All the buzz about American Idol's Season 7 foray into the finals was about its new set -- so much so that TMZ was reporting major concern on behalf of producers about it hours before Tuesday night's show aired.

No need to worry on that front, but is there reason to worry about frontrunner David Archuleta?

The 17-year-old Utah native flubbed the words big time to "We Can Work It Out," one of 12 songs performed tonight from the catalog of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the greatest pop music songwriters ever.

Truly, this was just about the best night of music Idol has ever produced, and it wasn't merely about the songbook. Two performances in particular, I think, have set two singers, in particular, apart from the pack.

And David Archuleta is not one of them.

Tulsa's own David Cook put an emo spin on "Eleanor Rigby," and it was borderline brilliant. The comparisons to Chris Daughtry will be there, but Cook's emo style is significantly different from Daughtry's rock vibe.

And nanny Brooke White's version of "Let It Be" with her at the piano was stellar, the best of the night and perhaps the best of the season so far. Based on actual musical talent, with originality and commercial appeal factored in, this season's finale might be Cook vs. White.

It was seriously terrific.

However, back to the boy who will win American Idol, David Archuleta. Perhaps my lecturing about how this show works will sink in for those who think I'm merely a "fan" of the boy wonder.

A quick look at DialIdol.com shows him comfortably ahead of everybody, even with his mess ups. Don't think this is an accident. Teenage girls not only dominate the voting on this show; they essentially pick who wins.

But the first week of the finals on American Idol has historically been about stepping up from the Top 24 portion of the competition, making a first impression to those who hadn't watched the season until the Top 12 -- and that's a lot of folks.

Chikeze stunned everybody with his down-home Southern version of "She's A Woman." And his predecessor, Syesha Mercado was better than the judges credited her with her Earth, Wind & Fire version of "Got To Get You Into My Life."

I even liked Amanda Overmyer's version of "You Can't Do That," although I still think she's not long for this Idol world. Likewise, the stay of Kristi Lee Cook and David Hernandez could be short-lived with their versions of "8 Days A Week" and "I Saw Her Standing There," respectively.

Hernandez was particularly disappointing, reminiscent of the cheesy days of Idol past. To watch three quarters of Tuesday night's Idol show was to see a competition that has started to grow up, with contestants playing instruments, with originality taking over where cheesiness once stood.

Speaking of originality, Texas' own Jason Castro played guitar to "If I Fell," and again, I wasn't attuned to his vibe. Personally, I hated it. Likewise, Michael Johns bores me to tears, although I've never been THAT bored, really.

Of the female singers, perhaps the best compliment of the night went to Carly Smithson, whose rendition of "Come Together" drew comparisons to Kelly Clarkson from Simon Cowell. Perhaps I missed something, but I thought the Irish lass' rendition of the song was dull. Technically, it was ok, but I can honestly see how she never sold any records. It's all too basic.

Which brings us back to Archuleta.

When you bring it like he had during the past several weeks and do so with a pseudo-annoying "Aww, shucks" attitude, there is very little room for error -- unless your Idol fanbase is already so big that it forgives anything you do.

I heard somebody say, or perhaps I saw them write, that Archuleta -- at this point -- will have to get Miley Cyrus pregnant under the influence of crystal meth (embellishment for the sake of humor on my part) to lose the competition.

And right now, that is 100 percent truth.

But Archuleta the frontrunner should know that two seriously talented dark horses are on his tail in the form of David Cook and Brooke White. And if Simon Cowell were so bold as to compare Carly Smithson to Kelly Clarkson after one week of the Season 7 finals, perhaps he should have been so bold as to make a similar comparison for Archuleta.

Justin Guarini