Tonight was the culmination of months of eliminations. The Davids finally faced off against one another. Fox did some, um, interesting things production-wise. Like the whole night had a boxing theme— complete with boxing commentary. Why? I have no idea. I found it distracting more than entertaining. Then there was the clever camera work to disguise that David Archuleta still hasn’t gotten over squinting his way through songs in spite of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s best efforts to break him of the habit. They simply hardly showed him in close-up. As a matter of fact, many of the shots of him were of his back. I do have to admit it was a lot less annoying that way.

The coin flip last week went to David Archuleta, who chose to sing second (smart call). Both singers’ first songs were chosen by Clive Davis. David Cook was given “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and David Archuleta was given “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. I thought both did a decent job. David Cook added in a little flair, but you really don’t want to mess with the U2 classic too much. Clive Davis really did right by David Archuleta, choosing a song that already has a lot of the runs and drawn out notes that he likes. Because they were already written into the song, David didn’t feel the need to overdo the song.

The second songs were from the song writing competition. Unlike previous years when both singers have been saddled with singing the same song, no matter whether it suits them both or not, this year the Davids were allowed to choose their own songs from the top ten vote getters. David C. chose an upbeat number that I thought was a little “pop” for him but still at least entertaining. David A. chose a sappy ballad— exactly the kind of song that the producers would usually choose for the finalists to sing. Exactly the kind of song I really don’t enjoy. Simon thought it was more in keeping with the tone of the night. Really? Given the boxing them, wouldn’t that be “Eye of the Tiger”?

The final song of the evening was contestants’ choice. David C. chose to tackle a new song— Collective Soul’s “The World I Know”. It was good, more of a sensitive low-key performance from him. Simon thought he should have returned to “Hello” or “Billie Jean”, but he said he preferred to show progression by singing a new song, rather than something he’d sung before. David A. chose to sing my favorite song of the year (not really) “Imagine”. Frankly, I was talking on the phone during the performance, so I’m not absolutely sure whether it was better or worse, but I think it was about the same. Since I thought it was hideously oversung to begin with, his comments about giving it more sent shivers down my spine.

So, that was it. As expected, the judges favored David Archuleta. Randy said he was exactly what “American Idol” is about. And he’s right. American Idol is about turning out a very mainstream pop singer. David Archuleta will be perfect for that. I had to keep reminding myself, though, that I don’t want David Cook to win because it’s in his best interest to come in second. Still, part of me can’t help but wish…

What about you? Who was your favorite tonight?