Spoiler alert: American Idol Champ revealed...

.David Cook! The rocker from Blue Springs, Mo. was crowned "American Idol" champ on a live show Wednesday night after taking the singing competition by more than 12 million votes.
]And the winner is...David Cook!

Runner-up David Archuleta may have been the dominant singer during their final face-off this week, but the 25-year-old showed what strong support he had from viewers at home. In the end, a record 97.5 million audience votes were cast and the older David got 56 percent of them.

It had seemed like a forgone conclusion almost from the start of the season that Archuleta, the uncommonly gifted 17-year-old prodigy would win the "Idol" crown. But with memorable performances on such songs as "Hello," "Billie Jean," and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

He wept after host Ryan Seacrest announced him as the winner.

Which former Idol champion's path will David Cook follow? Will he become a big-selling recording artist like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, or do a quick fade like Taylor Hicks?My guess is major superstardom.

As for Archuleta, he's got every opportunity for big-time success with season two runner-up Clay Aiken the most obvious model for him to emulate.

We already know that winning isn't everything if you've connected with the public the way he has.Chris Daughtry finished fourth a few seasons back and went on to dominate the sales charts and be nominated for a Grammy.

I'm really excited about following the careers of both these talented guys.