This Week In Tonight In American Idol [20 May 2008]

7:58 PM: Top 2 Week -- THE FINALS -- is here. FINALLY!

We'll be live-ish blogging here tonite, but, as always, if you want a PROFESSIONAL liveblog, you should visit Maura here.

They've switched up the format this year, it seems. Davidx2 will sing three songs tonite, but apparently for the first time ever, Cookie is being giving a pass on singing a song he's already sung this season. Stay tuned...

8:01 PM: That funny-ten-years-ago-but-annoying-now boxing announcer guy, Michael "Let's Get Ready To Rumblllllllllllllle!" Buffer, introduces our two finalists, who come out dressed as boxers.

My money's on Cookie.

8:05 PM: Oh, fabulous -- Ryan is keeping the whole "title fight between undefeateds" meme going.

8:08 PM: LickyLoo won the coin toss and will go second, because Dadager told him to. Sigh...

Cookie is rocking the trimmed facial hair tonite. Not making any pretentions about "who he is".

8:10 PM: Advice from the judges? Leave it all on the stage blah blah blah...

8:11 PM: Davids with some nice words for each other...

LickyLoo: this guy's awesome!

Cookie: you've just been one of the consistently nice people...as far as I'm concerned, the competition's over...we're just havin' fun...

8:14 PM: I'm really WAY over the boxing metaphors...

Cookie is up first with his song choice -- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", by U2.

This is the first time a U2 song has been cleared for AI. This has fueled speculation today that Bono will be "the biggest star in the world" guest on tomorrow's results show.

Cookie nuDaughtry's this very well, and, yes, makes it his own. That was a great performance.

Ruh-roh! Randy's been drinking from Paula's cup. he calls this "The Duel Of 2007"...

Randy: i'm gonna call you "DC" 'cuz we're "boyz" at this point...i don't think you did everything you could with that, but i loved that scoop-up at the end..that was hot, baby, HOT!!!
Paula: you may not have found what you're looking for, but we have found david cook...david cook has ARRIVED! you're in great voice...
Simon: i thought it was phenomenal...

I think Randy is in the tank for LickyLoo...

8:19 PM: LickyLoo is up next with "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me", by Elton John.

It's a predictable choice, especially given last week's poor stage performance during the modern "With You".

Wait -- I've seen and heard this before...

Oh yeah! -- it's the same GD performance he gives EVERY GD TIME!!!

I say: LickyLoo has no career ahead of him. He has no stage presence whatsoever. No future on the radio. No future on Broadway. A decent selling first album -- "decent" in this environment meaning maybe platinum -- maybe -- but that's it.

But, of course, Randy is in the tank for him already...

Randy: one of the best performances of the season...picked the right time to peak...FLAWLESS!!! MOLTEN HOT!!!
Paula: my heart's still pounding [from the meds??? -- Ed.]...chills up and down my arms [from -- oh, never mind -- Ed.]...the sun is never gonna go down on you...beautiful, sunny, sunny performance...
Simon: i thought last week you were "okay"...i thought tonite's performance was arguably the best you've done so far...

Simon: Round 1 goes to archuleta...

8:27 PM: Round 2 has the contestants tackling their choice of the entrants in the Idol songwriters' contest. For the first time -- not counting Taylor Hicks' revolt in Season 5 -- there is no "common" coronation song. The Idols got to choose which one they wanted to perform.

Cookie is up first, and he's singing a song called "Dream Big" by You.

Cookie's also brought the guitar out. I was skeptical about the decision to allow the Idols to play instruments during their performances, but I've come to enjoy it, and it's probably helped some Idols -- Brooke and Jason, I'm looking at you! -- get further than they should have.

This is song is very Journey-reunion-tastic, but Cookie is rocking the shite out of it!

Randy: the song was just okay for me, but what really made it work for me was you were singing you're face off!
Paula: you took a song that we don't know and made us fall in love with it...
Simon: using the boxing analogy, it was a bit of a lightweight...

Okay, so Simon is in the tank for Archie, too???

Simon: ...i thought the end was okay...bearing in mind, this is supposed to be a winning song, it didn't feel like a winning moment for me...

Audience boos...

The only way LickyLoo can lose this if every other eliminated contestants' fans have gone over to Cookie...

8:37 PM: Up next is LickyLoo, who of course has chosen the very-Idol-tastically-titled "In This Moment".

Of COURSE he's going to win.

Wait, I've heard this before...

(Sigh...)

Randy: wasn't crazy about the song...[and then Randy trots out the "in the zone...you could sing the phonebook" "critique"]...
Paula: on fire tonite...
Simon: you definitely chose the better song...in keeping with the nite...Round 2 goes to archuleta...

8:45 PM: Ryan says Randy and Paula say "it's too close to call"...

Wait -- this is the "singer's choice" round? Like Clive chose a U2 song for Cookie?

Anyways, Cookie says he'll be taking on The World I Know", by Collective Soul. Cookie says he's never sung this before, which is a...fib...because he was supposed to sing this last week before he switched up to sing Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move". In other words, he thought he was safe last week, and he wanted to save this song to go "out" on...

Okay, fibber, or not, that was a great performance. Now, Cookie -- HE has a career ahead of him...

David is very emotional...he gets a "standing O" from the audience.

Randy: very nice job...
Paula: you're standing in your truth...i applaud you...["standing O" from Paula]
Simon: i want to say publicly that you are actually one of the nicest, most sincere contestants we've had...it was a beautiful song, but it was completely and utterly the wrong song choice for you tonite...you should've sung "Billie Jean" or "Hello"...

8:55 PM: LickyLoo finishes up the nite with a reprise of "Imagine" by John Lennon.

And after the "we're sorry, we're so, so sorry" speeches the judges just gave Cookie, LickyLoo can't lose this competition unless possibly he decides to sing the verse about imaging there's no Heaven or Hell.

And...he doesn't sing that verse...

America, here's you're new American Idol -- DAVID ARCHULETA!!!

Randy goes off script and practically announces that the producers have manipulated the contest into a Archuleta-Cook final...

Randy: we thought all season it would come down to this...you are exactly what this show is about -- finding the best singer we can find, AND THE BEST SINGER OF SEASON SEVEN IS RIGHT THERE!!!
Paula: you've left me speechless...you were stunning tonite...
Simon: tonite, we've witnessed one of the great finals...tonite, you came out to win, and what we have witnessed is "a knockout"...

(groan...)

* * * * *

INSTA-REACTION:

David Archuleta has won. I don't see any way he can lose.

David, don't forget to ask Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard how it felt to them, too.

* * * * *

9:00 PM: Hai! Look! There's Ruben right there, singing this year's "yer outta here" song, "Celebrate Me Home". David -- you can ask him about "winning" the show in just, like, 2 MINUTES!!!