At last night's Teen Choice Awards, a quarter of American Idol finalists posed on the red carpet for fans.
Here's a look at David Archuleta, David Cook, Katharine McPhee and Jordin Sparks. Click on each of the following images now for larger versions...
American Idol winner David Cook is currently at work on his debut. It's due in November and he recently spke on his goal for the CD:
''Something that's undeniably me... I got to write with Ed Roland from Collective Soul, Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace.... I'm gonna keep a few close to the vest. I like surprises.''
Here's a look at Cook, hard at work in the studio:
David Cook sang the national anthem before Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
Cook looked nervous. What do you think of the job he did?
What will the first David Cook album be about? Let's ask the American Idol winner himself!
âItâll probably be a rock record. I just want to make a record thatâs going to make the hair on your neck stand up. Even if it doesnât do well commercially, as long as I can put out a record I am proud of, thatâs the goal right now. And hopefully the success will follow.â
Will you buy a David Cook album?
** Update: We hear the album is set for a fall 2008 release. Said Tom Corson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, RCA Music Group:
"David Cook is an extraordinarily versatile and talented artist with an impressive sense of musicality. He is a natural performer and a true star. We are thrilled to welcome him into our family.â
Did David Cook expect to win American Idol? Heck, he barely expected to make it past the initial round of auditions.
"I just figured I'd go in, sing a song and they'd say I wasn't what they were looking for. I'd go back to Tulsa to work on my record some more," Cook told reporters during a Friday conference call. "Apparently, somebody had another plan."
That's for certain.
In the end, Cook defeated David Archuleta by a 56% to 44% home viewer voting margin, roughly 12 million total votes.
"I think that number is actually really misleading," Cook said. "Obviously within the bubble of Idol, it's hard to kind of get a vibe for what's going on. But I definitely thought [Archuleta] was probably a little bit ahead of me if I'm being honest. I attribute the finale vote discrepancy just to my fans being awesome. I don't really know how else to explain it."
Congratulations to David Cook!
The former bartender knocked off David Archuleta by 12 million votes to capture the seventh season title on American Idol. Check out the winning announcement and Cook's subsequent performance of "Time of My Life" NOW.
Did you agree with the decision? Which David do you think will have a more successful career?
As you ponder those questions and send us your thoughts, click on each picture in the David Cook photo tribute below...
With last night behind them, David Cook and David Archuleta can finally breathe a sigh of relief. No more performance. No more pressure.
Just one final results show this evening.
Before they took the stage for that heart-pounding event, though, each sat down with Entertainment Weekly. Here are excerpts from their interviews...
How did you go about choosing your second and third songs?
David Cook: With the songwriters' competition [song], I listened to the first 30 seconds of each song, and ''Dream Big'' was the one that grabbed me the quickest, so I figured if that's the case, I should probably follow my instinct and just do something with it. And I was actually happy with the way it turned out.
My third song [Collective Soul's ''The World I Know''] â I've wanted to do that song all season, and I just never really got comfortable with the arrangement until a few weeks ago. And I almost did it last week. You know, it was a song that means a lot to me. It's just an amazing song, so to be able to do it on the show, win, lose, or draw, it was more fun than I could possibly put into words.
How do you think Archuleta did tonight?
Oh, the kid did amazing. He's such an immense talent, so to be able to share the stage with him tonight was a huge thrill for me.
Follow this article's jump to read Archuleta's segment...
Yes, we know all American Idol fans are familiar with this finals match-up, taking place Tuesday night. We can't wait to see who takes home the crown.
But The Hollywood Gossip has already pitted these two singers against one another in a feature that site refers to as "Tale of the Tape" Check it out NOW.
What do you think?
America must decide next week: David Archuleta or David Cook?
Might some consider American Idol finalist David Cook a ringer?
The talented ringer's self-released 2006 album, "Analog Heart,â was the No. 1 downloaded album all weekend on Amazonâs MP3 service. It even beat Mariah Careyâs "E=MC2."
So, do you think this gives Cook an unfair advantage over David Archuleta and the rest of the American Idol contestants?
We welcome all opinions on American Idol Worship. But we challenge anyone to disagree with the fact that David Cook put on the best performance of Mariah Carey night. By far.
With his cancer-ridden brother sitting in the front row - and tears welling up in David's eyes following his rendition of "Always Be My Baby - it was a special night for the Cook family. We wish them the best.
Take a look at Cook's performance now and let us know what you thought of it:
