"And the winner is David....

Now, I have to tell you. During that long pause that I KNEW Ryan was going to draw out, my mind started chanting "Archuleta, Archuleta." I just wanted to brace myself, you know?

".... COOK!"

WHAT??? OMG, he said "Cook!" He said "Cook!"

I screamed. Yep, I did. I'm not too proud to admit it. I screamed, and then I started crying. Hard. I wasn't expecting to react that way, I really wasn't. I had joked that if Cookie didn't win, I might cry... but I didn't expect to sob if he won. But I did. I was just so proud of him. He came out of nowhere, he built his fanbase the old-fashioned way--by delivering brilliant performance after brilliant performance that forced people to pay attention. He certainly forced me to pay attention!

There have been very few times in my life when a musician has grabbed my heart the way David Cook did. As much as I liked Blake Lewis last year, he didn't have the effect on me that David has had this year. I wasn't compelled to listen to Blake's music repeatedly. I dug my old MP3 player out of mothballs so I could listen to David's music all day long. So funny that I didn't even start watching this season because of him--in fact, one of the reasons I started watching was because of David Archuleta. But Cook is the one who kept me watching after a previous favorite, Danny Noriega, was eliminated, and Cook was the one who kept me on pins and needles every Tuesday and Wednesday night for the past several weeks, wondering what he would do next, wondering if he had attracted enough fans to stick around another week. Without question, if he had been eliminated at some point, I would have stopped watching.

I know it's crazy, and it's certainly not the first time I've been around the bend over some celebrity, LOL. Only I can't think of David Cook as a "celebrity," even though he is certainly famous now. I feel like he is just a regular human being with an amazing gift of musical talent, combined with a work ethic like no other, and best of all, seemingly a beautiful, humble, grounded, and down-to-earth spirit.

I can honestly say I have never encountered a voice or a singer that has captivated me the way David has. I am absolutely in love with his voice and singing. I think he has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard, and he easily has the most gorgeous rock voice I have ever heard. One thing I love about his voice is how versatile it is. He sounds as fantastic singing warm, intimate songs like “Little Sparrow” and “The World I Know” (the latter of which is my very favorite performance from the show) as he does rocking out with a beat to “Dream Big” or “My Hero.” And he absolutely nails the power ballads with the soaring quality of his voice—as in the songs I mentioned earlier, as well as “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing."

I would love to listen to David if it were just for that beautiful voice. But he also fully invests in his songs, which gives the music a powerful, healing quality that renders me unable to stop listening to it. Somehow his music makes me feel what he seems to feel. I feel angry and betrayed when I listen to “Billie Jean.” I feel longing when I hear “Always Be My Baby.” I feel hopeful when I hear “The World I Know.” I have found his music to be cathartic, calming, and energizing all at once. I don’t know how that’s possible, but that's what he has done.

I haven’t even mentioned how much I love Analog Heart. I think David is an amazing songwriter. I also haven’t mentioned how eager I am to buy and listen to David's new album. I have been trying to stay updated on its progress through articles written about him and his recording process, and everything I have read has made me increasingly anxious to buy it. I am so excited to hear his newest music.

And I haven’t mentioned that I have read articles, reviews, and fan reports about him all summer, and I am constantly blown away by how kind, generous, sincere, humble, down-to-earth, funny, and dorky he is. I would love David just for his music, but he also seems to be an incredible person as well, and that pretty much seals the deal. I will forever be David Cook's fan.