Frenzied Utah stadium deflates in a word: 'Cook'

Fans poured out the love Wednesday night, sporting homemade T-shirts and signs proclaiming their devotion, proposing marriage and nominating "Archie for President."

Trisha Webber's sign boasted 602 text-message votes for Archuleta -all of them sent during Tuesday night's final showdown.

"If everyone in here did that, that should be enough," she said hopefully before the show. "He's the better singer. He's more versatile. He can sing the phone book."

Afterward, a depressed Webber said she was stunned by the 12 million-vote deficit that gave Cook the title.

"Everyone in that stadium needed to vote 1,000 more times," the legal assistant said. "It hurts."

But Webber and others say this won't be the last note from Utah's newest favorite son. They said they expect Archuleta's star to keep rising.

"He's still a winner for sure," said Cecily Estrada, 19, who attended Murray High with Archuleta. "He's gonna be big no matter what."