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By Ricky T. Gallardo, Entertainment Editor
America has decided that the last David standing
should be Cook.
The 25-year-old rock singer from Missouri won
over the charismatic 17-year-old crooner from Utah and heavy
favorite David Archuleta in a climactic finish.
Cook appeared stunned when program host Ryan
Seacrest announced his name as the new American Idol, covered his
face and choked with emotions. Archuleta hugged Cook then slowly
joined the other 10 finalists, billed as the most talented batch of
Idol contestants.
“This is amazing,” Cook remarked after his
mom and brother joined him on stage. “It’s all your fault,” he
added, pointing to his brother whom he just accompanied to the
auditions but ended up getting the slot.
As part of the Idol tradition, Cook took center
stage once more and sang “Time of My Life” composed by Regie
Hamm of Nashville, who won the Idol songwriting competition.
While celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul
and Randy Jackson heaped praises on Archuleta the night before, the
voters thought otherwise and the results showed that Cook won by a
landslide margin of 12 million votes. Records showed that the final
contest night registered an astounding 97.5 million votes cast,
surpassing last season’s total by a whopping 23 million votes.
On performance night, the scruffy-voiced Cook
sang Collective Soul’s “The World I Know,” U2’s “I Still
Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and the melodic “Dream
Big,” his pick from the songwriting competition’s non-winning
finalists. Cowell said Cook’s choices had virtually sunk him, and
referred to Archuleta’s performances as a “knockout.”
Archuleta chose Elton John’s “Don’t Let
the Sun Go Down on Me,” the inspirational “In This Moment” and
a reprise from John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Filipino-American Reynaldo Lapuz took another
shot at fleeting fame when he was invited back on finals night to
sing his audition piece, complete with cheerleaders and marching
band members from the University of Southern California.
The performances of George Michael, Carrie
Underwood, Gladys Knight with her power back-up trio of Robert
Downey Jr., Ben Stiller and Jack Black garnered sustained ovations
and loud cheers.
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