Another season of Idol is behind us, and for the first time in any of the seven seasons, the singer who won the whole guacamole didn't win the approval of the judges the night before.

Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia, Carrie, Taylor and Jordin had all gotten the Simon Cowell victory prediction after final performances. David Archuleta did and lost.

But the David vs. David matchup in the finale was a Godsend for a show in need of a pick-me-up.

Ratings-wise, the Season 7 finale did just as well as last year (a tad better, actually), although the audience for the 18 to 49 demographic was at a low not seen since the first season. You have to understand that, right now, in television, "flat" is the new "up" in terms of ratings. So, ratings to end the season were a positive.

And, in the end, a former bartender from Tulsa won. Good on David Cook. Cowell said that this was the first year he didn't really care which of the two finalists won, and I definitely get that.

Perhaps one doesn't know whether either Archuleta or Cook are actually stellar citizens of the universe, bringing forth nothing but positive energy and good vibes, kissing babies and the like. However, I'm pretty sure neither guy is a douchebag, either.

And in reality television, that says a ton. Sorry, but I thought Blake Lewis and Taylor Hicks, both previous finalists, were giant douchebags.

Anyway, to wrap up the season, which overall was an improvement on Season 6, I thought I'd pose a few questions and answer them myself. Call it arrogance or call it the need to fill more space in the blogosphere with egocentric rambling.

If nothing else, call it the perfect bowtie on top of an imperfect but relatively entertaining season.

1. Why did David Cook win?

In actuality, David Archuleta has a bigger core fan base than Cook. However, a number of factors came together to give the Blue Springs, Mo., native the win.

First, Cook drew in the vast majority of support from eliminated singers. The Jason Castro crowd. The Brooke White fans. The Carly Smithson and Michael Johns fandoms. And Archuleta drew virtually nothing.

Second, and Archuleta fans hate to hear this, but I'd guess that more than 25 percent of Cook's vote came from people who could not stand The Kid. They couldn't stand the way he squinted his eyes, gasped for air like an emphysema victim. They couldn't stand the "duh" look. None of it.

Believe me, I heard it from many, many readers, and I thought most of the criticism against The Kid was terribly unfair. However, it's reality. Some people will not vote for Barack Obama this fall because he's black, and others will not vote for John McCain because he's old. It is what it is. The only truth here is that it is reality, which by definition really does make it fair.

So, while Archuleta has the bigger core fan base, Cook had a vast majority of support even before Tuesday. In fact, Archuleta's super strong performance probably saved the final vote from being 54 million to 35 million. Or worse. Seriously.

2. OK, Ryan, who did YOU root for?

Archuleta. To me, Idol is a karaoke contest, and it's all about vocals. I told a reader last night that if I needed one of the Final 12 to play a live gig with, I'd pick Cook ... but if I needed a singer, it would be Archuleta.

By a mile. And it has nothing to do with personal taste in music, either. There have been three great male singers in this series over seven seasons: Clay Aiken, Elliot Yamin and Archuleta.

I'm not particularly interested (at all) in buying any of their albums. Believe me. But I want the best singer to win each year, period. Others wanted the best performer or the best overall package to win, and any method by which you come up with a choice is totally valid.

3. Do you think either David will be successful in the marketplace?

I say prepare to be really susprised. I think both Cook and Archuleta will do phenomenally well if they get the right producer and the right songs. Both are key and are always key.

If I had to pick which singer will be most successful, I'd say that early-on it will be Cook but long-run it will be Archuleta, particularly after he grows out of what is clearly an awkward teenage phase.

4. Will anybody else from Season 7 be successful in music?

I could see Kristi Lee Cook do well in country but mostly because that industry has really taken to Idol. My gut hunch says that Syesha Mercado could probably segue into television right now should she choose, but she could surprise some folks in the industry if she hooked up with a mentor like a Jay Z or Timbaland.

I do not think any of the others stand much of a chance.

5. If you could change anything about Idol for next season, what would it be?

Great question. First, I'd alter the voting slightly to account more for judges' opinions. Make it one-third judges and two-thirds voters. Something like that. Selected music executives should get a small say, a third perhaps.

Second, I'd update the music. Ditch all the 1960s and 1970s pop classics, the Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton weeks and make this entire contest more relevant to today's styles. Given that Idol is losing a ton of its teenage base, the show's executives need to do something to lure 'em back in.

And centering the show around old-fogey music does not help.

I'd consider replacing Paula Abdul or Randy Jackson just to shake things up, and I'd also give thought to replacing the band. While Rickey Minor and company are fine musicians, they represent "old," and what this show needs is "young" and "fresh" and, dare I say, "edgy."

The show itself is still viable and, hell, even still successful regardless of the viewership drop-off the past couple of seasons. It is imperative, however, that Idol execs make some changes, to keep it fresh.

To the diehard Idol fanatics, we're cool with whatever they do. However, given that we'd like to see the show stick around more than just another few years, it's a must.

6. Best performance of the season?

Cook's renditions of "Hello" and "Billie Jean."

7. Best vocal of the season?

Archuleta's rendition of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Honestly, I thought the competition was over right then.

However, in retrospect, it's pretty easy to understand why Cook won and why Archuleta lost. Heck, three weeks ago, I posted an article questioning whether Arch might not be eliminated in the Final 4 and got no less than 25 pieces of hate mail from his devoted fans.

And perhaps therein lied the problem for him when it came right down to it. While I truly believe The Kid has the bigger "core" fan base, if I had written that about Aiken five years ago, I would have gotten 1,000 e-mails.

At the end of the day, as the show exists right now, Idol is won not by contestants but by devoted voters. That's what's always been really neat about the show regardless of the outcome. It truly is democracy gone mad.