The Less Talented David Will Win, Fans Say

Simon Cowell has told David Cook that as long as Idol remains a talent contest, not a popularity contest, he's in with a chance of winning. Well, David, we've got bad news.

A massive 40 per cent of Idol fans have said that they think David Archuleta will win the title, even though they think the other David is more talented.

According to a survey of roughly 1,100 fans, 31 per cent said that David Cook, 25, was the most musically gifted of the contestants, while just 27 per cent said the same for 17-year-old David Archuleta.

The two Davids were tied up as the contestant most fans wanted to win, with 25 per cent of the fans plumping for each.

In the E-Poll/Reuters survey, the viewers said Carly Smithson is the third most talented performer, followed by Brooke White, then Michael Johns, Jason Castro and Kristy Lee Cook. They said that Syesha Mercado is the least talented of the bunch.

The survey didn't just ask about the singers. For once, it was the judges turn to be judged.

Sixty four per cent told the survey that Simon Cowell was their favorite one -- even though most of them said he was "rude".

Meanwhile, 17 per cent said Randy Jackson was the best and another 17 said Paula Abdul was their favorite.

A huge 85 percent said Simon is the judge with the most influence over the way the public votes, with Randy getting 13 percent and Paula a tiny 12 per cent.

But most of them must have been talking about influence over someone else's vote -- because 83 per cent said the judges had little or no impact on the their own votes.