David vs. David: American Idol Heads towards Mouth-watering Finish

After an entertaining season, American Idol is now down to the last two. Next week will be last-man-standing time for the two singers still left at the end of this round of elimination. Rightfully so, it is going to be David vs. David, as Syesha Mercado was voted out this week.

The final showdown will be a fitting finale to a season that has been hugely entertaining on the whole. One of the Davids is the archetypal alternative rock man, while the other is a teenager who seems probably still steeped in Walt Disney. Both of them have vocal skills that have consistently placed them way above the rest of the competition throughout the season.

If American Idol was purely about talent, then David Cook, the 25-year rock singer, would be the winner by far. But along with being a music contest, it is also a reality show and popularity has a huge role to play in the final outcome of such shows. What matters is not just whether you have the talent, but also whether you have the people’s vote.

The two Davids could not be more different. David Cook is the calm rocker who goes about the task of wowing the audience with such ease each week that it has almost become routine. David Archuleta on the other hand is still a kid, and prone to emotions, as was evidenced in the video clip they showed of his trip to his hometown last week.

Make no mistake, David Archuleta is no pushover. This 17-year old from Murray, Utah, has a voice that will take him far and he has the advantage of the years. David Cook has a voice that has got the audience of America. The advantage Archuleta has is popularity. He is also hugely popular, which could be the deciding factor in determining the new American Idol.

Coming to this week’s elimination, the American people got it right this time when 56 million of them cast their vote and decided that the person who had to go was Syesha. She took it on the chin, saying, “There's too many words...I don't know what to say. I just want to say thank you.” She then sang her final American Idol song, a repeat of the song she performed last night; the Alicia Keys cover If I Ain’t Got You.

Coming back to the two Davids, the judges could not have been more pleased with the people’s choice for the final. While Randy Jackson has been hurling superlatives at Archuleta on a regular basis, both Paula Abdul as well as Simon Cowell have said at different times that David Cook could be a possible winner.

Cook even got the usually highly critical Cowell to say at one point in time, “You know, you actually could win this entire competition.” He has been the choice of the music critics, in any case. However, they are not the ones who are going to decide the fate of the two singers, the audience is and that is where Archuleta just might have an edge.

Emotion has been a huge part of the three singers’ lives in recent times. Even though Cook received the news of his selection for the finals with the usual calmness, he did have some tears to hold back at the end of doing the weather report for a local Fox station, at the beginning of a Kansas City Royals game when he was asked to throw the ball to mark the kickoff and during a parade in his honor when he went home to Blue Springs, Mo.

Cook was initially in Omaha to cheer his brother, before being pushed into doing the American Idol auditions. That is a great story in itself and the fitting ending to it would be if he could walk away the winner at the end. For that he will have to hope there are enough Americans out there to recognize a dream voice and a dream story and understand the need for the dream ending.