Frank Micelotta / FOXFirst things first. David Cook is OK.
You may have heard that the Idol contestant (prodigy?) took a trip to the hospital last night after suffering from anxiety, high blood pressure and light-headedness—but David insisted on taking the stage before being treated. Only after his "Little Sparrow" performance did he head to the hospital. Fortunately, he is expected to be back on set tonight. (Get all the details in our news story.)
Here's hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery, for his sake and the sake of the fans, because the last two weeks of Idol have made something pretty clear: This season belongs to the Davids. Really, as much as some of us do love Carly Smithson, Michael Johns or Jason Castro, the season is shaping up to be a fierce competition between David Cook and David Archuleta.
Both Davids are insanely talented (perhaps the best talent we've seen on AI since Kelly Clarkson back in the day) and yet remain wildly different, both on screen and off. While David Cook is subdued, thoughtful and edgy, Archuleta's adorable, unbridled enthusiasm often makes him seem straight out of a Disney movie, and this may be due to the folks behind them. While Cook says that growing up, "music was something that was readily available to me, but not forced upon me," on-set sources tell me Archuleta's father is most definitely of the "stage dad" variety (not surprising for anyone who won Star Search at the age of 12).
Bottom line, both guys have proven themselves enough to have wildly successful stand-alone careers after the show ends, regardless of who wins (the loss didn't hurt Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson or Clay Aiken), and if you ask me to choose between my Davids, I won't. The'yre both too good to make the call.
What do you say? Vote below for your Idol pick so far...and how about some nice well wishes for David Cook in the comments below?
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker