Brent Worley Blog

As I expected, it comes down to the two Davids.

However, I think one is a HUGE favorite.

David Archuleta, while vocally the most talented on the show, has worked himself into a peciliar situation coming into the final. He has only showed one genre that he excels in: Ballads. Take away the chance for him to show off those crooning pipes to a slow, lyrical toon, and he gets mediocre reviews. His Chris Brown performance last week proved that.

And while he has the vote of most teeny-boppers, he is not the complete package or star material. In fact, he is a little awkward. He has shown us throughout this season that he does not know how to communicate in a one-on-one interview. Only in the taped moments did he ever seem comfortable.

Archuleta has one other factor working against him: He is not original. In fact, I would guess that, minus some slight movement of notes in some songs, he has not had an original moment. It appears that most of the differences he put into his music was the prodding of his father, not from his own imagination on how a song should be.

The “Goliath” in this match-up is definitely David Cook.

Lets fact it, Cook is the complete package for a star. Vocally, he is extremely talented both within and outside of his comfort zone. The minute-and-a-half time limitations have not served him well in the last couple of weeks, but his originality has. He has the look of a star, the ability to communicate like a star, and the ability to make songs his own through arrangements.

And while not all of his performance this season were his originals, the ones he performed that he did arrange were nothing short of incredible. He not only brought the house down on the re-arrangement of “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey but this rendition of Aerosmith was incredible (regardless of what Randy says in the end).

So what will it take for Cook to win it all?

Not much.

If Cook shows up with an original arrangement in hand and rocks the house in one of the many songs he’ll get a shot at this week, he’ll capture an overwhelming majority of the votes of anyone over the age of 16.

If an older demographic votes this week, Cook will win in a landslide.

The final airs live this Tuesday on Fox. Lets hope for a knockout performance from both contestants.