American Idol

It is David versus David in this season's final showdown

David Cook

Frank Micelotta / FOX
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Little Sparrow

Having caught heat for repurposing other rock covers in the past few weeks, Cook makes a point of saying this is his own arrangement. Maybe he should have stuck with Chris Cornell. Cook's vocal is fine — excellent, really — but where his Hello stripped down Lionel Ritchie's ballad to its essence, he adds too many toppings to this haunting song, uprooting the bluegrass and transplanting it into a stadium.

by James Poniewozik

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