Thread: American Idol: David C. wins! And a good time was had by all. (Carrie Mentioned)

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American Idol: David C. wins! And a good time was had by all. Well, almost all.

As that noted sage Simon Cowell remarked earlier in the season: Live TV — you gotta love it.

Tuesday, David Cook, the 25-year-old rocker with the scraggly beard and the old-soul vibe, sang the U2 anthem I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

He may change that tune now, as just one night later he won the American Idol crown, in a surprise — some might say shock — result that caught many onlookers off-balance, least of all the judges, who all but handed the title to 17-year-old David Archuleta after Tuesday's performance program.

In the end, perhaps the judges' ganging up on him had a peculiar backlash effect, as evidenced by numerous message boards leading up to the results program, in which music buffs, Idol fans and casual onlookers alike shared the outrage at being told the result was preordained.

There as no outrage Wednesday, though — just mutual admiration, and even affection, between winner and runner-up.

The real surprise may have been that, after a slow beginning with the requisite excruciating medleys, gussied-up car ads and grafted-on promos for So You Think You Can Dance and Hollywood movies that have nothing to do with American Idol, the two-hour results show settled into a nice rhythm, with some welcome — if somewhat predictable — cameo performances by Seal, ZZ Top, Donna Summer, Graham Nash, OneRepublic, The Jonas Brothers and George Michael; a G-rated comedy bit by Jimmy Kimmel (quite funny, actually); a Showgirls-themed musical comedy bit with Gladys Knight, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downie Jr. (yes, you read that right); a rousing, this-is-how-it's-done show stopper by Carrie Underwood, arguably Idol's most famous alum; and, in a shout-out to Idol's Canadian fan base — and possibly a hint of things to come — rocker Bryan Adams, singing his new single I Thought I'd Seen Everything in an all-dude duet with David C. and David A., after which David C. gave Adams a manly arm squeeze.

Then, with minutes to go, the judges had their final say. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul virtually recited their Tuesday post-performance pep speeches word-for-word. But then Simon Cowell went off message — the man is right, you know; live TV really is kinda catchy — and made a flat-out apology for his remarks on Tuesday.

This was a seriously weird — if welcome — moment to all David C. fans, and it makes you wonder if the judges were slipped a heads-up before Seacrest's surprise announcement. This is American Idol, after all, not the Oscars: Who knows how many people know the result before it's actually announced?

"I want to congratulate both of you for last night," Cowell said, with a hint of — could it be? — humility. "Because I thought, on the night, it was a terrific show. I went back home to watch it. It wasn't quite so clear-cut as we called it. And in fact, David [to David C.], I will take this opportunity to apologize because I think I was verging on disrespectful with you. And I don't think you deserve that. Because, over the season, what I liked about both of you is that you are tryers. You've both given it your best. You're both very nice people. And, for the first time ever, I don't really care who wins: I think you've both done terrific."

Amen, amen, Jackson chimed in.

And then it was David C.'s moment, a blinding flash of lights, a shower of ticker, screams of adulation from the throngs at the Nokia Centre, and David C.'s rendition of the new American Idol single Time of My Life, by Reggie Hamm.

And a good time was had by all. Well, almost all.

If recent Idol history tells us anything, it's that there are no guarantees where post-Idol CD sales are concerned. I'm thrilled — and admittedly surprised — that David C. pulled it out in the end. But now the hard part begins.