Well, sunshine, I'm with Rudy in that David A was my favorite guy at the beginning, although I always preferred Carly over any of them. David's early performances demonstrated a connection to the music that is rare in such a young singer.....
BUUUUUUT....
Over the weeks, I've liked him less and less (yes, I'm repeating myself from earlier in this thread) because his strength is so one-dimensional. He's great at the big power-ballads, he can really jerk the old heartstrings with his impish little grin and awe-shucks mannerisms (I, personally, have become annoyed by both), but he's turning out to be less versitile than I originally thought he would be.
He can't sing an up-tempo song and make it convincing to save his life. Even this week when he sang "They're Comin' to America", I thought it came off as a bit frantic and A LOT forced. I think there were MANY other songs in the Neil Diamond song book that would have suited him better, but honestly, the song choice was brilliant considering how badly it fit his voice. Like Simon said, he ticked off all the check boxes...and I really don't think Simon was fully paying him a compliment with that comment!
Again, to repeat myself from earlier in the thread, I'm afraid of the CD this kid would make. I think it might bore me to tears (see my comment about the coffee and No Doz!)
Yes, overall David Cook is a MUCH better singer, far more polished and professional. And he's the one singer left in this competition who I feel has a REAL shot at a career in music that will MEAN something. I don't think it matters if he wins or not, he'll be big, but for the sake of AI's credibility, they NEED him to win this year. The last big name to win was Carrie Underwood. The others have seen meager success at best, and the downhill slide isn't good for future winners. Record companies will eventually lose interest in the winners and just look at the 2nd through 6th place finishers for the REAL talent.