Davids battle to become 7th "American Idol"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Idol's dueling Davids faced off on Tuesday as the two remaining finalists each performed three songs in their attempts to win the hit talent show's seventh season.


Despite rocker David Cook's surge in recent weeks, the judges were unusually united in proclaiming that teenager David Archuleta, had outperformed his rival.


"You came out here tonight to win, and what we have witnessed is a knock out," said Idol's prickly judge Simon Cowell.


Randy Jackson concurred, proclaiming "the best singer of season 7 is right there" after Archuleta's rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," a song that earlier in the competition brought him some of his best feedback.


Cook, 25, and Archuleta, 17, performed in the live telecast before 7,000 people at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre.


One song was chosen for each by Sony BMG executive Clive Davis, who assigned U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to Cook, and the Elton John ballad "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to Archuleta.


Cowell, who earlier on Tuesday predicted in a television appearance that Cook would triumph, firmly stated "Round 1 goes to David Archuleta."


The next set was chosen from the "American Idol" songwriting contest's top 10 submissions, with Cook doing "Dream Big" by Emily Shackelton, while Archuleta went for Ryan Gillmor's "In This Moment."