey onward to greatness, while others we may be seeing our last of this evening. So let us salute those who laid down their lives week after week on the fields of song choice and wardrobe, of pitch and poise.

The medieval ballad, "Sir Patrick Spens," tells of a sailor summoned, on the whim of a king and his nobles, to take on a dangerous mission to sail to Norway in horrendous weather. When informed of his liege’s wishes, Sir Patrick cries out:

O who is this has don this deid,
This ill deid don to me,
To send me out this time o’ the yeir,
To sail upon the se!

But nonetheless, without missing a beat, Sir Patrick accepts the call of duty and says:

Mak hast, mak haste, my mirry men all,
Our guid schip sails the morn

By the poem's end, as Sir Patrick foresaw, his ship has sunk and he lies at the botton of the seas.

Haf owre, haf owre to Aberdour,
It’s fiftie fadom deip,
And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spens,
Wi the Scots lords at his feit.

A thousand years later we tell his tale.  And so do we honor those who, knowing the impossible odds against them, accepted the call of duty at the most dangerous time to sail upon the seas.

Note: Please join me for a live chat about all your Idol concerns on Wednesday, at noon PDT, at chat.latimes.com

-- Richard Rushfield

Photo courtesy of Fox

Comments

[blossom]

david arch was awesome the best weve ever seen

[Dail Echevarria]

I disagree with Simon Cowell. David Archuletta is 'hokey'. Always closing his eyes and all 3 songs last night were ballads. That is all he ever sings, granted well but that's it. David Cook on the other hand is more versitle, and can sing anything from Phantom of the Opera to Billie Jean. His mistake last night was not selecting Billie Jean for his final song, he would have blown Archie off the stage. Billie Jean by far was the best performance of any of the American Idol contestants. Regretably, David Archuletta will probably win but will be forgotten quickly. You can sing so many ballads. David Cook in my opinion will be around for a long time. Kudos to David Cook. The real American Idol.

[MikeM]

David Archuleta had a great final night, but the prediction markets still have David Cook as the winner. See Media Predict (mediapredict.com) or TradeSports. They're usually right, so congratulations to David Cook!

[Robin Delaney, Las Vegas NV]

David A RULED THE ROOST last night. His songs were perfectly chosen and well sung. This boy has talent with a capital T and deserves to win Idol!

[Jerry Andrews]

More infactuctous love notes for Screechy Smithson! You and no one else but her mother thinks her always screaming approach was 'the best ever."

Archie may be the best technical singer, possibly ever on the show. Still, if I were downloading an I-tunes album, I'd chose Cook 100 times out of 100.

[karma]

Richard:
Your series of articles on Idol shed light on this American phenomenon. They are serious, funny, irreverent, entertaining and informative. Keep writing!

[Housefrau]

The judges worked hard to crown David A the winner last night (declaring a "knockout" victory). Yet, according to Dial Idol et al, it didn't work. David C. will win. Was this reverse psychology on Simon's part? (He must know by now that when he declares someone toast, America turns up the vote.) Or am I giving him too much credit?

[Todd Buckingham]

Archuleta has a wonderful voice but is hedged into the Ballad cul-de-sac which makes him rather dull, static and predictable (talents may blossom further if he can get away from his father's vicarious desperation for his son to win). Cook's voice may not be as pristine as Archuleta's but Cook is more diverse, risk taking and has evolved further over the course of the season. Cook's conduct and performance over the course of the entire season has shown him to be the stronger artristic talent. Arhculeta will win but Cook SHOULD win.

[ChrisW]

I can't wait for this season to be over just so you'll stop talking about Carly Smithson. Richard, just build a shrine for her in the corner of your home, sob gently to yourself, and let the rest of us (who never liked her much as a performer) alone.

[SFMike]

What's with the Carly obsession? I'd call her the most overrated contestant ever.

As for the winner, DC should win, but I think DA will win

[Tom]

The judges last night should embarrassed by their ridiculous pro-Chosen One agenda. TCO was good -- but that's just because he was singing the same old treacly ballads, and then ohmygosh what's this he chose IMAGINE as his final song?! You don't say? -- but it's not like Cook was phoning it in.

I thought both delivered great performances -- TCO with the slight edge given Cook's second song choice -- but based on the judge's review you'd think the Chosen One won this one running away, which was far from the truth.

[Katie]

OK, Rushfield, this has gone on long enough. I declare you officially off your rocker where AI is concerned, but hope that every column you write is done with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek.

Season 7 was the cheesiest and most boring yet. That's all. And while visiting blogs last night while people were voting, if AI comes up with some humongous number as to how many people voted, they will be lying.

[Kim]

Carly Smithson, the greatest Idol contestant ever? Are you kidding? How can you possibly be a music critic? Absolutely ridiculous statement.

[Rocco]

If Cook wins, the fix is in. There is no way he was better than Enchilada. DA is the star.

[Amanda Wood]

Those freakin' judges tried to manipulate everyone into crowning David A the winner! What a joke. They didn't give Cook credit for anything--and his original song was great. I could totally hear that on the radio.

David Cook is my American Idol, win or lose. Just like Clay should have won his year over that sweaty "teddy bear."

[E. Torrence]

I do not understand what everyone else heard last night. I missed the show last night but caught the videos on YouTube. David Archuletta's performance was, to me, mediocre. He sings well but is that all there is? How many times can you hear "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and "Imagine"? I mean--come on! Are you kidding me? David Cook is by far the better talent and will go far just like Chris Daughtry did. David Cook's last song, by Collective Soul, was raw, emotional and made me forget the original version which I love. You know he really does not need to win. He already has. Anyone with any taste in music knows that.

Done.

[Chundha]

I don't understand your obsession with Carly Smithson. She is just an average performer and I did not care for her type of singing. Both the Davids did a great job and so are in the final. Both of them deserve to win.

[John]

David Cook wants to come in second. It's a smart strategic move on his part. He knows his career as a "rock" performer will be doomed if he wins American Idol. There's too much baggage that comes with being the winner of a TV "pop" contest, it will limit his career options.

[Samantha]

David Cook cannot match up against David A's vocal gymnastics. He's got too much soul, charisma, and grit.

While I give the kid kudos to being freakishly pitch perfect, at the end of the day, I would MUCH rather be at a David Cook concert than to be caught dead at Archie's.

My money is on Cook to be the breakout star of AI08.

[crabpaws]

I agree with Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post that David C. took a dive last night, but he did it with class, taking the route of the "independent artist." Winning the AI title would only be a shackle around his ankle for a year, he's much better off not winning. Irony is, this may not have worked, he may win anyway, and that's tonight's drama. David C. may get what he wished for when he was a toddler -- to be a rock star -- and it may be a horrible mistake. Given he's so articulate, it will be interesting to follow his story as he dwells in the belly of the beast.

I'm a David C fan, but I hope David A wins -- he really wants the title and he and AI deserve each other, as I've written before. The thing is, according to an MSNBC report, AI producers really want Cook to win because Archuleta comes with a stage dad and an "agenda" and they think Cook would be relatively "easy to manage."

[Shereeda]

David Cook would not be the guy we've come to redognise and luv if he hadnt done sth as radical as singin a song he never sang before!! for that gutsy move alone he should win cause he completely rocked it... by any means he deserves to win!! best song of the night : I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For!!

[anon626]

david cook deserves to win, david a will most likely win. i have been a cook fan since the beginning. but i disagree with some of you who say he should have done one of his more memorable performances. if he did one of those they would compare it to the first time he sang it. it should be left the way it was. for example david a's imagine was not as great as the first time he sang it. he had to many runs with it. but anyways david cook is #1 in my book and thats all that matters

[AM Prezio]

First of all the fighting, boxing theme was in bad taste. That was totally unnecessary.
Secondly, David Cook is by far the STAR!
What courage he had to sing a new song that he never ever sang before and sang it well shows that he is a pro. He has the stage presence, talent and creativity.
America has to know he is American Idol material!

I was so disappointed in Simon C. After going on Jay Leno and saying that David Cook should win and Archuleta was too young and then taking the low road was hypocritical to say the least.
Archuleta cannot emote. He has no emotion when he sings. Its all robotic and boring.
How many times can Archuleta sing those ballads in the same way over and over again...
He is so boring...ZZZZZZZ

David Cook is the winner no matter what happens!!!!!

[anonymous]

Rushfield, get over your massive Carly Smithson obsession! If she actually was "both the greatest and the most electrifying performer in the history of 'American Idol' ", wouldn't she still be on the show?

Why do you have to throw that into EVERY SINGLE AI column you write?

[Cheryl]

I agree with the others that the boxing theme was corny, over the top, and made a mockery out of it all. Even the two finalists looked like they felt stupid participating. Idol may still have huge ratings, but millions of people are starting to tune out. I had to record my AI all season long on my DVR because I can't stand the myriad of commercials and time fillers and repetition not to mention the soliciation of Itunes and stupid banter between the judges and Ryan. At least I can fast forward through this nonsense as well as through Paula's nonsensical blabbering. That woman can start a sentence, but her mind blanks in the middle of it and therefore can't finish a sentence. I think she must still be self-medicating.

Anyway, David A is a talented teenager, but his nasel tone is irritating. I'm sure he'll have a brief career anyway or maybe a one hit wonder. David C. deserves to win and will have a legitimate career because he has a nice-sounding voice and is versatile.

I have to say that I was disappointed about Simon's short-sightedness last night. He should have stuck with what he said on Jay Leno instead of reversing himself. Even if he thought that David A's performances were better, he should have realized that David C. is more talented and has a better chance of becoming successful.

Lastly, your view of Carly Smithson isn't shared by most people, and your bias towards her makes you lose credibility in everything else that you say.

[clemycali]

I'll be surprised if David C wins tonight. Not that he doesen't deserv to win. He was excellent yestarday night but somehow this season people are following Simon's opinions and vote accordingly. And Simon gave David A the night.
Somebody said on this forum that AI and David A deserve each other and that he is the one they have been looking for since the beginning of the show. I totally agree. They want a Disney like singer, cute, to be worshiped by 12-13 years old girls.
That's all.

[Clarence]

Melinda Doolittle is the best singer and most consistent performer ever on American Idol. Fantasia is the most electrifying performer ever on American Idol, not Carly. Carly was my favorite this year.

[Cheryl]

I'm so glad that David Cook won. It wasn't even close. America got it right this time thankfully.