"American Idol" Finale: Judges Crown David Archuleta Winner (VIDEOS)

***Scroll down for video of Tuesday's final performances***

NEW YORK (AP) _ Each of the dueling Davids raised his game on Tuesday's "American Idol," but only one received three glowing reviews from Simon Cowell, who called it a "knockout" performance.

That would be David Archuleta. The doe-eyed teen faced off against David Cook for the "Idol" title Tuesday night, and in Cowell's opinion, out-performed the 25-year-old rocker. Each David performed three songs in the final performance show, which rolled out announcer Michael Buffer ("Let's get ready to rumble!") to introduce the finalists in boxing robes and gloves.

Three rounds later, Cowell made his traditional prediction:

"You came out here tonight to win," Cowell said, "and what we have witnessed is a knockout."

In the first round, Cook and Archuleta received both stellar reviews for their respective renditions of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and the Elton John anthem "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." But Cowell declared the 17-year-old from Murray, Utah, the winner.

Cowell also handed the second round to Archuleta, whose performance of "In This Moment" impressed the judge more than Cook's take on "Dream Big."

And Archuleta went back to the well to take the third round, closing the show with a repeat of his version of John Lennon's "Imagine." Cook, who chose a song he hadn't yet performed in Collective Soul's "The World I Know," didn't stand a chance against that.

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Both Davids cried after their performing their final songs.

The competitors exchanged compliments during the live telecast.

"This guy's awesome," Archuleta said about Cook, of Blue Springs, Mo., who called The Arch "consistently nice."

"As far as I'm concerned, competition's over and we're just having fun," Cook said.
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Watch:

"Imagine" by David Archuleta:

"Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by David Archuleta:

David Cook covers U2 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For":

"Dream Big" by David Cook:

Comments

[CharlottesvilleVA]

Archuleta will win, will get his recording contract, and will disappear from sight within two years - as nearly all Idol winners have. David Cooke, meanwhile, will go on to have great success. Archuleta is a purer, more technically gifted singer, but he has no charisma and introduces nothing new to the songs he has sung. Cooke is an original - think Chris Daughtry without the crappy attitude. But Archuleta won the 8-14 year old female demographic, and they're the ones who will dial incessantly for 4 hours to cast as many votes as they possibly can. And in six months they'll buy his CD. They'll listen to it twice, then move on to more interesting, original artists.

That show DEFINITELY needs new judges. Jackson's "Dawg" shtick has worn thin, and how many times this season did he tell one of the David's that "Dude, you can sing the phone book?" Paula's just Paula, but she adds little to the proceedings. Simon is usually spot-on with his opinion, but sometimes he makes them too personal (unnecessarily).

[dartagnan]

" ... how many times this season did [Randy] tell one of the David's that "Dude, you can sing the phone book?"

LOL! Yeah, that got really old. I mean, he could've varied it a little by saying "Dude, you can sing the Encyclopedia Brittanica" or "Dude, you can sing the World Almanac" or "Dude, you can sing the obituary page of the newspaper."

[Bulbul]

Another blunder. Archuletta is an excellent singer, but more of an one dimentional performer. In plain english...boring...
Dave cook is excellent also and is on his way to be a big star..

Then again Johns was gone long time ago, will also be there for a very long time..

[leftcoastindy]

Exactly! You nailed it in 2 sentences.

I do think Archuletta can get even better, but still pablum. He'll be a huge hit on the religious circuit, and will probably kick ass on the National Anthem at a few baseball games.

[campgranata]

david cook rocks

[obtusegoose]

The judges should have kept their comments regarding who should win to themselves. It's not their job to decide who should win American Idol. It was obvious that it didn't matter how well David Cook sang, the people behind A.I. were determined to have Archuletta win. Do they actually think Archuletta will sell more CDs than Cook? Who wants to buy 12 songs that sound exactly the same? As far as I'm concerned, I won't be watching A.I. next season. (seriously)

PS: The whole "boxing" metaphor that they used was possible the dumbest thing in A.I. history. Jim Lampley now has zero credibility as a TV personality. (As if he had any to begin with.)

[dartagnan]

"The whole "boxing" metaphor that they used was possible the dumbest thing in A.I. history. "

Megadittoes!

[jadez]

another joke from idol.

cook obviously the better singer and performer yet the judges try to influence the vote.

more proof this thing has never been on the level.

glad its over and my experiment of finally watching it can come to an end.

none of the performers were remarkable.

no "stars" in this batch.

[jneems]

"..cook obviously the better singer and performer yet the judges try to influence the vote".

Earlier in the day, on the Ellen Show, Simon spoke out in favor of David Cook, saying that he was he had improved the most while little David had kind of gone sideways. He predicted David Cook winning. He was saying something quite different last nite. I guess Simon talks out of both sides of his mouth...

[Live4literacy]

David A.'s songs were all schmaltzy. I couldn't even watch the last performance as he is dificult to watch-same expression on his face and same outstretched right hand. He can't seem to do anything contemporary. I am surprised the judges didn't call him on that. David Cook is a performer-easy to watch and varied in his ability to sing many different kinds of music. He should be the winner and my little tweener and all her friends agree.

[zenlikejen]

THANK YOU!

Yeah, he can "sing the phone book, dawg!" ...but only as a ballad. I can remember 3 times he broke from the ballad box and all three times he got panned - not to take away from the fact he has a beautiful voice, but DA is young, and needs some "seasoning" as a performer. He will be fine no matter the outcome tonight.

DC got screwed last night - it's clear who the producers want to promote - and the judges all followed. Yeah - between the two - I'd buy a DC cd in a heartbeat. He's been the most consistently entertaining performer this season, and last night was no exception. DC can "sing the phonebook" as well....in just about any *style* you want.....

[TurgidCaterwauling]

Cook continues to progress, whereas Artichoke recycled one of his previous performers that was better the first time around. Cook stays true to the style of singer he clearly wants to be. Hard to know what kind of singer the other David will be.

[MourningDude]

Archuleta sang the pants off "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". He deserves it just for that performance alone.

I thought they both sang well in all their songs, but David Cook seemed totally disconnected.

I would much rather have heard "Hello" from Cook again, since that performance was amazing. I thought doing Collective Soul was more risky, but he just didn't nail it. He sang all the notes, but I didn't think he improved on the original version at all. Kind of a "change for the sake of change" situation, which I think it annoying.

Archuleta didn't nail Imagine, either. I thought his previous performance of it was better. And I think all the hype from the judges actually hurt Archuleta's chances tonight. Declaring it a knockout victory was over the top, and I'm sure it angered a lot of Cook fans. It will probably end up being reverse psychology.

[cBc]

David A had a good night, but David C has had a good season-long run, and deserves the nod, IMO.
Guess it's up to the little 'tweeners' dialing fingers now. Let's have a rocker win for a change.

[ScandalousCandice]

I thought David Cook Was much better. Archuletta is good but not my style and he won't sell at all like David Cook can and will.