And The Winner Is....

David Cook

I'm pleasantly surprised. After DC seemingly coming up second after the final round -- in addition to the judges' somewhat lukewarm praise -- I expected Archuletta, the tween heart-throb with the angelic pipes, to run away with the title.

But large and loyal fanbases don't abandon their champions for a single less-than-perfect evening.

And with that I'll share one of my favorite performances from this season -- David Cook's version of Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow". It's Classic Cook. He stays true to the original while making the song his own. As with "Billie Jean", I've never liked this song as much until his version.

And Then There Were Two

American Idol is winding down and we're left with a pair of Davids in the finals -- David Cook and David Archuletta. They're both great singers, but I've been a David Cook fan since the beginning. His maturity, stage presence, and the risks he's willing to take with his songs make him the front-runner in my opinion. Please enjoy his fine (if abbreviated) version of Roberta Flack's hit The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - chosen for him by the sometimes ascerbic judge, Simon Cowell.

Meet Billie Jean

I try to resist the rare urge to comment on pop culture because a lot of it is like bubble gum for the mind.

But I'm a musician and when I hear something special I feel compelled to share it. I've mentioned before that we watch American Idol. In my opinion, this year has a far greater percentage of really great talent than a few previous years combined.

One of the favorites who consistently turns in superior and original performances is David Cook. He knows his instrument and how to use it beautifully no matter what the theme of the week (two weeks were Beatles tunes, a recent week was Mariah Carey, etc...). One of the themes was to choose a song from the year of the contestant's birth.

David chose a Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden and Audioslave) arrangement of 1983's Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. Thriller was a great album, but I didn't love Billie Jean until I heard this version -- which I think David sings better than Chris Cornell, by the way.