The Winner of American Idol Will Be David...

I've been away for the last four days, and I arrived home after a mind-bogglingly wonderful trip to find that my Tivo had neglected to record the finale of American Idol. Welcome home.

I managed to watch each of the performances online, and while David Archuleta gave the more traditional Idol-winning performance, a la Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks, I still don't think he's a shoo-in to take home the crown. Sure, it's easy to picture him singing with the confetti coming down, but that could also have been said for many other of his performances throughout the season. The kid is a studied Idol contestant, and though I certainly wouldn't bet against him taking home the prize, I don't think he has it in the bag.

David Cook, on the other hand, took a different approach. He didn't go all earnest (though the tear shed seemed genuine), but stuck to his guns, showing us the kind of artist he plans to be. The kind of artist he is.

Some say the teenyboppers rule Idol, and they'll take Archuleta to the finish line. But the teenyboppers can't account for Studdard's win, or Fantasia or Taylor Hicks. These winners appealed to voters for other reasons, including originality. So the mass collective of folks who admire what Cook does just may outweigh the legions of teenyboppers and grannies who are diehard Archuleta supporters.

(I realize, of course, that was a generalization, and that Cook has teenybopper fans and Archuleta has other supporters besides the demographics I listed. Still...)

My vote is for David Cook, however I honestly don't know who American is going to pick. I will say that Archuleta may be the closest thing this competition has seen since Clay Aiken -- and Clay lost. I'll also say Fantasia was certainly not loved by all, but had her own unique style, while Diana Degarmo, despite one bum note, gave a pretty flawless finale performance -- and we know how that turned out. I will also say that David Cook is the most clearly relevant contestant since Chris Daughtry -- and Daughtry came in 4th. So though Archuleta may, at this point, seem to be the odds on favorite to take home the prize after a traditional Idol winning performance , I say don't rule Cook out.

What do you think? Vote here.