Cook Triumphs Over Archuleta On 'American Idol'

Grown-up rocker David Cook has triumphed over smooth-voiced teen David Archuleta to become the new "American Idol."

While Archuleta was heaped with praise by the judges the night before, the voters decided otherwise -- and it wasn't even close. Host Ryan Seacrest said during Wednesday's show that 12 million votes was the difference.

Cook was overcome by emotion, bending toward the stage after his name was announced.

"This is amazing," he said. "This is all your fault," he added, addressing the brother who Cook had accompanied to the "Idol" audition that started it all.

Cook immediately took the microphone and began to sing "Time of my Life," which won the annual "Idol songwriting competition."

American Idol' Gets Down To Its Final 2 Contestants

It'll be David vs. David. Syesha Mercado was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday night, paving the way for the expected showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook.

Mercado, a 21-year-old actress from Sarasota, Fla., was the last woman standing on the top-rated Fox contest. The big-voiced belter surpassed a more accomplished singer (Carly Smithson), a fan favorite (Brooke White) and a statuesque country crooner (Kristy Lee Cook).

While other contestants floundered, Mercado challenged herself with ambitious song choices like Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." She showed more personality -- and lots of leg -- while swiveling her hips in a glittery gold minidress for a rendition of "Proud Mary." She cried when Paula Abdul gave her a standing ovation last week. Email This Story IM This Story Print This Story

Abdul held the sugar on Tuesday's performance show, telling Mercado that she thought her performance of "Hit Me Up" wasn't "good enough to get into the finals."

With Mercado out of the way, "Idol" can now fully hype the David vs. David matchup.

There's Archuleta, the 17-year-old singing prodigy from Murray, Utah, with the overly involved stage dad. And there's Cook, the 25-year-old former bartender from Blue Springs, Mo., with an emo edge that the angelic Arculeta lacks.

Who will snag the title next Wednesday?

One thing is for sure: His name will be David.

Avril Lavigne Can't Sing...For Now

Avril Lavigne has been rendered speechless after coming down with acute laryngitis. The illness has forced the Canadian punky popster to scrap six additional shows on her North American tour, bringing the grand total of nixed dates to eight.

"My sincerest apologies to all of my fans," she said in a statement Saturday night. "My intention was to complete the rest of the tour, but tonight at sound check in Anaheim I realized this wasn't possible. Even though I have been resting my voice for days, when I tried to sing nothing came out."

Refunds will be available on Monday for the six concerts—in addition to Anaheim and Sunday's gig in Los Angeles, Lavigne will skip dates in Santa Barbara and San Jose, Calif., and Spokane and Eureka, Wash. She had previously canceled shows last week in San Diego and Phoenix.

The Cure To Release New Single Monthly

The Cure have announced that they will release a new single each month leading up to the release of their 13th studio album in September.

Robert Smith and company will drop the first single from the as-yet untitled album on May 13, and intend to release a different a- and b-side single on the 13th of each month until the album is released on September 13.

The first single, "The Only One," includes the b-side "NY Trip."The second single, "Freakshow"--due out June 13--contains the b-side "All Kinds Of Stuff."

Both b-sides are exclusive to the singles and will not appear on the full-length album. They were produced by Smith and Keith Uddin.

The July 13 and August 13 singles will be announced shortly.

The band is set to kick off an extensive U.S. tour in support of the new album beginning May 9.