Flashback: David Cook's "The World I Know"

Last year's lopsided finale results were very unexpected based on the way the previous night's performances went. Both David Cook and David Archuleta were competitive and sang for their lives, with Simon famously declaring Arch to have delivered "a knockout" by night's end. This left an impression on many viewers that "the chosen one" would in fact be named the winner the next name.

But it was Cook who delivered the most sentimental performance of the night in Collective Soul's "The World I Know," which allowed him to strike an emotional chord with voters. Watch the moment below:



This performance was the ideal way to close out Cook's competitive performances on the show, as it substituted his usual rock edge for a softer, more meaningful tone, and it resulted in a beautiful and memorable moment. Even though he did not end the show, it was already decided in voters' minds that Cook would be crowned the seventh season's victor just 25 hours later.