"It was really mean of ('Idol' host Ryan) Seacrest to try and make CUTEBOT-5000 choose sides on stage," she wrote. "CUTEBOT-5000 is not programmed to understand evil, Ryan. Don't make him short circuit by forcing him to say who he thinks the worst singers are!"

Wall wasn't alone. A piece in New York Magazine gauging the "American Idol" odds said Archuleta's "huge talent lets him be bland (favorite drink: water).... With no apparent allegiances to any particular genre, and — even more important — no apparent personality, he's in minimal danger of turning anyone off."

Misha Davenport of the Chicago Sun Times wrote that "the 17-year-old Mormon 'American Idol' contestant has a face made for the cover of teen magazines and a pure pop voice that cements his status as teenage crush material. It's a combination that has led to Archuleta being crowned the front-runner, both by judges on the show and in the media."

More critics than not seem to think Archuleta will win; almost everybody seems to think he'll make the final two. Not that all the critics are happy about this:

"It has been a forgone conclusion since almost the start that the two Davids will be the last two standing on May 20-21," wrote Tom Jicha of the Sun-Sentinel in Florida. "In a just world, Cook's polish and versatility should make him the clear favorite over one trick pony Archuleta. But 'American Idol' no longer lives in that world."

Appealing to those who are most likely to phone in or text an "American Idol" vote is another recurring theme.

"Archuleta has the right combination of non-threatening looks, sensitive-little-boy personality and consistent talent to pull in key voting blocks (sic), like the all-important tween girls and their grandmas," wrote Tim Cuprisin in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"Archuleta ticks every possible demographic box for the tween girls and grandmothers who are the two dominant 'Idol' voting blocs," wrote Alan Sepinwall in the Newark Star Ledger. "He's cute but non-threatening, polite and terribly sincere."

And Archuleta has even won over some of the cynical critics. MTV's Jeffrey Christian wrote, "I didn't get this kid or his Liza Minnelli-like breathiness and theatrical hand movement. The judges' relentless, almost embarrassing platitudes were uncomfortable at best, nauseating at worst... Besides that, he has yet to give anything better than an average performance."

Until the Utahn sang "Imagine."

"As of Tuesday night, by the musical heavens, I am a fan," Christian wrote.

The Boston Globe's Weiss actually seemed to change her tune the week the finalists sang inspirational songs:

"What can I say?" she wrote. "If inspirational songs are his wheelhouse, a Mariah Carey inspirational song is — I don't know, his wheelhouse decked with posters of cute little kittens. He's got the vocal chops to pull off 'When You Believe,' and for some reason, he seemed less precocious than usual doing this one.

"Or maybe I'm just getting soft."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com