Idol 1 - David Cook

1. David Cook

Season 7, Winner

Seriously, this feels surreal. We are finally here! My favorite American Idol ever - and this doesn’t come as a surprise to most of you, I’m pretty sure - David Cook. Yay!

Season 7’s winner who, arguably, defined the popular phrase “making the song your own” as he reworked pop favorites into new and fantastic gems. Oh, and he's the ONLY Idol I got to vote for - I was in New York when the last 6 weeks of that season happened, so I was able to vote for him. Technically, I helped him win - along with millions of people. Haha.

To be perfectly honest, if you had told me during the earlier rounds of Season 7 that David Cook would be my favorite Idol finalist EVER, I would've slapped you and called you a liar! Haha. Well, of course, I wouldn't have slapped you, but you know what I mean. I thought David's audition was decent - a little mediocre maybe. Same with his Hollywood stuff. Basically, I wasn't really feeling the hype about him at all.

The semifinals started and I really still wasn't into what David was "Cookin". Ha! Ok, lame joke. Moving on. To me, he seemed like a second rate Daughtry, which is saying a lot, considering Chris wasn't one of my favorites of his season. Frankly, I didn't even want David Cook in the Top 12 at that point. I mean, I figured he would possibly make the Final 12 - maybe Top 8 - but I seriously wasn't looking forward to having to hear him each week.

Then suddenly, he had me at Hello. Haha. Really. That to me was a serious game-changer for Cook as he was able to show his potential as a true artist and not just an amazing vocalist. It was a risk that paid off really well. I mean, that moment turned him into a serious contender, possibly giving the other David - Archuleta, not Hernandez. Ha! - a run for his money. It was that good!

So early into the Finals, I was already looking forward to him and he just delivered one good performance after the other every single week. I thought his first three weeks of the Finals, he was consistently either the best or second best of the night. But if I'm being honest - even with a string of great performances - I just knew that there was no way anyone was taking the crown from David Archuleta. I mean, everybody loved that cute kid.

I remember that I even made a comment in my old - now, non existing - blog after the Top 10 week that it was so ridiculous how David Cook has no shot at the title, even though he's consistently great. Of course, I got criticized for that because the Archuleta fans were mad that I was, to some extent, insulting their kid, and the Cook fans were somehow disappointed that I was writing him off. Ha! But, at that point, I definitely wanted Cook to win. He really deserved it.

He - out of all of the contestants - seemed to be the one that had mastered consistency and originality. I don't necessarily mean "original" as in he arranged his own performances and I know that he used some arrangements from other musicians. But, the fact that he wasn't okay with going the predictable route during a themed week and that he obviously was able to stuck with whatever the theme was - but brought it into his own world of music - was very admirable of him.

Needless to say, he truly kept me on the edge of my seat. True, he was skilled at doing covers of covers like, say, Eleanor Rigby and Billie Jean, but he was also able to prove himself as an amazing artist that can create his own arrangements like Always Be My Baby and Little Sparrow. He even showed his versatility just by singing songs (shockingly) straight-up like The Music of the Night and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. He was nothing short of exceptional. So when the Finale came and he was crowned as the new American Idol, I was grinning like a retard.

To me, David Cook is one of the few - out of all seven seasons - that I feel absolutely deserving of the title during their season, and any other winner would just be wrong. No, I'm not saying that other contestants weren't extremely talented, all I'm saying is that in these particular seasons, one person dominated in a way that screamed American Idol, for whatever reason, and David Cook is absolutely one of them. Sure, people like David Archuleta and Syesha Mercado were amazing talents with amazing voices, but I certainly would not have felt right if either of them had won.

I believe Cook brought the show to a whole another level. He is, by far, the rocker that stands out to me of all the Idol seasons; he was the best, or one of the best almost every night; his performances were so unique and interesting; he is extremely marketable; he's a real musician and songwriter; he was able to adapt to themes, or adapt themes to him. He just had so many of the right things going for him during Season 7, and I was VERY relieved that my initial predictions were wrong. Haha.

I simply don’t know what else I could say about David Cook. I mean, I’ve never had my favorite win American Idol before him, so to see him actually be the winner of Season 7 - and the fact that I voted for him. Haha - was one of the best and happiest moments I’ve ever experienced, as an Idol fantard of course. Seriously. Who knew that the guy with the bright red streak in his hair who sang Livin’ on a Prayer in Omaha would be the actual Season 7 winner, more so become my favorite American Idol EVER? Not me. Suffice it to say, he just truly captivated me in more ways that I could fathom.

There’s a lyric in one of the tracks of his debut album: “All these heroes come and go, but you’re still standing.” Sure, many other people have graced the Idol stage in past seasons, and many more to come this coming January and possibly in the future, but one thing is for certain: there has never been, nor will there ever be another David Cook, and this David Cook is a true American Idol, and someone that will always be standing as the rest of them come and go. Beat that!

Favorite performance(s): It's a predictable choice, but my favorite from Cook is absolutely Billie Jean. Words can't describe how much I love this performance. I was extremely worried when I read the spoilers about this, but his version was just sensational. I saw this performance countless times, and I still get chills every single time, without fail. Hello was another brilliant performance. I didn't know what to expect, but the arrangement was great and it fit him like a glove. Also, I thought he was amazing with The Music of the Night and the hauntingly beautiful Always Be My Baby. His version of Little Sparrow and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face were also really good. Well, he has had so many great performances, but these are just my faves.

Billie Jean

Always Be My Baby

Hello

The Music of the Night

Little Sparrow

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Eleanor Rigby

Permanent (American Idol 8 Finale)

Light On

The end! Well, that wraps it up for my first project, Idol 100. This really feels surreal. Thank you for reading and commenting, guys! I really appreciate it. I guess, this is it! See you on American Idol Season 10.