And the winner of American Idol Season 7 is...

DAVID ARCHULETA.

Tonight's finals was a battle of who had the better song choice. Both Davids are good strong performers with very distinct bold voices. Personally, I was rooting for David Cook but tonight, his second (Dream Big..wha?) and third song (The World I Know...WTF?!) choices were just really banal. They just didn't show off the different "colors" (if I may borrow Paula Abdul's term) of his voice.

Why did he end with a slow song...especially a song that nobody even knows? It was like he didn't study his opponent, who is actually predictable when it comes to song choices. So what happened to Cook? Was he just too confident he would win? It was not a time to experiment and sing slower songs that are unpopular. Okay so maybe he was just being true to himself. Choosing songs that appealed to him, more than what would appeal to his fans. E mali sha dun. Kasi only a star does that and get away with it. It's still a contest, and if you want those votes, you have to sing the songs that are familiar and which will encourage your fans to vote for you. Hay kainez!

On the other hand, Archuleta was just terribly consistent, and exercised the power in his vocals even in the second song (In the Moment) not many are too familiar with. I also feel that Clive Davis, the record producer, also wants little David to win. Clive just gave Archuleta the better song to sing (Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me) against Cook's (I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For). Thing is, Archuleta just appeals to the right demographic that many record producers are trying to sell to, the shrilly young girls who can bully their parents into buying them records.

Since the beginning, it was very clear that Archuleta had the edge among all the contestants, even if he was the youngest. His voice was just whole, unchanging, and had very consistent great performances. But these later weeks, Cook just shined. He gave very fantastic outstanding performances. And after last week, I thought he would be the clear winner tonight. Boy, was I wrong!

If by any stroke of luck that Cook wins, it will be because of the older age groups that have been voting on AI, as per the Nielsen Co.'s survey. But frankly, if I could vote, and even if I like Cook so much, I wouldn't cast my ballot his way. The best singer tonight was unmistakeably David Archuleta. I just hope he doesn't break down in tears tomorrow.

Anyhoo, that exciting season over, let's hope the final show tomorrow has funnyman Renaldo Lapuz (remember him?) over to sing his "We are brothers" song, and snippy ghey boy Danny Noriega. Btw, I did tell someone I thought Archuleta is ghey as well. There's just something about the way he moves, and especially tonight, did you see how he held his fists up in a boxing position? Only a ghel would raise those fists right side up. But well, who wouldn't be ghey with an overbearing stage dad like his? Nothing wrong with gheys really...Archuleta's still cute and appealing, and will sell a ginormous number of records. And he won tonight, as Simon Cowell rightfully declared, by a knockout!

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UPDATE (SPOILER ALERT): So I haven't seen the results show yet which will air at 6 pm tonight, but GMA News online already posted the results (Darn you, Joe T.!) and apparently David Cook has won AI's seventh season. I can only say I'm surprised because last night's finale performances were certainly nailed by Archuleta. Well, as I said, miracle of miracles, Cook's fans pulled through. The bulk of AI's voters, according to the Nielsen Co. survey, are between 35-64. So there.

Anyhoo, I am thrilled that Cook won because he was my original choice! Between him and Archuleta, Cook will have a better grasp of the fame that will come his way. Archuleta is just way too young and a little bit inarticulate to handle media interviews and such. But don't discount little David just yet, he will still sell lots of records. And I think, even more than Cook will.

Btw just for the record, to all those Simon Cowell critics out there, the morning of the finale performances, he appeared on the Ellen show and thought Cook would win AI7. Of course, he too was disappointed by Cook's song choices by the evening, that's why he later declared Archuleta the winner. See, Simon and I think alike. I adore him.

The magic 12 of AI

AWWW...my gay crush Danny Noriega was just booted off American Idol. Tch, he was one sassy sistah, good voice, too, unfortunately not great enough to be among the lucky 12 contestants who will be battling it out in the next couple of weeks for the top prize. Sad ako, truly.

I'm sure some people out there will say that Danny was just too much of a beyootch to AI judge Simon Cowell that he got what he deserved. But I could see that Simon actually enjoyed the repartee. It all just came down to style and voice quality. And compared to Chikezie's vocal prowess and the rest of the male contestants, Danny just didn't quite measure up. Sayang, he was fun and made the show actually interesting. I just loved the way he took chances on the songs he chose (nag-Elvis pa!) and enjoyed himself onstage.

But I have no doubt that this cutie will surface someday with probably, not a record deal, but maybe on the Broadway stage. He's still young but he is a performer. (He reminds me a bit of Mark Indelicato, that talented young actor who plays Justin on Ugly Betty.) I think he'll just make it better in a musicale where he gets to stretch his talents, rather than be a flash-in-the-pan recording star which is how most of the AI winners have ended up anyway.

So the lucky 12 are:

1. David Cook (oof! sexy and hot!)
2. David Archuleta (I wish he was my son! wanna pinch his cheeks!)
3. Michael Johns (yummy! He has that Michael Hutchence vibe.)
4. Jason Castro (dreamy eyes, cool dreadlocks)
5. David Hernandez (smokin'! he must have been one helluva male stripper)
6. Chikezie Eze (he's actually cute, in a Santa clause sorta way?)

(Notice how I commmented only on the guys' looks instead of their voices, hehe. Syempre, you gotta have the face to go with your voice, otherwise, you won't be that interesting.)

7. Ramiele Malubay (mejo nakakainis dahil pa-cute, but she's got a big voice. Except for her last performance which was so-so, her performances have been outstanding. So sigue na nga, go Ramiele! Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy!)
8. Amanda Overmeyer (tough girl. strong husky voice. Fab rocker chick. Smile ka naman jan, 'day!)
9. Brooke White (nice girl but can be edgy. Her take on Joan Jett's "Love is a Battlefield" was fabulous! Different rendition which made the song her own. I like her.)
10. Carly Smithson (another one gunning to get the rocker chick title. Powerful voice. She can hit those high notes and hold it, ooh mama!)
11. Syesha Mercado (great hair. But forgettable voice.)
12. Kristy Lee Cook (Ick! Token country singer. I hate country music, no matter how good her voice is.)

Here's the last performance of adorable Danny Noriega on AI. He's so pretty! Just look at that hair. grabeh! Love him!