Idol Polls: The Top 3

Welcome back to our weekly American Idol polls round-up. Each week we look at various online polls that were conducted from the end of last week's results up to the performance show Tuesday. And then a few that were conducted after the performance show, but before the results were revealed.

This way we can analyze how the week's performances affected a contestant's overall popularity, which turns out to be not very much except in a few select cases anymore. Of course, it's all come down to the inevitable finale everyone expected. Unfortunately, it turned out to be rather anticlimactic though it would have been a lot of fun to see our girl Syesha sneak her way into the finale. What it does accomplish is setting up a finale that's almost impossible to predict. Both Davids have been at the top of the polls for weeks now, so it may come down to what they do Tuesday. We'll be back next week on Wednesday before the results to analyze the available polls at that time and see if we can predict the ultimate winner.

WEEK-TO-WEEK POLLS (PRE-PERFORMANCE)

Guide to the polls:
Position - [change from last week] Contestant (Percentage of votes)

AOL

Jason may have been first in AOL voters' hearts, but he went home anyway. Everyone else just bumped up to make up the difference. Unfortunately, with the predictably boring results, we're left with a predictably boring polls analysis. Maybe I can spice it up by talking about other things. At least it'll be interesting next week. Look how incredibly close the Davids are!

Need more American Idol? Get an inside look at Season 7's contestants and think back to these scathing (and hilarious) Simon Cowell quotes. Also: Don't forget to choose your favorite Idol!

TV Guide
1 - [=] David Cook (61.3%)
2 - [=] David Archuleta (29.7%)
3 - [+1] Syesha Mercado (9.0%)
Nothing new to report again, really. What was up with Paula giving honest to goodness criticism this week. She even got it right when she told Syesha she hadn't done enough to make the Finals. Maybe she got wind of the American Idol survey analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the show and she's trying to prove her worth.

VoteFair.org
1 - [=] David Archuleta (58.1%)
2 - [=] David Cook (36.5%)
3 - [+1] Syesha Mercado (5.4%)
As much as we wanted them to drop the restrictive theme weeks all year long, how disappointing did it turn out when they finally did. I applaud David Archuleta for trying to sound current but that was a disaster. And David Cook faltered vocally with his performance. Syesha did okay with "Fever" but it was more of a showcase for stage acting than vocal skill.


AFTER-PERFORMANCE POLLS

AOL
3 - [+1] Syesha Mercado (9.7%)
Hey, check it out, David Cook crept into the lead after this past Tuesday's performances. I think people may have forgotten that Syesha was still in the competition. Maybe they thought we were at the finale already. I think if Syesha had worn something a little more flattering, as she did last week, she may have gotten a little more noticed. That first dress didn't really fit her well at all, and let's face it she has a fantastic figure. Katharine McPhee worked her figure to a second place finish! Okay, I guess she could sing too, but who was paying attention.

TV Squad
1 - [=] David Cook (76.5%)
2 - [=] David Archuleta (17.0%)
3 - [=] Syesha Mercado (6.5%)
Wow, if the TV Squad voters have their say there won't be any question next week. So what's the deal with David Cook's head. Is it humongous or is Ryan's head really that small? When the two of them stand side-by-side I swear to god it really does look like David Cook's head is going to reach over and just snap Ryan's little head right off his neck. Maybe Paula could hang it from her rear-view mirror with David Archuleta's.

Dial Idol
1 - [=] David Cook (32.65)
2 - [=] David Archuleta (22.07)
3 - [=] Syesha Mercado (15.81) <--
It looks like Syesha gave a respectable showing in the voting analysis at DialIdol, but the more interesting thing is the now 10 point lead that David Cook has over Syesha Mercado. The big question, as with every week, is where Syesha's votes will go? To the more polished performer (Cook) or the smoother vocals (Archuleta)? I will say what will be the lamest joke you will hear over and over again through the next week by saying that I predict the winner of American Idol will be David.