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It has been a long journey for all and after months, finally ended with David Cook taking home the title of the 7th American Idol.
Rocker David Cook, 25, shed tears as host Ryan Seacrest announced that he had beat out 'Arch Angel' David Archuleta, 17, by 12 million votes after 11 weeks of fierce competition.
"This is amazing," Cook said. "This is all your fault," he added, addressing his brother Andrew.
Cook initially accompanied Andrew to the Omaha audition rounds as moral support, but decided to audition and was passed through to the Hollywood rounds.
During the season, Cook gained his 'rock star' status through the use of musical instruments such as the electric guitar, adding rock features to give an edge to the songs he sang.
The win for Cook, 25, a bartender from Blue Springs, Mo., may be interpreted as the strong backing of loyal fans countrywide, considering Tuesday's performances and the judges' reactions, which swung almost unanimously in Archuleta's favour.
Seacrest revealed that Cook received 56 percent of the votes, while Archuleta drew 44 percent.
Together, the Davids garnered a record 97.5 million votes from Idol viewers, beating the show's previous record by 23 million.
Highlights of the finale episode comprised an upbeat medley of songs by the top 12 contestants including Syesha Mercado, Jason Castro, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and Brooke White.
It also featured a duet segment by both Davids to introduce one of the guest performers, Bryan Adams.
Later, audience members were treated to paired performances where Archuleta sang with OneRepublic and Cook with ZZ Top.
Other guest stars in the explosive season finale included the Jonas Brothers, Idol reject Renaldo Lapuz, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, as well as past Idol winners Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood.
To close season 7 of American Idol, Cook sang 'Time of my Life', which won the annual Idol songwriting competition.
The season finale (results show) of American Idol will be broadcast again at 10 pm tonight on Channel 5.
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