In `Idol' bout, 'Archie' declared knockout winner

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But even true believers doubted that Cook could prevail over sweet-faced, big-voiced teenager David Archuleta when the talent contest wraps Wednesday night.

"I hope to be surprised by the results, but I don't think I will be," said 20-year-old Mariana Uribe after attending Tuesday's show.

Lourdes Uribe, her 23-year-old sister and fellow Cook fan, said the rocker didn't go "as mainstream as he could have" with Collective Soul's "The World I Know" as his final performance.

Archuleta, by contrast, showed his silky talent off to perfection on crowd-pleasers including John Lennon's "Imagine," which he reprised from earlier in the season.

Cook said he has no regrets and wouldn't have approached the night any other way.

"If I had to choose between playing a song that not a whole lot of people know that I could get behind, or the opposite, I'll choose the lesser-known every time," Cook told The Associated Press backstage.

In round one, Cook and Archuleta received great reviews Cook for his version of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and Archuleta for Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." But Cowell declared Archuleta the winner, a theme that would be repeated.

Cook strapped on his white Gibson Les Paul and picked up the pace for round two, sturdily rocking his way through "Dream Big," which he chose from among finalists in the show's songwriting competition. But Archuleta countered well, soaring through his choice, the inspirational ballad "In This Moment."

The songwriting winner will be revealed Wednesday, when the "Idol" champ performs it.

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