American Idol Finale: Cooked.

I can't help but wonder... did David Cook throw the finale? How did someone as savvy as him not pick one of his past buzzworthy songs? Why didn't he do Always Be My Baby? Or Billie Jean? The American Idol finale is made to disrupt any alternative singer. Bo Bice had no chance against Carrie Underwood. Blake Lewis had no chance against Jordin Sparks. On paper, I would have said that Cook had no chance against David Archuleta, but this season, time and again Cook managed to navigate the treacherous theme nights that by no right should a rocker have overcome. But even Andrew Lloyd Webber couldn't shut him down. Not even a bottom two scare. So it's hard for me to believe that Cook's decision to sing The World I Know instead of a repeat was anything but a calculated move.

Like Randy said, The World I Know is probably the exact type of song that Cook would actually release, and this season, Idol never allowed the contestants to choose their own. Remember: even in the semi-finals, the producers for some terrible reason imposed themes (The Beatles are good, but that was just a dumb, dumb move.). It seems like Cook was trying to tell everyone: I know I'm going to get a deal... this is what the record is going to sound like.

Not to take away from Archie, because the wunderkind was on tonight. He's never sung with such urgency (and, yes, grit) than when he sang Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. And the little Furby even came close to tears! It's like... he's turning eighteen, and is finally a real boy! But really, in ANTM-speak, this is a sitch where Arch started the season strong, was sort of okay in the middle, and nailed the final exam. Cook was consistently brilliant, but had a good, but not great final.

I love AI, and for a moment, I thought Cook was going to take it. But in the end, Arch fits just a bit too perfectly into the key AI demographics, and he was just a bit too perfect tonight for Cook to handle. Arch is going to win.