Since the start of the Top 24 on this year's American Idol, I've said teen idol David Archuleta would sail to the winner's circle.

Based on fan base. Based on voting statistics sites, like DialIdol.com. Based on history.

But not based on talent. No, sir, and not close. Season 7 of the American singing competition has become a dogfight because of a young man with major rock chops: Tulsa's own David Cook.

When Chris Daughtry blew onto the scene a couple of years ago, fans of the FOX show weren't sure what to make of a rock-n-roll singer with actual ability and viable commercial appeal.

He lost but became a star.

David Cook could win and become a star.

For the first time all season, somebody other than Archuleta is leading DialIdol.com voting at the end of a performance night. If you're not familiar with the site, it features an application that tracks the voting habits of a sample of registered users based not on votes but on busy signals.

The performer whose voting line is cluttered the most is scored highest. While I'm not sure how it works exactly, its prognosticative ability is surprisingly accurate and, in fact, accurately predicted Daughtry's Idol demise two years ago.

But it's not merely speculative results that make me center myself firmly in Cook's corner. It is his talent and, most definitely, his commercial appeal. Make no mistake, win or lose, this guy will make a major rock album later this year, and it will be a big seller.

Cook's version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," as done by Chris Cornell, was outstanding. While it was a copy of Cornell's arrangement, Cook held his own vocally, and the dark, rock song style is unlike anything Idol has put together in the show's seven years.

If you're not familiar with Cornell, he was the frontman for Soundgarden, among other bands. However, Soundgarden was one of the preeminent rock bands coming out of Seattle in the early 1990s, best known for their hits "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun."

Cornell's vocals are superior to Cook's, and his arrangement was twice as cool and definitely more minimalistic than what the Idol "orchestra" put together. However, all in all, Cook's rendition was pretty much cooler than anything the show has put out in seven years.

For Cook, it's been a consistent run, having done an emo rendition of "Eleanor Rigby" and a slightly emo rendition of a Whitesnake version of "Day Tripper." It's clear that Cook has no urge to be a pop idol, that he's in it to be a rock star.

Win or lose, that's what he's going to be.

And if David Cook keeps down this path, he might be Idol's first legit rock champion.