With an annoying boxing theme, “American Idol” hyped its David Archuleta vs. David Cook final with much fanfare Tuesday night.

And, oddly enough, this was one of your better “Idol” finals … one that didn’t really need all the hyperbole. But that’s never stopped Fox before, so there we go.

It was nice, though, having Andrew Lloyd Webber and Clive Davis working with the guys. Is it just me, or do you think replacing, oh, say, Paula with ALW would be awesome? ALW just seems to have some good insight that we don’t usually get from guest artists/judges. And Paula is, well, you know. We’ve covered that before. I’m sure ALW could occasionally throw in a “you look so pretty tonight” to fill that void if need be.

Both Davids did very well Tuesday, as expected. But only one did exceptionally well: Archuleta.

I totally agree with Simon: Archuleta took all three rounds. On “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” he tried to make it his own and it really worked. He picked the perfect, cheese-tastic songwriting contest entry for himself in “In this Moment.” He sounded John Denver-like near the end of it. And, although he’s sung it before, “Imagine” was a brilliant choice to showcase his impeccable vocals. All of these songs seem to have been written for him, and that allowed him to really shine performance after performance.

A side note, though: His dad really, really, really needs to ditch that stupid hat he always wears (really).

Cook was no slouch, though. His performance of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For” was very well done, if a little too straightforward (for him, Mr. Creative Song-Arrangement Guy). His choice of contest entry, “Dream Big,” suited him well, although the actual song wasn’t that great. He did what he could with it, and I can imagine hearing it on the radio. For his choice, he sang “The World I Know,” and gave his best performance of the night, I thought. It was right up his alley and allowed him to “Cook” it up like he does so well.

But, alas, Archuleta was just too flawless for him to beat, I think.

But that’s not the only reason I think “Archie” will win. In this year of election talk, let’s look at a USA Today poll looking at the each singers demographics. In the poll, Archuleta leads 58 percent to 42 percent in ages 13 to 19. Cook, however, leads in all of the older-than-19 age groups. So why do I still think Archie will win? Who votes in this thing? Me? Nope; even if I was home early enough to vote, I don’t think I would. You? I’m guessing not, from what you’ve said before. Anyone you work with or anyone older than 20 in your family? Probably not. Who has the time and inclination to vote and vote often? The Archie demographic, that’s who!

Besides, the rest of us know this isn’t a do-or-die competition for either of the Davids. In fact, I think it will be better for us all (Davids included) if Archie wins. He will thrive more in the “Idol” machine. I think it would just frustrate Cook. By being the runner-up, Cook gets plenty of attention and name recognition, but still has the freedom to do what he wants, music-wise, after the “Idol” tour is over. Everybody wins! Hugs! High-fives! Good times!

What do you think? Did you vote? Do you plan to watch any of Wednesday’s TWO-HOUR results show except for the last five minutes? Don’t forget to set those DVRs to record long!

The Top 3 “American Idol” contestants sang three songs for three judges Tuesday, but (in my opinion, contrary to Simon‘s take) none was a clear winner of the night.

David Cook came the closest to “winning.” I was curious to see how he would handle Simon’s pick of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack. Wow! What an amazing performance. I got goosebumps for the first time this “Idol” season. Randy wasn’t crazy about it (“you’re the rocker, dude!”), but Randy forgets that rockers can do ballads (and do them very well).

Every season the judges contradict themselves like this. They’ll say, “We’d like to see something different from you,” i.e, “you’re stuck in a box.” Then, the next week, when someone does something different (see Archuleta notes below), they say, “Ew, no, we didn’t like that,” i.e., “get back in that box.”

Anyway, David C. stumbled a bit with his song choice, Switchfoot’s “Dare You to Move.” I think what killed it was the arrangement. Paula was right on: it ended just as it was getting good.

And his third song, the producers’ pick, was Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing.” OK. I’m just going to be honest here: I absolutely HATE this song (and, yes, I almost did a spit take when Simon deemed it “one of the great songs of all time” Blech!). So David C. could have given the most brilliant performance in the history of the world, and I still would not have liked it. So I’ll let those of you who can stomach the song in the first place judge this performance. Everyone else seemed to like it on the show, so maybe he did win the night -- just not with me. There’s just no winners with that song, in my book.

David Archuleta, however, sang a song I really do like: the lesser-known Billy Joel tune “And So it Goes,” which was Paula’s pick for him. He did a great job (again), in true Archuleta fashion. Simon was right: It was nothing spectacular, but it was very well done.

Then he sang his choice: Chris Brown’s “With You.” And we were all tortured with David’s unintentionally robotic dance moves, his mumbling of lyrics near the beginning, and his use of the term “my boo,” which -- no, Randy was right, squeaky clean little David just couldn’t pull that off. But there’s your dilemma. We all want him to break out of the ballads, but then he does this and we scream (along with the judges) “Aaaah! No! Stop!” He could have picked a much better up-tempo song (I have no suggestions, but just about anything would have been better than this). But perhaps without his dad with him so much this week, we get this? Who knows?

David A.’s third song, the producers’ pick of Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer” brought back the Archuleta that doesn’t scare us so much. And, yes, it’s a cheese-tastic song, as Simon pointed out. But David pulled it off, I think, and, well, there was no dancing (thankfully).

So, yes, he's still stuck in that box. But he's quite comfortable there, and that makes it more comfortable for us to watch him. The difference between the Davids, though, (aside from the obvious), is that David C. can successfully venture out of his box and be comfortable. David A.? Not so much.

Syesha Mercado, the underdog going into Tuesday night’s Top 3, definitely gave it her all. But I don’t think it was enough. She did very well with Randy’s pick of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” although, again, I’m not crazy about her vocal runs at the end. Doesn’t anyone just sing a note and leave it be anymore? Why does everything have to go up and down the scale before you stop? Sorry. Pet peeve of mine, I guess.

Anyway, her pick was Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” a performance I totally loved. Simon pulled out his “lame cabaret” criticism again, and acted as if the audience can’t connect unless everyone sings a contemporary song. I hate when he says stuff like that. It’s just insulting to the viewing audience. We are capable of appreciating talented performances of music from decades ago. And we can see that talent and translate it into “hey, this is an artist with potential in today’s market.” *Sigh*

Contemporary or not, none of the judges liked Syesha’s performance of the producers’ pick: Gia Farrell’s “Hit Me Up.” I thought it was OK, and I could see her singing that kind of music. But it came off a little forced.

So there you have it: All three had good performances (even great ones), but all three also slipped a little. I’m going to stick with my (and many others’) predictions and say it will be David and David in the Final 2, but not without a good effort from Syesha.

What do you think? Who do you want to be in the Final 2 Wednesday night? Who will be there? And did you catch the fleeting shot of Justin Guarini? Where the heck has he been?

 If it's set up like it was last year, I think they each get three songs, with one of them being a judges' choice.

So if you got to pick a song for each one, what would you pick? And do you think Syesha can survive past next week, or will it be the Battle of the Davids, as we've all predicted for weeks now?

AFTER TUESDAY'S PERFORMANCES: We celebrated “the 500 most influential rock songs” on the Top 4 of “American Idol” Tuesday night.

And it has never been clearer who should go home.

Each contestant sang two tunes again, but the judging format was changed back to the way it’s always been, presumably in an effort to keep Paula from getting confused. It seemed to work, as Paula was downright normal (which was kinda boring, actually).

David Archuleta owned the competition this week with two more impeccable vocal performances. Say what you will about his mannerisms and his one-dimensional singing style. He has some singing chops and he’s not afraid to use ’em. He did Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” which was pretty much more of the same Archuleta we’ve seen in the past. But then he sang Elvis’ “Love Me Tender.” It was beautifully understated and, well, appropriately tender. I was a little concerned, however, with the super-duper closeup at the end -- I was sure the camera was going to go up his nose. Thankfully, the song ended in the nick of time and we were spared a cruise up Archuleta’s nostrils.

David Cook also brought some game. He took on Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” (which he pointed out came out the year he was born -- thanks for making me feel old, Cook). It was OK, but it really wasn’t as creative as I expected/wanted. He just kind of rocked it up a little. But I don’t know what else he could have done. It also wasn’t a good song to show off his vocals. He did better with The Who’s “Teenage Wasteland” song (which I know has a different actual title, but I’m too tired to look it up). The arrangement seemed a little weird, but it still allowed him to be that rocker with the good voice we’ve all come to appreciate.

Syesha Mercado kicked some butt on Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.” It was the perfect song for her, allowing her to do her vampy thing. It was fun and memorable, and that’s exactly what she needed it to be. Her second song, Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” wasn’t as memorable, but it was still heartfelt and well done. She didn’t take too well to Randy’s criticism, though, and strangely broke down in tears. She said it was because the song “meant a lot” to her. The tears could hurt or help her, but I think it will help her. Especially in light of the disaster that was Jason Castro.

Oh, Jason -- in the words on Simon Cowell: What were you thinking?! He proved without a doubt that one needs more than just dreadlocks to sing a Bob Marley song well. I love Bob Marley, and Castro’s performance of “I Shot the Sheriff” was just torturous and amateurish. Understandably, the judges didn’t like it so much (Paula could only say she loves Jason). So what does he follow up with? Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” -- and he forgets the lyrics! OMG! Dude! You’re in the Top 4 of “American Idol”! How about at least pretending you deserve to be there?!

So Jason should go home, if there’s any sense of fairness left in this world (or, you know, on “Idol“). But who knows? This point in the competition is as much a coin toss as anything. I really think the Davids are safe, though (and I hope I didn’t just jinx them …)

And Ryan announced at the beginning of the show that three of the Top 4 have been No. 1 in votes in previous weeks. I wonder who wasn’t? It has to be Jason or Syesha, right?

So what did you think? Were Jason’s performances enough to finally oust him? Or will his young fans keep him instead of Syesha? Or, dare I say, will there be a bigger surprise elimination?