David Cook's transformation from soul-patched slacker to "American Idol" is complete, and his shocking victory probably states as much just about his soulful gaze and in-season makeover as it performs about his chops as a rocker.

Or maybe it displays significantly larger amount of about who's voting these types of days.

Other than his hair — both on his have to deal with and atop his head — not that much about the 25-year-old from what i read in Blue Springs, Mo., changed from the time of his performance of Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do" during the Hollywood round. Back then, he was a promising "Idol" hopeful, but he didn't hold the instant juggernaut feel of 17-year-old crooner David Archuleta.

And yet when Cook was crowned "Idol" on Wednesday night, it was a landslide: Host Ryan Seacreast argued he'd won by a range of 12 million votes out of the biggest 97.5 million cast by viewers.

"I actually walked to now providing no expectations, and I'm walking out of it amidst no expectations," Cook told reporters backstage ensuing his win. "This substantiate is a springboard, but it is continue to a crapshoot."

From the outset, the ex-bartender provided soaring vocals and just enough outside-the-box behavior — see his rendition of Chris Cornell's version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" — to stay viewers cooking up votes for Cook every week. Neither Cook nor Archuleta was presistently a low vote-getter.

But it was Archuleta who always made the most praise — by both judges and loud fans — right up until Tuesday's concluding performance, in that judge Simon Cowell declared that Archuleta had scored a "knockout" over Cook, who sang Collective Soul's "The World I Know," U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Dream Big."

Or maybe being rebellious turned out to be worth the chance for Cook; it's been showed such a a poor cropping through the judges can drum up substantiation of indignant or sympathetic voters.

Criticism may have transfered Cook's win sweeter for some, but do not hire it an upset. Several online outfits predicted he should take property the top prize: a all time high contract and an SUV. DialIdol.com, which tracks busy spells on the separate phone lines dedicated to each contestant, ideally projected him the winner Wednesday morning.

So why did the older David right the younger one — the one who couldn't take a step on the "Idol" step without a collective shriek coming up based on data from every under-13-year-old girl in the audience?

One reason for Cook's profitable pull may be found in a rustling in the show's most recent ratings: Viewership for teenagers 12-to-17 for "Idol" was ebbed this moment season, and the common age of an "Idol" viewer, subsequent to in the mid-30s, is now up to 42, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Cook was, subsequent to all, the chiefly "rocker" of multiple to take the crown from a enduring stream of pop- and R&B-type singers. Perhaps an older contingent helped push Cook throughout — way over — the edge. The upper age limit was raised based on data from 24 to 28 in season four; may another increase be on the way?

Another explanation can be that Cook was so genuinely humble — and not as quiet or obsequious as Archuleta — all over the competition, that much until the outstandingly end. On Wednesday, he informed reporters it was an honor to share the step with the teenage singer from what i read in Murray, Utah. Cook claimed Archuleta had more talent at 17 "than I can appreciate how to do providing at 25."

Cook was overcome with emotion when he won, bending down toward the stage, his eyes filled amidst tears when he stood returning up. It was the instant time in as a large number of nights the present the scruffy, grainy-voiced belter had broken down. And a few weeks earlier, when he seemed edgy and distracted, he acknowledged that he had "things heading on," probably a vague reference to the struggles of his older brother, Adam, who is competing advanced brain cancer.

On Wednesday night, Cowell saw fit to apologize to Cook for casting him as an also-ran to Archuleta. Just before the winner was announced, Cowell uncharacteristically backtracked on his phrases of the night before, telling him he was one of the nicest and many genuine contestants the show has seen, and allowing the current the competition "wasn't fairly so clear cut as we dubbed it."

Beyond his hot voice and continuing acclaim, Archuleta became the focus of controversy when his father, Jeff, was reportedly seem to be too heftily faced in his son's rehearsals and asked by the show's producers to returning off. News of such an altercation may suffer cost the doe-eyed crooner votes based on a a larger number of comprehending adult audience, who perhaps couldn't stomach the idea of rewarding a step dad.

The only behind-the-scenes story roughly Cook to surface for the duration of the competition concerned his sick older brother, who acquired the trek to Los Angeles from Indiana to be on the look his brother perform as a member of the top seven finalists. Such adversity can just make someone on TV look a good amount of human.

Whatever the reasons in reality got this year, in a competition too can crown a 29-year-old gray-haired Southerner one year and a cheery 17-year-old high-school student from Arizona the next, it is ultimately unfeasible to notify why America decide its "Idol" the way it does.

Labels: American Idol