Simon Cowell predicted David Cook would take home the American Idol seventh-season title, but it was David Archuleta who apparently scored the knockout during last night's final live performance episode.

But to hear Simon Cowell and the other "Idol" judges tell it, David Archuleta knocked rival David Cook out cold.

Despite rocker David Cook's surge in recent weeks, the judges were uncharacteristically united in proclaiming early fan favorite teen David Archuleta had outperformed his rival.

Snarky Simon got it right Tuesday night.

"You came out here tonight to win," judge Simon Cowell told the doe-eyed David Archuleta after his three "Idol" performances. "And what we have witnessed is a knockout."

To say the least.

The younger David ran roughshod over ersatz rocker David Cook in their do-or-die faceoff on "American Idol."

LITTLE David Archuleta scored a TKO against his own Goliath as he went toe- to-toe against big David Cook in the final sing-off of the season on "American Idol."

Lyndsey Parker, Yahoo! Music writer: "I do believe that if he wins, he will be the most successful male 'Idol' winner so far, easily topping both Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks. But he'll only succeed if he (and his rumored stage dad) don't let the . . . powers-that-be mold him into something he's not. This guy has clearly struck a chord with viewers, not just because of his voice, but because of his aw-shucks boyish charm. He is not a rocker, he is not a hipster - he is a likable, dorky, cute kid. This was largely Clay Aiken's appeal. . . . I have always seen Archuleta as a Groban/Aiken-type, and could easily see him going in that direction: doing that type of adult-contemporary-leaning vocal pop.

Even "American Idol's" singing prodigy, David Archuleta, wasn't sure about whether he sang well enough to make it to the grand finale of television's most-watched program.
Right after he sang in Tuesday night's episode - in which two of the three judges heaped him with glowing praise - the 17-year-old Murray teen sent a text to his friend Adam Ruben with sneaking doubts.
"My songs are all boring, FYI. Ha, ha," David texted his friend. "[Contestant, David] Cook dominated entirely and was amazing. But I'm glad they didn't criticize my singing."

The musically emancipated Archuleta was adventurous with the arrangement. Instead of going the obvious piano-man route, the prodigy went a cappella (or as I will now call it, Arch-Cappella) and landed in a sea of lush strings. I know a lot of critics are going to gripe that a 17-year-old doesn't have the life experience to convincingly sing lyrics about "wounds from lovers' past," but all things considered, I think Li'l David connected to the tune shockingly well, save for an unfortunate lyric slip that turned one line into "[sneeze] so will you soon, I suppose."

David Archuleta - "Longer"
I thought the producers' choice of Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" resulted in David A's best performance in the night. Yes, it was another ballad, but he sang it well, and was very much in his comfort zone. Randy said, "It was another hot one from you." Paula said, "Very lovely. I expect nothing more." Simon said, "I thought you sang it well. However, I thought the song and lyrics were horrible."