Showing their support

Every time his picture came across the screen, the room filled with screams and cheers.

At the end of every song, his fans screamed so loud the judges were barely audible. Tuesday was a big night for David Cook, one of the top three finalists on “American Idol.”

Especially when judge Simon Cowell offered a statement that will, likely, go down in David Cook history.

“The night goes to David Cook,” Simon said just after Cook’s third perfomance of the evening, “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith.

Cook also sang “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (the judges’ pick) by Roberta Flack and “Dare You to Move,” by Switchfoot (his pick).

Angela Hart, one of the organizers of the watch party at the Hilton Garden Inn in Independence said there were about 350 people at the party – the largest number so far.

“There aren’t any words,” Hart said following his performances. “He’s awesome.”

Hart, who lives next door to Cook’s mother, and her friends started hosting watch parties back when Cook was auditioning, and now their party has taken up two conference rooms at the hotel.

Hart, who’s favorite performance is “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey, thinks she’ll be planning two more watch parties – one for Tuesday, the last performance night, and one for Wednesday, the live results finale. She’s confident he’ll make it to the finals.

“He always does what we least expect,” Hart said. “Which is what makes him so good.”

If the Web site dialidol.com is any indication, Hart’s confidence may be well placed. The Web site predicts which contestants will advance to the next round based on fans’ abilities to get in and vote for their favorite contestant. Before voting ended Tuesday, the Web site predicted Cook would have the most votes.

And if the fans at the Hilton have anything to say about it, the prediction will come true. Before Cook even made it to his third song, in the the middle of the last commercial break, the lines were opened and the glow of opening cell phones alone could have lit the room.

Cook’s sister Jenna Foraker made the announcement that the lines were open and didn’t stop voting – even to talk.

She was pleased with the response Cook received from the judges.

“It was amazing, Aerosmith with the orchestra,” Foraker said, smiling at the mention of Cowell’s praise. “I think it’ll be about 2015 before I can process that. I kind of thought, ‘I guess I should book my flight.’”