Syesha’s out: It’s David vs. David on ‘Idol’

All is right with the “American Idol” universe. It’s an all-David final, as the judges and producers have seemed to want for weeks.

Teen idol David Archuleta and ex-bartender David Cook will square off next week in the “Idol” finale. Would-be party-crasher Syesha Mercado’s miracle run finally ended, as she was eliminated Wednesday to finish in third place to the great relief of the judges and production staff.

Mercado was no stranger to danger. She was onstage among the lowest vote-getters in eight of the show’s last 10 weeks. Five times before this week, she stood next to Ryan Seacrest and another contestant knowing that she had a 50-50 shot of getting sent home. Five times, she survived.

By contrast, neither Cook nor Archuleta has ever been in that position. Archuleta has been a favorite from day one, while Cook quickly became one with strong early performances. Since Michael Johns and Carly Smithson went out early, the Davids have been the best hope the show has had to have a winner capable of immediate recording success, and every week their appearance in the finale has looked more inevitable.

To add to the hype, the show kept all three in the dark until announcing the two finalists, meaning that we've never found out which David earned more votes in any week of the show. That means Ryan can open next week’s show by truthfully saying it’s anyone’s guess who the favorite is.

Sad day for Syesha
Unfortunately, revealing the results that way eliminated the most suspenseful part of the show. Nobody knows who got the most votes this week, but it wasn’t much of a shock who got the fewest.

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That made the least predictable part of the show the performance by Fantasia, who sported fire-engine red hair and probably would have been the singer eliminated had she performed on Tuesday as a contestant instead of on Wednesday as a past champion. Once the song ended and Simon’s mouth closed, the producers aired the tapes of the singers’ trips back home, filled with the usual cheers and tears and precious footage that helped kill the bulk of the hour until Mercado could be given the boot.

Mercado has looked more and more comfortable onstage as the competition progressed, with her acting background coming in handy. As an entertainer, she may be the best bet of the final three to stay in Hollywood and forge a show business career. But the judges have always had doubts about her voice, and for the most part she’s had to scrape by every week without their endorsement.

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She’s gotten praise, but it’s always been clear that they consider her to be a cut below Archuleta and Cook. That was especially true on Tuesday, when Paula Abdul — who doesn’t even have hate for the “Idol” pundits who want her fired — told Mercado she wasn’t sure she’d earned a spot in the final two. That qualifies as a smackdown from the Queen of Nice, as if she was determined to leave no doubt about who she wanted to see in next week finals.

Paula didn’t need to worry. Mercado’s best hope was for Archuleta to have another lyrics malfunction or Cook to get a little too wacky for mainstream viewers. When neither happened, the suspense was effectively over. Now the finale hype can officially begin.

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