He's going for second, BEST

Last night was the American Idol finale and my favorite, David Cook worked hard.... for second place. I believe this was totally intentional and aparently I'm not the only one. "What is your new foot smell?" blog, also agrees

There is no way that Cook, who early-on demonstrated an uncanny nack (and some considerable balls) for picking and re-arranging popular pop classics to sound new again, suddenly had a complete lapse of judgment on the most 'important' night of his life. It just seems very unlikely to me that the eloquent, savvy, and musically talented Cook would completely mis-judge the expectations for the evening - rousing, vocally-taxing and sappy ballads about being in the most important 'moment' of your life (a la Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This"). Maybe he never watched an AI finale before but I seriously doubt it. Not only did he fail to demonstrate bravery or ingenuity in how he picked or arranged the songs, he was even uncharacteristically off-key in the second round.

I just don't buy it.

I think, like 'Foot Smell', that DC realizes that there will be more room in the future for his musical abilities, by in coming 2nd.

Having got himself onto the world stage, in front of millions of people, generating name recognition and a loyal fan-base on somebody else's dime, I sensed his "brilliance" waining about 3 weeks ago. I turned to Hubbie and I said, "You know, it would be great if someone like him could win. I mean, look at Daughtry, he should have won." No sooner had the words come out of my mouth than it slapped me across the face: David Cook is trying to throw the contest! Would Daughtry have been as successful if he had won American Idol? Would his alternative-rock edge have been blunted by the manufactured image and songs dolled-out to the Idol winners? It's quite likely. I don't know for sure but I think David Cook thinks he does.

So, I don't think DC will win but, in thinking about it, I'm actually quite happy about that. I eagerly await his first album. Let's hope I'm right and his renditions of "Hello" and "Billy Jean" didn't give us false expectations.