You did it David, you are the winner and walk away with Americas vote and the title of American Idol 2008. Fitting that Simon apologized to you prior to the announcement of you being declared the winner. Our ears await your smooth as cream voice to fill them with the sounds of your myriad of CD's sure to come our way.

You have remained constant in this race, game and competition. You have been an inspiration to writers everywhere. You are the pleasant surprise to us all. Congrats on your future and we look forward to your continued success. Hug your brother for us, you both deserve it, you are a gem.

God Bless "King David"!

The night began with both David's in boxing gloves; the "fight" was on. Little David won the "coin toss" and was given the option to go first or pass that on to big David; he passed. Ryan said, "Who is to be crowned champion", and with the eyes of the nation (and 130 OTHER countries) fixed on them, they began.

Young David Archuleta, only 17 and older David Cook, just 25 both undefeated and both had NEVER been in the bottom 3, now in front of 7,000 people and all the millions of viewers; these two "Davids" duel for the title to be "king" at the Nokia Theater.

With "little" David bowing to "big" David; David Cook began the night with a song chosen for him by Clive Davis. The song was a very moving song by U2 called "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". It certainly seemed like a "David Cook Song" and David did a pretty good job with it too. Paula even commented "We have found David Cook. Amen and Amen! Simon's comment; "Phenomenal!"

Next up, David Archuleta with Clive Davis' choice for him being an Elton John fav, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", and WOW! David nailed it. He came out with his gloves on and "protected his face" with a spectacular performance. Randy could hardly contain himself and stated with bursts of excitement, "Best performance of this whole season for you, unbelievably molten HOT!" Paula Abdul said it sent chills up and down her arms and that she still had them after the performance was over! She said "Beautiful, Beautiful Stunning performance!" And Simon? Well he said, "Tonight's the best you have done so far! Taking everything into account, round 1 goes to Archuleta!" This of course was followed by waves of screams from intensely excited fans.

Next song by "DC" was called "Dream Big" and was a very good song for David Cook. He performed it well and seemed confident, when he was finished and the excited fans quieted down a bit, Randy commented "you were singing your face off!" and Paula followed with, "I am mesmerized by you, falling in love with a song we don't even know!" Simon didn't feel like it was a winning moment to him to which a chorus of "BOOS" (not booze) followed.

Next song for "DA" was called "In This Moment" and WOW! He nailed this one as well and it sure fit him like a glove, (A boxing glove??). He even had an anchor on his shirt, could that have been a subliminal symbol that his ship came in and he is the one to win this? It could very well be. Randy said, "right now you are so in the zone dog, you could sing the phonebook and it would be hot!" Paula said it was a heartfelt performance and "like magic". Simon agreed that David Archuleta definitely chose the better song and that, "round 2 goes to David Archuleta".

The last song that each David was to sing was a song of their choosing. "DC" chose "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. Upon completion of this song he was overwhelmed and shed a few tears at the magnitude of it all. Gently blinking his soft-spoken eyes, he quickly recovered and was ready to receive the critique from the judges. Paula was standing up for his performance and when it came to her to make her assessment she exclaimed, "I am standing in your truth" and commented that he had integrity and quality. Randy said, "There are a lot of different sides of David Cook. You could make this kind of record, very nice job!" Simon said, "I have to say that you are one of the nicest and most sincere contestants we have had", but he still felt it was the wrong song choice for him. (To which the crowd booed). Simon told him he should have sung "Billy Jean" again and David commented that he wanted to perform a song he had not previously sung. The crowd and his fans agreed.

Now for "DA's" finale, he chose the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. And without surprise he once again nailed his performance, causing a volcanic eruption of screams and approval from excited and pleased fans, his purity still shining through. And did the judges agree? Of course they did, Randy said he was really happy and proud, "you are so good tonight, you are what this show is all about and the best singer of season 7 is right there!" (Pointing straight at "little David"). Paula said he left her "speechless" and that he was stunning tonight. Simon wrapped it all up by saying, "this show is about finding the star, we have witnessed one of the greatest finales, and we have witnessed a "knockout"!

There it was, all three "rounds" go to "Little David Archuleta". He stepped into the ring and "left it all on stage" as the judges kept saying they needed to do. He has a long and fruitful career ahead of him. Congratulations David, you have won our heart!

And what of David Cook? Well, this is a close race, game and competition. He will go far as well. Thank you Davids for enriching our lives and gracing our ears with your God given talent on American Idol. We look forward to your CD's, they will be a joy to listen to over and over and over.....God Bless "King David".

A Sigh and Good Bye to Syesha.

Syesha left American Idol tonight. She was very gracious each and every time she was in the bottom three but to end up as one of THE bottom three was something to be very thankful for indeed. She will not be forgotten and we will be surprised if she doesn't get scooped up by Broadway or make her debut CD soon. Thank you Syesha for sharing your voice and smile with us all. We look ahead to all you have to share. God bless.

Wow, the last two nights of American Idol have been interesting. Last night each of the final 4 performed two songs and once again David Archuleta took the evening hands down. Last night was rock night and even though David Archuleta wouldn't necessarily be considered a rocker he had the best performances, followed closely by the "other" David, David Cook and then Syesha.

But Jason, who we love, just didn't have it together last night. He seemed to be falling apart at the seams! Actually, it seemed like he already knew before he even performed that he would be leaving tonight. After finding out that he was the Idol to leave tonight, and with those striking baby blues, he stared into the camera and once again forgot the lines! But he enjoyed himself. He has a unique sound and like we have said before, we want his first CD!

We will miss you Jason, thank you for your gentle spirit and open heart.

Best to you and congrats on being in the top 4!

We say good bye to Carly!

Carley Smithson was the next American Idol to go. Amazing how many surprises there are this season. Brooke While must have an incredible fan base. She really hasn't pulled off any of the songs she has sung lately. And even though Simon gives her credit for starting over saying, "It just proves you're human" he hasn't given that same grace and courtesy to those who have proven they were "human" by singing a bit off key or the others who have forgotten the lyrics (hey, that almost sounds like a good TV show!).

Jason Castro was visibly nervous emitting an air that he felt he was the next to go. Although Jason has continued to pick a heart felt song each week, and performed it well as far as we are concerned, he may be the next one to go. We don't want to see that but as Paula keeps reminding us, these next several eliminations will be difficult because everyone is so good. We are confident that we will see more of Jason Castro, we most definitely would get his debut CD!

Carly handled it so very well stating that she wasn't sad to be leaving. Both she and Syesha are extremely gracious when it comes to criticism from the judges; they handle it like a professional and ride the wave of this journey with eagerness as to what is next. Way to go Carly you've "got ire vaote"!

Andrew Lloyd Webber's songs were the songs of choice tonight. Ryan introduced everyone to Ricky Minor and the Band who were invited to perform on stage tonight and join the final 6 singers.

Syesha Mercado began tonight's show. She seemed to be in her element, as Paula said, and showed a side of personality that wasn't very visible in her prior performances. Randy said he felt it was her best to date and Simon agreed that it was one of her strongest so far. She did appear to have fun tonight, even dancing with Ricky Minor.

Jason Castro was next and he presented us with another heart felt song, he sure knows how to pick 'em. He chose a song that Andrew believed he couldn't pull off, but we think he did a great job. Jason took center stage and sang the song "Memories". He performed it very well and made it difficult to believe that it usually wasn't sung by a man! Randy didn't agree however and felt that it was just, "not you man". Paula disagreed and felt it was "Joe Cocker-ish" and sung like somewhat of a pop ballot. Simon disagreed with Paula and said it sounded forced. Will this keep him in the running another week? We think it will.

Brooke White was next. Everything seemed to go fine, the first note or two, but then she started over! There really wasn't anything else she could do. She didn't seem to have the full attention of the crowd. Randy said that "parts were ok but vocally it was tough". When Paula started speaking you could have heard a pin drop! The audience was completely silent, Paula offered Brooke advice from one who has "been there" she said, "You must never start and stop. Pick up the pieces" but she loved that Brooke didn't overact. Simon said that restarting completely "threw you" and that she seemed tense. In the end, both Randy and Simon agreed that she did the right thing in restarting and Paula held her ground believing that she should be professional and never start and stop. Don't know if Brooke will make it to next week but these last few eliminations have shocked us all so guess it is still wide open!

Then there was David Archuleta, Mr. Consistent. Each week he takes the stage he holds the crowd and tonight was no different. Before he began his song Ryan surprised him by allowing a group of sisters to come up on stage and give David a hug! Andrew commented that he "wrong footed him" by picking a song he didn't think David could do and then David proved him wrong. Andrew remarked that we should say "Bravo" because David has real musical talent. He only gave him two pieces of advice 1) Open your eyes when you sing and 2) Open your eyes when you sing. Did he do it? YES! David did a wonderful job and Randy was so excited and said, "again, I gotta say, if you can sing you can sing anything, it was the bomb, this is the one to beat!" Simon didn't agree with Randy though and felt that it was one of his weakest performances and was "forgettable" to him.

Carly Smithson had a sudden change in songs. Her first song was one that Andrew felt just wasn't her style, and didn't fit "that thing on your arm" or something to that effect! He said he felt that she should sing "Jesus Christ Superstar". Carly agreed and when she sang just a little bit of it for him they both knew it was the song she was to sing. Andrew said old Irish eyes are smiling and the Irish eyes have it. Carly confidently took the stage in a 60's looking dress and did a great job. Paula said it was so unexpected and Simon felt it was one of his favorites of the night.

David Cook wrapped up tonight's show with the best performance of the evening in our opinion. Singing "Music of the Night" He nailed it and did a wonderful job. Randy said, "I have already said it once tonight and I will say it again, if you can sing you can sing anything, that was molten hot, a lava bomb!" Paula said it just proved that, "you are a well rounded performer". Simon said he felt it was a bit "too rounded". Tonight the "we love you David" singers were singing for David Cook!

Clearly the Davids have it, See you next week Davids!

Kristy Lee Cook was the next Idol to leave. What an emotional time this was. Shocker too! Ryan said that they are still affected by the fact that Michael Johns left last week, he had never been in the bottom three! Though it gets tougher each week we still feel like Brooke has been the weakest the last two weeks in a row. She must have a huge following!

Kristy Lee Cook on the other hand seemed to get better each week. Her last performance may have rightfully placed her in the bottom three (because the others remained fairly consistent) but Brooke should have exited the stage before Michael or Kristy.

It was a pretty mean trick played on David Cook and Syesha Mercado as well when both were placed in the bottom three at separate times in the night. Maybe they both had the same amount of votes.

And what was up with Ryan leaving David Archuleta to linger behind stage? In the end it appeared that David had so many votes that he was hands down above all the others. Ryan tried to get him to choose the bottom three by asking him to stand next to the group he felt WAS the bottom three but he chose to SIT on his BOTTOM instead of being pitted against the other Idol contestants, his new friends. Still the love of the audience though, when he is on stage his "I love you David" singers never miss a beat.

In our opinion, Brooke White will have to sing like she has never sung before to keep her in the running. As long as Syesha and Carly keep belting out those big ol voices and can get past their hesitancy and seeming lack of confidence, they will do well and remain in the running. Jason, though always the "heart felt song picker" may not have what it takes to stay in the top 5 either. But we would love one of his CD's! So we could listen over and over!.

Bottom line is it could be any one of the final Idol's. Though it is a "singing contest" as Simon likes to remind everyone, it may just end up being a popularity contest after all. Who will be the next American Eye Doll?

Michael Johns was the next idol to leave last week. What a shock it was. We all really felt that Brooke White would be the next to go. Rumor has it the Syesha is the next one to go. For some very strange reason she seems to be in the bottom three quite often. She has a very powerful voice but there must be something that we don't that makes her chosen to be in the bottom group all the time! Tomorrow will be another opportunity for her to shine. Each week it gets tougher and tougher to eliminate one person. Michael Johns we will miss you!

Inspirational songs was tonights theme with Michael Johns starting off the night with a song by Aerosmith called "Dream On". He said he felt like he was living a dream by being on American Idol. Even though both Randy and Simon didn't really feel like it was a very good performance Michael felt like he gave it his all and he was just happy to be on American Idol. He shocked all of us with the high notes he hit and, quite frankly, it was a very pleasant surprise.

Syesha Mercado sang Fantasia's "I Believe" and even though she was pitchy in a few places she did very well. She has courage to take on those big songs but she has a "big ol' voice" as Randy says and we feel like she can pull these songs off. She too stretched herself and hit some high notes, sounding a bit Mariah Carey-ish, however, Randy didn't feel like she had put emotion in it and Simon agreed but, always the optimist, Paula said it was the perfect song for her.

Jason Castro took the night as far as we are concerned. He sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", the same version from the Adam Sandler Movie "50 First Dates" (incidentally, Adam will be on Wednesday night's "Idol Gives Back"). Jason nailed this song. What a perfect song choice for him! Randy said it was the "hottest tonight" and Simon commenting that he had heard the song three times before but this was the greatest.

Kristy Lee Cook was next singing "Anyway" and even thought there were a few pitchy parts she did very well and it appeared that she was in her "niche". Randy loved it, Paula felt it was her best performance by far and Simon said it was "very, very good indeed".

David Cook took somewhat of a turn for the worse tonight, in our opinion. Picking a song called "Innocent". It seemed like his voice disappeared in this song. He started off in the low range and only peaked out a few times. Randy and Simon didn't really like it, all the way down to the white jacket, and stating it was a weak performance, but Paula still the optimist said he is so well defined as a whole package and saying " I believe in you so much".

Carly Smithson was next with "The Show Must Go On" by Freddie Mercury. It was just a bit dark and there were even times that Carly looked mad. Randy didn't feel like it hit the mark, Paula surprisingly, said she didn't feel engaged with her but her voice is amazing. Simon said she looked good but felt she over sang the song and she just "simply chose the wrong song".

Finishing out the night were David Archuleta and Brooke White. David sang a song called "Angel" and accompanied himself on the piano and did great! Simon felt his song choice was the best of the night with Randy stating it was his hottest moment.

Brooke's performance was just not cutting it for us. She sang "You've Got A Friend" commenting that her sister Windy played it over and over, but it was very pitchy and we don't think this will keep her for another week. Simon, however, compared it to a pleasant walk in the park and said, "Original? No, Pleasant? Yes". Interestingly enough, she was the only one with a color other than something neutral in her clothing. Little bit of a subliminal message there?

So we feel that it is very possible to see David Cook and Brooke White in the bottom three on Thursday evening, but which ever way it goes all eight of these "stars" should consider this quite the accomplishment to be in the top Great 8 American Idol stars for 2008!

Thanks for being awesome!

Ramiele Malubay was the next Idol to have to leave. But don't be too sad Ramiele you are still in the Top 10 and that's something to be glad about!

Her final performance was actually her best one so far. She seemed more relaxed and maybe that was what Simon was trying to get her to do all along. Down to 8 and they are all great.

3,000 songs later and Tonight was IDol ly Parton night!

After starting off the night with an "April Fools Joke" Ryan informed all of us that Dolly Parton has 3,000 penned songs to her credit, her "children" as she called them and what powerful offspring they are!

First off was Brooke White singing "Jolene", one of Dolly's favorites. She did pretty well but something seemed to be missing, however, she is so gracious and shines like a beacon through it all complimenting Paula on her hair and Paula returning the compliment. Paula felt like Brooke has an "emotional connection with each song choice". To us she seems like an old soul and is filled with life.

David Cook followed her with his own rendition of Dolly's "Little Sparrow" and it was peaceably entreating to all of the judges, Simon even gave David credit for being able to pull off a song about a sparrow saying "if you can sing a song about a sparrow "good" which you actually did, good"! Dolly gave him her stamp of approval too saying
"your voice is beautiful and perfect" and moving David to say he was awe inspired that she paid him a compliment! The judges gave him praise on his "false" (short for falsetto), arrangement of the song and showing everyone his range. Randy calling it "hot and consistent."

Dolly said "Finally, someone my size" when meeting Ramiele Malubay. Ramiele appeared to be feeling better than she was last week but just seems to be holding back. Simon's comment was, "well, we aren't going to remember this performance in 10 years will we". There could be a very strong voice in there somewhere and she gives us a little peak once in a while when she hits the high notes but she hasn't shown us the "wow" quite yet. Don't know if it is enough to keep her in the top 8, we shall see tomorrow.

Presenting Jason Castro with some fan mail postcards just received today from the same person, Ryan Seacrest shared with Jason one of the cards saying that this fan feels like Jason's voice is "as relaxing as the scene on the front of the card" and that she goes home and listens to his voice and the "tension melts away"! Dolly referred to him as "funky looking" but stroked his dreds with kindness. Jason sang one of Dolly's songs called "Traveling Through" and once again picked a song with depth. Simon didn't get it though saying that it was "not one of my favorites" and he would "probably lose his season pass to Dollywood" with his critique. Jason you still remain one of the heart touchers.

Carly Smithson is still a power house! With her "Crystal Gale like look" she once again "blew us away"! She sang "Here You Come Again". Picking this song because she could connect to it she had another "smaushin" performance. Dolly loved her voice commenting that she picked the perfect song. Paula displayed her complete approval nearly yelling "that voice of yours, oh my God!", she even argued with Randy that she felt he was too hard on Carly last week and that she had listened to last weeks performance and Carly's last note was NOT off key. Randy did say that it was the best performance of the night so far. Simon offering some fashion advice telling her she needs to "have a word with whoever is dressing you" and that she "needs to start looking like a star." Ryan applied some salve by saying, "some people would say the same about you", and asking Simon "what is the issue tonight? Don't worry Carly, you'll be here next week!

David Archuleta once again swooned us all and the "I love you David" singers didn't miss their cue to chime in once Ryan took a breath between sentences! They can't help it! Dolly was very moved by him and brought to tears calling him a "great, great singer. David was outstanding, singing a song very close to Dolly and one that brought him chills as well. He sang, "Smokey Mountain Memories" causing Randy to correct himself and label THIS the best performance of the night. Simon said he was "absolutely on the money". We all look forward to his debut CD, David, you are blessed.

Kristy Lee Cook sang "Coat of Many Colors" and this week the song fit too. Our "country girl" did well, and Dolly said she "made this her own". Kristy said she would "rather impress Dolly than her mom at this moment" and she did a really good job, barefoot and all! Simon didn't feel that it was as good as last week but she chidingly said, "thank you Simon, love you" and tauntingly blew him a kiss! While Simon said it was forgettable Paula called it her "best performance". Country is definitely her "niche", or as Randy says, "definitely your wheel house" and we believe she will be cranking out CD's in the near future.

Syesha Mercado sang, "I Will Always Love You" and did a wonderful and moving job with Dolly saying she "made a real good choice" but again, 'sup with Simon? He just can't seem to pay her a compliment. She has a powerful voice and during the interview you could see that this song strummed a chord in her and brought her to tears too! Dolly said she is not "shy" but "SHYesha is a pretty girl and a good singer". Paula made up for the lack from Randy and Simon saying that Syesha has a "velvety tone" to her voice. It will be a shock if she doesn't make it to the last four!

Closing out the night was Michael Johns. He too was very moved by Dolly's comments bringing him to the point of saying, "words can't describe". Dolly said she believed he would make some great records and she hoped he did because she could write some great songs for him!" What a compliment! Way to go Michael! Singing "It's all Wrong But It's Alright" he put the perfect "frosting" on the evening. Randy said, "blazing hot performance!" Paula said, "you're a star, rock star, blues star and you LOOK GORGEOUS!" Simon put the finishing touches on by saying, "best I have heard you sing"!

Ahhhh, American Idol, American Eyedoll, we can't help but love you!