Bogus Gold

Round 1:

These were songs chosen by Clive "older than dirt" Davis. Way to stay current, Idol! Clive chose a song from the 70's for Archie, and went all the way to the mid 80's for the more "contemporary" David Cook. Cook was 5 years old when Clive's song choice for him was released. Archie wouldn't be born for another 8 years from then. Not good signs.

David Cook opened with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," by U2. He didn't take great liberties with the arrangement, but it wasn't a clone of the original either. He expressed his basic style pretty effectively but didn't really bring the house down with it. The David Cook problem is... he's dazzled too often. When he performs people kind of sit on their hands waiting for THE moment... and they're thinking of something amazing and new. He didn't really do that here. It was a nice, solid version of the song establishing a style which would stand in striking contrast the to syrupy ballads coming from the other contestant tonight.

David Archuleta followed that with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." In contrast to David C., he struggled at the opening of this song. Much like other times this season, he only really sounded good once he got past the low-register intro and into the belting-ballad part of the song. And gosh, he sounded great in that point except... well he ornamented the thing weirdly. Weirdly because it made no emotional sense when combined with the intent of the lyrics. Former Idol Clay Aiken made a huge impression with this song by nailing the emotion poignantly. That part was missing from this one. Regardless of the judges reaction, this was a second rate Clay Aiken, and not remotely a knock out.

Round One Winner: David Cook

Round Two:

The theme for this round was "The Crappy New Idol Songs Voted On The Web." This year they each got to choose their favorite rather than being stuck with the same one. Still... these are rarely good, and I wish they'd just lose this part altogether.

David Cook chose something called "Dream Big." It was alright. He arranged it in a nice radio-friendly alt-rock way, accompanying himself on his electric guitar. It was nice to see this side of David C., which was less the cover artist than the previous song came across as. This was a nice contemporary sound which he definitely pulled off well no matter what you think about the very ordinary song he was restricted to delivering. He also showed off more sides to his vocal range and performance style that he had in the prior song. He won no points with the judges for this, but then they insist David A. can sing the phone book over and over and no one else will ever compare.

David Archuleta came out with something called "In This Moment." Now this was the treacly Idol finale ballad we're used to hearing. And David A. delivered it with all the saccharine and cheese we're accustomed to. In short this was boring. It wasn't bad. But if you found it exciting or interesting you have a taste problem. I admit the kid's got talent. Now you admit the general public will never buy a record full of songs like this in great numbers, and that's one of the big reasons certain Idol winners struggle to catch on. If you think this year's Idol is supposed to be interchangeable with prior years Idols, this was the performance you preferred this round.

Round Two Winner: David Cook

Round Three:

Round Three allowed the contestants to choose any song they wanted. David Archuleta chose a song we'd already heard before and he was mucho-praised for. In other words, to no one's surprise, he made the quintessential safe choice. David Cook chose a brand new song we'd never heard him try, by a band we'd never heard before on Idol. Just about the opposite direction.

David Cook closed with "The World I Know," by Collective Soul. Wow. What a direct challenge to the notion that Idol is actually interested in originality in their winners. For the record they're not. That's why they never got Daughtry. Hell, even Clay Aiken sued for independence. In other words every Idol producer hated this choice. You're not supposed to be trying new things at this point. You're supposed to be into marketing your product, dammit! Ergo, I just went into the tank for David Cook on principle here so objectivity goes out the window. Good show David Cook! May you go on to lose and use your resulting contractual independence to outsell the winner like so many of the best former Idols.

David Archuleta closed with "Imagine," and yada yada. I do think the kid has talent, but really... this song wouldn't be a hit on the radio right now. It's great in the context of this reality show. The way they overpraise this choice and this performance is symptomatic of the flaw in the Idol "hit" formula. Oh Archie will be a star - no doubt. Just not one who can reliably turn out hits, because he isn't becoming a star for that reason. He made the safe choice and went with one of his best songs of the season and made no challenging deviations from the version he delivered all those weeks ago. If he wins on this basis, it's because he's David Archuleta, not because of the song he sang. And that will be the burden faced by the people who end up trying to sell his songs post-Idol. I'd much rather be the one stuck selling his posters and ringtones than his songs.

That said... Round 3 Winner: David Archuleta. Gotta be honest here... I loved where Cook was coming from. But this is one on one competition. Archie picked his best.

Anyway, the overall impression of the night in my household was that David Cook is WAY better than David Archuleta as a performer. He has more range in style. He sounds more contemporary. He's far more adaptable. He's got far more creativity and originality....

So of course I think Archie is going to win. I've thought so all season, and have said it repeatedly. And tonight the judges going into full-press mode on behalf of Archie cemented the result in my mind. Pity though. David Cook is better in every way he can possibly control. And perhaps a loss would loosen the grip of Archie's crazy stage dad enough to allow him a little room to grow.

UPDATE: THE WINNER

First of all, let me just thank the producers to going back to that awesome performance-heavy, star-studded format from the Season Five finale, because last season's was a real let down. This one was a lot of fun.

Favorite moments: David Cook fronting for ZZ Top. The two Davids' duet on Nickelback's "Hero." Jason Castro's reprise of Hallelujah. Carly Smithson and Michale Johns duet on "The Letter." The Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. "Pips."

Least Favorite Moments: Donna Summer. The Jonas Brothers (granted, I'm not exactly their target demographic). Renaldo Lapuz. Amanda Overmyer suffering her way through the kitschy group numbers.

Finally we reached the result and ...

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David ...

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COOK wins American Idol! And it's not even very close! He won by 12 MILLION votes!

God Bless America! You surprised me and made the right choice!

American Idol Season Seven is history, and David Cook will be eternally etched into the Idol pantheon.

David Archuleta got the lead spot. On a night they each got three to sing it wasn't as much a disadvantage as in prior weeks. Still a bit of a surprise.

He opened with the song Paula Abdul chose for him, "And So It Goes," by Billy Joel. This one was smooth and controlled and showcased David at his best in my opinion. The band arrangement was very subdued. The song was a nice slow ballad with places for him to do his preferred ornamentation. Very solid if not stunning.

His next song was "With You," by Chris Brown. This was the song David chose himself and his reasoning was solid. He wanted something more contemporary sounding after a season full of old stuff. And he got it. And he showed he's not really up to that style, which is both ironic and just. Sorry, but David the Balladeer may some day learn to handle this sort of up tempo contemporary song. But he struggled with breath control and looked awkward with it throughout.

Then the Idol producers annoyed the nation by choosing "Longer," by Dan Fogelberg as his final song. I'm still cleaning the sugary residue out of my ears after listening. Yes, it's sort of a classic. No, it's not due for any kind of revival. No, David didn't do anything unexpected or interesting with it either. He just sang it straight up changing no one's opinion about him one way or the other.

Sayesha Mercado got the middle spot tonight and seemed to be at her pageantry best with her constant bright smiles and shallow but sparkly comments tonight. We've seen better sides to her personality than this, but as the tension builds this seems to be her safe zone.

She opened with "If I Ain't Got You," by Alicia Keys, chosen for her by Randy Jackson. It was a good choice in the sense it forced her to be contemporary. It was a bad one because it all too easily lent itself to the diva role Sayesha too often bores within. It was notably short of the original, although both Paula and Simon had to note she looked maaahhh-vehlous.

Next Syesha herself chose to do "Fever," by Peggy Lee. Yes, America... she sees herself on Broadway, not at the Idol finale. If you had any doubts the decision to use a chair as a prop for an original dance number to accompany the song should have dispelled them. If not, the comparatively weak vocal was for naught. Paris Bennett sang rings around this version two seasons ago, just as a comparison. But once again Sayesha looked maaahhh-vehlous.

The producer chosen number for Sayesha was "Hit Me Up," by Gia Farrell. It seemed a poor fit for her. The lighter, quicker R & B vocals Randy would later compare to Rihanna never quite clicked with her, as she kept trying to cling to big notes in more traditional diva style. It wasn't awful, but it was very uneven and not notably strong in any particular area.

David Cook got the pimp slot closing us out tonight... a refreshing surprise. I was worried a bit because I knew the pressure would be on him more than any others to be original no matter the song choices. And with three songs to prepare and a whirlwind tour of his hometown in the same week, there wasn't a lot of time to prepare. Could he pull it off?

Simon Cowell challenged him right from the start, choosing "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," by Roberta Flack for him to perform. It was very obviously thrown out as a bit of a dare. "Show us what you did with Lionel Richie's love ballad 'Hello' was no fluke." David opened it slowly and traditionally and let it simply build into something of a rock anthem sound. Nothing terribly tricky in the arrangement, but it certainly didn't sound like Roberta Flack either. If this was a pass/fail test, he passed. But it wasn't one of his best of the season by any means.

For his own choice, Cook went with "Dare You to Move," by Switchfoot. He gave this one more of a straightforward rock sound from the start. However, shades of last weeks "Baba O'Reilly" it was truly only getting started when the 90 second window closed. I suspect he had something special building here. But for the part we heard it was just about average from him.

The producer chosen number for David Cook closed the show with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," by Aerosmith. Meh. Didn't like the idea, but Cook executed it pretty well. It was a nicely emotional and powerful note to close out the show on. But it wasn't very original or memorable. Still good enough for Simon (and me) to state that Cook won the night between the three contestants.

Now to wrap up... I didn't like the producers choices in a single case this year. How about next year we give them each two songs and let the arrangements go longer? I think that's a far better display of their respective talent. Had David Cook been able to devote more time to a single original arrangement with another classic arrangement we might have heard something special. If David Archuleta had time to learn how to control his breathing better on up tempo numbers he might have shown a refreshing new side to himself. Sayesha... well she's kind of the sacrificial lamb here anyway, so maybe she could have come up with something but I'm not killing myself thinking it over.

Best of the night: David Cook. But it wasn't so much a huge night for him as that might sound.

Middle of the pack: Archie. He is who he is. It's a powerful and appealing yet limited package.

Going home: Sayesha Mercado. She needed something a lot more breakout than this to make it to the finals, which was always a long shot.

UPDATE: THE RESULTS

Blah, blah, blah... what the hell is Fantasia doing?!! ... blah, blah... IT IS ON!!

David versus David!!! Ali versus Frazier!!! Dog people versus Cat people!!! Sweet versus Salty!!! Less Filling versus Great Taste!!!

Oh, and nice having you around Sayesha. You've been great. But come on... even you saw this coming, didn't you? You'll be hearing from casting directors before you hit the pillow tonight so it's not all bad. You're beautiful, talented, and now well known so you've got good things ahead. It's just that... well we needed the David clash or the story of this season would have ended all wrong.

And now it's on. Can the obscure bartender with the gritty, rock edge deny the reality show pro and Next Great Teen Sensation the title that looked to be his from almost the very start of the season? Can anyone ever overcome the votes of the tween to teen and also the over 40 female voter block?

Hillary versus Obama was nothin' compared to this. And thankfully the ramifications aren't quite so serious so we can just enjoy it in this case.

On to next week's finale!

Top 24:

Ramiele Mulabay: "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" In later weeks we sometimes forgot how amazingly powerful, refined and controlled little Ramiele opened the competition. Nonetheless in week one she looked like a front runner.

Top 20:

David Hernandez: "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" You mean there was once another David? Well, not for long. Had this kind of performance been his norm we'd remember him a lot better.

David Archuleta: "Imagine" Already quite a judge and producer favorite, after this one David Archuleta became the one to beat, and some would argue he has remained so ever since.

Carly Smithson: "Crazy On You" After a more modest opening week this was where Carly officially unleashed her freakishly big voice, completely owning this chick-rock classic.

Brooke White: "You're So Vain" With this song Brooke made a bold statement of her own style, which was quite a new thing on an Idol stage accustomed to divas and country girls.

Top 16:

David Cook: "Hello" This song registered like a shot across the bow of a season which was cruising to the Archuleta coronation. As bold, original, and contemporary as anything ever to hit the Idol stage. And from someone who'd gained so little previous attention it was even more remarkable.

Jason Castro: "Hallelujah" This was the song that transformed Jason Castro from a charming novelty as the "dreadlock guy" into another serious contender. Suddenly alarm bells of unpredictability were sounding, telling us this would be no typical Idol season.

Brooke White: "Love Is A Battlefield" So you thought you had Brooke pegged as a Carly Simon imitation after last week? With this "Unplugged" style rearrangement of a Pat Benetar classic she asserted her own creative chops and showed she could bend themes to suit her without being broken by them.

Top 12:

Chikezie: "She's A Woman" Charming but often old-fashioned Chikezie surprised everyone by turning in this powerful, fun and soulful reinterpretation of a simple tune.

Carly Smithson: "Come Together" After suffering continual criticism from Simon Cowell over picking the wrong songs, he was won over by this creative spin on the John Lennon classic.

David Cook: "Eleanor Rigby" While not as stunning as his breakout performance the prior week, this cemented Cook as the rocker/re-arranger of the season.

Brooke White: "Let It Be" Perhaps Brooke's best of the season was this soulful performance choked with emotion.

Amanda Overmyer: "You Can't Do That" Amanda at her Janis Joplin-sounding best, and a reminder that this season unlike others was not full of divas.

Top 11:

David Archuleta: "The Long And Winding Road" Beatles week number two was rough on most contestants, but David A. used it to recapture his ballad inspired charm after a rare stumble the prior week.

David Cook: "Day Tripper" If David C. had taught us he was innovative already, we learned this week he was willing to throw the kitchen sink into a performance on a whim, breaking out the Frampton voice box at one point on another performance standing head and shoulders above the crowd.

Syesha Mercado: "Yesterday" Syesha dared to take on this well known and well covered classic and used it to display a lovely tender side to her style beneath her power-note diva act.

Top 10:

Sayesha Mercado: "If I Were Your Woman" Did we just praise Sayesha the prior week for shining by getting away from the diva mode? Well this week she went back there, but at least did it with considerable style and passion. Considering she made it to the final three, this side of her was absolutely part of the reason.

Michael Johns: "We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions" I had my quibbles with the "medley" decision. But this was the performance that rekindled the charismatic Michael Johns' star.

David Cook: "Billie Jean" We thought we'd seen the breadth of David C.'s daring and skill in prior weeks. But we were wrong as he blew us away from yet another totally unexpected direction with this haunting rock deconstruction of THE 80's R & B classic.

Top 9:

David Archuleta: "Smoky Mountain Memories" While some contestants were staging new breakouts, let's not forget how well David A. was cementing his own brand. The crystal pure clarity of the teen tenor was in full power this week.

Michael Johns: "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" With this song Michael Johns sent shockwaves through the Idol viewership. He hadn't sounded this amazing ever. Would this be yet another serious contender for the prize? The answer would quickly prove to be "no" the very next week when he abandoned this style. But for this one shining week Michael Johns owned the Idol world.

Top 8:

Jason Castro: "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" All the promise of Jason's unfocused yet charming and original persona which had been wandering since the final 16 burst back into full view with this ukulele driven masterpiece.

Kristy Lee Cook: "Anyway" Kristy Lee Cook had been a perpetual bottom dweller, always on the verge of elimination. Yet she learned and improved just enough to hang on for ages. This was probably the plucky contestant's shining moment, when she delivered a truly beautiful and believable version of a Martina McBride song able to stand out in this talented field.

David Archuleta: "Angels" Randy Jackson called this his best vocal of the season and kept up the drumbeat of Archuleta's footsteps to the title.

Top 7:

David Cook: "Always Be My Baby" Who knew Mariah Carey week would be another "guy" week when it came to outstanding performances? Who knew David Cook could take a diva ballad and turn it into THIS? Just stellar, and launched David C. back into orbit after a few weeks where the "other David" had been re-asserting himself.

Jason Castro: "I Don't Want to Cry" The only contestant who managed not to get swallowed up in another Cook-a-lanche kind of week, this performance kept Jason in the top tier as others started to fade with a charming, acoustic, and original arrangement.

Top 6:

Sayesha Mercado: "One Rock and Roll Too Many" Given permission by none less than Andrew Lloyd Weber himself, Sayesha finally gave herself permission to indulge in a bit of a Broadway style here, and she shined as a result.

David Cook: "Music of the Night" How could the consummate re-arranger and rocker surprise us yet again? By singing this big faux-opera musical number straight up and doing an astonishingly good job of it. Yet another facet to an increasingly complex and complete performer.

Top 5:

David Cook: "All I Really Need Is You" Honing in on the finale David Cook once again reminded us of his core strength, taking an old fashioned and obscure Neil Diamond song and creating a modern sounding hit.

Top 4:

David Archuleta: "Love Me Tender" Not to be forgotten, David Archuleta reminded us of his own core strength, rendering this beloved Presley classic flawlessly in his own sweet pop-balad style.

So what do you think? Any highlights you think I missed which deserve mention? Any contestants I less forgettable than their absence from the above list suggests? Any way Sayesha can hope to prevent an "All David" final this season? The comments are open.

David Cook got the random challenge of going first. When you see who got the coveted Pimp Spot closing, you'll have a pretty good idea how the producers want this David v. David thing to come out in the end. His first song was "Hungry Like the Wolf," by Duran Duran. This happens to be my favorite song from the band that got the most chicks in the 80's. I was looking forward to seeing how David Cook reinterpreted it. Unfortunately, he didn't. He just sort of covered it. It wasn't bad. It wasn't exciting either. The song was still good and his voice was alright singing it. But I expected more. His second choice was even more ambitious, going with the Rock Anthem "Baba O'Reilly," by The Who. This one he changed up in interesting fashion only to be stifled by the teeny 90 second performance window. It was just starting to get really interesting when the time ran out. This was an album rock, rather than a radio pop, classic. And there simply wasn't enough time to do it properly. Still... he left me very much wishing I could have heard the full version, which is an excellent sign. The judges were all down on his first performance, but all up on his second one, only in extremely vague ways.

Sayesha Mercado had the next spot. I'm a little surprised but not shocked that she, of all the girls, is the last remaining. I mean... I picked her going into the final 24 as my personal favorite. But she got totally lost in the middle there for a while with her decision to go all Whitney Houston. Only at the very end has she broken out and made a stab at the originality I'd hoped for. And tonight's song choices for her once again showed more commitment to that. But the performances? Well... She performed "Proud Mary," doing the Ike and Tina Turner arrangement (though it would have been nice for something on the show to acknowledge John Fogerty as the actual author of the song). It was a bold idea. It stretched her in new directions that might have blown new doors open for her if she succeeded. Sadly, she fell way short. Her voice was too pretty and delicate to deliver the raw power of a Tina Turner, and was left sounding too thin against a powerful backing arrangement no matter how seductively she bumped and grinded across the stage. It wasn't a bad performance, but it definitely fell short of the mark. Her second performance, however, was worse. Going with Sam Cook's "A Change Is Gonna Come," she fell right back into pretty diva mode, which makes her very forgettable. She sang it well again. She did not measure up to the power again. She definitely did not come close to conveying the emotion she kept telling us afterward struck her so deeply. Worse, she compared her attempt to win American Idol to the Civil Rights struggle (Cook's inspiration for the song) in gaudily direct terms. Hey, I don't think Sayesha meant anything disrespectful by it, but wow did it come over like it was. You want an irony of the success of the civil rights movement? Here's Sayesha, an up an coming black singer, and what she most lacked in delivering this song was the soul. Just not something in her repertoire. She's been raised on musical theater and Whitney Houston, not gospel choir.

Jason Castro filled the third spot of the night. And... wow. If ever there was a contestant who looked less prepared to have made it this far on Idol, I can't recall him. Please remember, I like Jason. I find him original and refreshing in ways a wunderkind like David A. can't touch when he's on his game. His performances of "Halleluia," and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" rank among the season's very best, and in my opinion beat anything "Archie" has done to date. That said... yikes! Not a good night for Jason. His first song choice, "I Shot the Sheriff," by Bob Marley, was almost like a joke about his famous dreadlocks. Is this song ever a good choice to cover? It is SO stylized and SUCH a reggae anthem, you need to be damn bold to even try (Eric Clapton did it, but his nickname at the time was "God" just to give a little measuring stick). Jason made no serious attempt at that in this arrangement. I mean... he tried to have fun with it. It wasn't abysmal. It was also clearly not good enough for a final four performances. Randy and Simon looked almost angry about it. So much so Ryan Seacrest even asked them about it. I think i can explain... A guy capable of the best we'd seen of Jason so far should have learned not to do THAT at this stage. It's not a lack of talent, but a lack of focus that was the problem. And the next song he performed, "Mr. Tambourine Man," by Bob Dylan did nothing to change the impression. This was one he could have knocked out of the park. Unlike the last one, the song choice was not the problem here. The fact that he sang it too fast, forgot the lyrics very obviously early on, and made no effort at originality was. I hate to say it, but I have a hard time seeing Jason surviving based on this week's offering.

David Archuleta got to close the show (of course). I might as well just come out and admit it... I'm over his charm and raw talent. It's there. It's amazing. But I'm ready to see him develop it into something more. And week after week he's not doing it. And week after week the judges praise him to the skies anyway. If he doesn't learn to interpret song lyrics better his future lies in forgettable bubble-gum pop records for teenaged girls a la David Cassidy. I can see why the show's producers are okay with that... they'll make a zillion bucks off him. But can we stop pretending shallow, uninterpretive performances which he delivers almost identically one after another are all "amazing"? If you're an American Idol judge you obviously can't, so I'm asking the rest of you. David Archuleta is a kid with amazing raw talent. He is not yet a great singer. He's a very stylized, pageanty, saccharine singer who is utterly lost when he tries to sing anything other than the one single style he does over and over. That being said... He sang "Stand by Me," and "Love Me Tender," by Ben E. King and Elvis Presly respectively. He sounded fine. He also sounded just the same in both songs. After watching him all season on Idol, I now know before he does it exactly where he's going to put his vocal twills. I know how many notes will be in them. I know when he'll squint. I know when he'll raise his arm. It's like he's run by some freaking computer program written by Clive Davis and Nigel Lythgoe to maximize profits on Idol winners with minimum unpredictability. I'm totally over the act to the extent I'm almost beginning to feel sorry for the kid... because the talent is real. It's just being so TOTALLY molded into a salable package it's like he's another product placement rather than a contestant at this point. If he came out in the finals with an acoustic guitar, dismissed the band, and ripped out a version of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," I would vote for him until my phone's battery died. Short of that I'm scared to enable this pre-packaged sing-bot.

Okay, so let's clear the wreckage of the week and get to the predictions. Ryan Seacrest reminded us that the final four was the week we lost Tamyra Gray (Season One, and no big deal as her later career showed) and Chris Daughtry (Season Five, and clearly the truly big star of the season as his later career showed). So really this is a mixed message. What is he saying? If you don't vote for your favorite, he (or she) could end up like Daughtry? That's not so scary. Or like Tamyra? That's a little worse, though hardly tragic.

Fact is, for a performer like David Cook, winning this contest may hold him back more than it would help him, provided there is this alternative "Daughtry" path to post-Idol success. Still... this is a reality show, right? We want our own favorites to win, and make the rationalizations like that only after they lose. So let's do the predicting now and leave the rest until we need it.

I think Jason is doomed this week. I know almost everyone else will be predicting the same, so it's not terribly original. But I have a hard time constructing a likely scenario out of it. If it's not him, it will be Sayesha, who was not nearly as good as the judges praised this week. But seriously, she already had a wee advantage as the last girl standing. But after Jason's glaringly weak performances tonight I don't see him pulling through. Though, per the warning, we could always have a REAL shocker and lose one of the Davids. If it's Archie, I think the judges and producers will all cry.

UPPDATE: THE RESULTS

I admit it. The final four jinx had me a little worried tonight. I looked at that Final Four and kept imagining losing David Cook. Wow, would that have sucked. And just because we weren't losing him didn't mean the wicked sense of humor of the Idol producers wouldn't tease us into thinking we might be until the very end of the show.

But... very quickly we learned that the two Davids were safe and had to wait until the very end to see whether it would be Jason or Sayesha joining them in the final three.

In the meantime, Maroon 5 and Bo Bice performed.

Bo was looking and sounding pretty good. Bo is one of my all time favorite Idol contestants. His performance of the Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post" is one of my all time Idol highlights. That said, he hasn't had the amazing success of some other former Idols. Southern Rock isn't the sales machine it was in the 70s. Still, I personally enjoyed hearing him again.

Then we were off to the elimination and, after one of the longest dramatic pauses in Ryan Seacrest's impressive catalog of tension inducing pausery, we learned...

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That Sayesha Mercado made it to the final three and, as widely expected, Jason Castro was going home. Probably the most honest contestant standing he admitted his inexperience was starting to show and he was having trouble mastering so many new songs so quickly.

He had quite a ride for someone with so little experience to make it so far. He's got great potential and a considerable fanbase now. Good luck to him.

So next week we're on the the amazing Final Three extravaganza. Three contestants remaining. Three songs apiece. Lots of cheesy footage of their triumphal returns to their respective home towns.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:

A bout of insomnia has inspired me to put together a "Season Seven Highlights" post, with links to what I believe are all the season's best performances. Look for that within a day or two.

Jason Castro lead us off tonight, and screw what the judges had to say, his first performance of "Forever in Blue Jeans," was pretty good. It wasn't a "must download on iTunes" moment. But it definitely captured that spirit from way back when he sang "What A Day For A Daydream" weeks ago. Charming. Infectious. You wanted to hear more. The second song, “September Morn,” didn't really work though. It was slow. It was dull. It felt like there was a moment he should have stepped it up and poured some energy into it that was simply... missed. His final impression was of a fairly weak night. But really... go back to that first song and you'll see he wasn't as far off as the out-of-sorts judging panel implied.

David Cook followed, singing "I’m Alive," for his first. It was a fairly expected alt-rock arrangement, and fairly upbeat for the often brooding rocker. If you were expecting another huge eye opener from DC on this one, you didn't get it here. But you also didn't get a let down. However his next performance of “All I Ever Really Need is You,” was a bit of an eye opener. Not his best of the season, but that's setting the bar awfully high. It was once again far and away the best of the night. It will once again be an iTunes download hit (DC is owning the other contestants when it comes to iTunes downloads this season, for the record). What was so special about this one? You almost had to hear it in the Idol context. He took about 90 seconds of a very stylized Neil Diamond song and turned it into something that would likely be a hit on the radio right now. And, being David Cook, this is not the first time we've heard him do this. Paula Abdul made her most (only?!) lucid comment of the night when she told David she thought she was looking at the next American Idol when she looked at him.

Brooke White went next. Her first song was "I'm a Believer," which is better known by the Monkeys version than Neil's own. And it surely won't be known for Brooke White's version after tonight because it was awful. It was just barely this side of her dry-heave of a performance of "Here Comes The Sun." She lacked only the awkward stage moves. It was truly awful. Not only that, I have no idea what lead her to think this was her kind of song to begin with. Her next choice, “I Am…I Said,” suited her so much better the judges seemed to be fooled into thinking it was great. It wasn't. It was just so far ahead of the first it was jarring. Brooke belongs behind a piano, as she was in the second performance. Behind a guitar, as in the first performance, she looks like a cheesy child's party performer. She does best singing introspective songs as in the second performance, rather than cheery pop like the first performance which make her look like someone dared her to hit the karaoke bar. But that second performance was not Brooke at her best. It was just her as the kind of performer she ought to be. I found it boring and disjointed, and the advice Neil himself gave about changing the lyric about being from New York to being from Brooke's actual home - Arizona - didn't work at all.

David Archuleta had the next spot, statring out with what I expected to be a great selection in "Sweet Caroline." Only one problem... it was almost entirely the chorus of the song alone, belted out in David A.'s bubble-gum tenor complete with boy-band stylizations. Yuck. I was hoping to see him carry through the story of a song well suited to his voice. But there was no story telling even attempted in the arrangement. It was a showy diva arrangement which forgot the words are supposed to be telling you something more than "look at me hit these notes!" The second song surprised me only by its needless flashback to Kristy Lee's choice of "God Bless the USA" when she was trying to avoid being kicked off the show. He sang "America," and sang it well enough. Everything Simon Cowell said about it was right. And he said nothing about it being a good performance, just that it was a clever choice of song that his fans would love. I'm starting to become annoyed with the notion that he's likely to win now because he's starting to look outclassed by everyone else remaining, and yet that same vibe that kept the far less talented Sanjaya afloat so long last year looks likely to hand him the title regardless this year. So let's move on.

Syesha "Broadway" Mercado closed us out, and hasn't she seemed to both find herself and loosen up since resolving herself to the notion that being Broadway isn't all bad? She is finally the loose and fun performer we've been waiting for since we caught the barest glimmer of her personality in the Hollywood rounds. Umm.. that said, Broadway can't win this thing any better than her version of a diva can. Still, she lead off with a really gorgeous version of “Hello Again.” It was a very theatrically driven performance, because she's apparently come to terms that this is okay to do. And she does it very well. Still... the best of the girls of the night. Her second song was “Thank the Lord for the Night Time,” and in my opinion it was another arrangement casualty. She sang it and performed it alright. But it delivered very little punch and seemed almost cheesy much of the time. Overall a solid but not stellar night for Syesha. Simon warned her she might be vulnerable tonight, but couldn't quite articulate why. Let me fill in: Because to the extent you've realized you're a Broadway performer, you're unlikely to hang around in a field of potential pop stars. That's all. Best of luck though. Successful Broadway performers live WAY better than failed Whitney Houston imitators, so I'm entirely supportive of the change in direction.

Summing up the night, the judges were ridiculously unprepared. Paula actually tried to review the second round of performances in one case before the second round had happened.

The performances left a lot to be desired in most cases. Once again David Cook stole the highlight reel. Syesha is finding herself - but also finding she's probably not the Idol no matter how talented she might be. Jason and Brooke are struggling to perfect performances which seem to come to them both as far more spontaneous and impulsive things. And David Archuleta is actually beginning to show his youth and inexperience, regardless of his popularity.

Who's in trouble this week? Gosh... anyone who's name isn't David obviously. But I'm thinking Brooke and Syesha hit the bottom two (though Jason should take Syesha's place based on performance alone). And the one going home?

I have to think Syesha leaves us this week. She's finally found her identity. It's just that it belongs on a Broadway stage, not that of a pop singer. Not a bad note upon which to leave the show for her though.

UPDATE: THE RESULTS

The obvious: The Davids were safe again. Also Jason Castro truly has built a nice little fan base of his own, leaving both remaining girls vulnerable.

The less than obvious: Does anyone know which specific rumor about Paula Abdul Ryan Seacrest cryptically alluded to in order to dispel? I mean, it's not like there aren't a lot to choose from. I'm guessing it have been something like "she was drugged or drunk and is being kicked off the show for it," based on the way Seacrest spoke about it.

The padding: Natasha Beddingfield and Neil Diamond both sounded pretty great. Not so surprising in the case of the former. Quite a statement of longevity in the case of the latter. Though the Ford pimp-mercial kind of sucked this week.

The result: Sayesha lives for another week, as Brooke White heads home. It was really a coin toss between them anyway, and the odds are now excellent we'll be down to an all male top three. Though apparently Sayesha's personal Broadway revival is catching on more quickly than I suspect.

Bye, bye Brooke. I'm now convinced you're not a scary psycho bottling up negative emotions to spring out in a murderous passion. But I'm also convinced you kind of maxed out how good you can be at this stage of your career. But you're pretty and you're popular. You'll do fine.

Next week the theme is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That should be a fun one. 'Til then.

First up tonight was Sayesha Mercado. A tough spot for the singer who seemed the consensus pick as bottom-runner among the remaining contestants. She made an interesting choice with "One Rock and Roll Too Many," from Starlight Express. Not only is this one of the lesser known of the BIG Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals, it's not one of the dozens of crooning ballads she might have chosen which - I have been saying for weeks - are the wrong choice for her to win. I've been saying she needs something different to distinguish herself. I've been saying I wish she'd let that personality that came through so strongly in the Hollywood rounds out again. Thank you to whomever forwarded my comments to her this week, because... check, check, check. Anyway, Sayesha came out leaving nothing in reserve going full-out in performance mode and it was a great thing to see. Did I mention she was my favorite female performer last week? This makes two weeks in a row. Was it "too Broadway"? She seemed to be concerned it might be. I dunno... It was well done and flat-out entertaining. She's not replacing the Davids as a front runner by it. But she might just have bought herself another week. In fact, by rights, she should have.

Jason Castro got the number two spot and chose "Memories," from Cats. This is where someone's unfamiliarity with the ALW songbook really stung him. I have few doubts he chose this because he knew it, and didn't know many others. But there are SO many better songs he might have taken. The songs by Che from Evita are a natural fit for him. I'm thinking he could have done something very sweet with "High Flying Adored." Or perhaps something simpler and sweeter from Joesph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. But that's what might have been. What we got instead was Jason desperately trying to sell a song written for a freaking "glamour-puss" and bored into our memories by one diva-queen after another. Umm... it didn't work out so well. It was just a performance that made one uncomfortable to watch. You didn't want to hear his voice doing those things to that song, or that song doing those things to his voice. He had some moments where he tried to make a game of it. But in the end the song beat him soundly.

Brooke White came out next and, one performer too late, we got our Evita song. Only it was the one written special for the movie version - the one sung by Madonna - "You Must Love Me." Weirdness in the intro as Sir Andrew had to explain to Brooke the need to find the meaning in the lyrics. Isn't that what Brooke has always been best at? Was she faking it to make him feel like he helped? Anyway, that part of her delivery was fine. It's a song about a dying woman who had it all, but in the end is desperate to know she's leaving the world loved. Emotion flows over the top of a song like that. Brooke can handle that with one tear duct tied behind her back. What she couldn't handle was the lyrics, having to stop the band and start over in the beginning. Which seemed to throw her off and make her tight (Simon's comment, but very evident). And she didn't really flub it, but never quite hit her stride here either. Much like Jason, this probably isn't really Brooke's niche and it showed too much.

David Archuleta went next with "Think of Me," from The Phantom of the Opera. Andrew himself found the concept somewhat silly at first, as the song is rather explicitly written for a woman and he's never conceived of it any other way. But apparently he dug the different arrangement in rehearsal, so we were curious to see what Archie did with it. Well what he did was make a fairly catchy pop-version of the song that was as pleasantly asexual as some might call Archie himself (I'm just saying SOME might say it... simmer down). Anyway there was nothing especially "female" about it in this performance anyway, so Lord Andrew could rest easy there. I dunno... I thought vocally he did this one extremely well. But visions of elevators came to mind listening to the arrangement. Which left me mostly positive about it, but not very excited. Then again, I'm sure his core fans were thrilled.

Carly Smithson got the next spot and went, surprisingly, with "Jesus Christ Superstar," from Jesus Christ Superstar after much coaxing from Andrew Lloyd Weber himself. She was going to go with another saccharine ballad from Phantom of the Opera. But - and lord why wasn't he around to tell her this sooner - he told her she was picking a song that did nothing to show off her big voice. So why not try the one that did instead? So we were spared yet another Carly performance showing us how well she could hold herself back. And instead we got this ballsy, throw it out there, and yet kind of throwback to the 70's, quasi Tina Turner-esque performance. All in all, it was really good. Okay you Simon lovers, you get to throw a "shouty" snark a this in places. Mind you... she was pretty much intending to do it and it's not always wrong. But you got a few here. This was still a pretty good Carly performance for a week with this kind of theme.

David Cook got the coveted closing spot tonight, oddly enough. Of course, we all knew he would re-arrange something into a total rocker so it didn't make mush sense to guess what he'd choose. Wow were we in for a surprise. David C. chose, "Music of the Night," from The Phantom of the Opera. And... he chose to sing it pretty much straight up. As if he was cast on broadway, minus a few flourishes. And you know what? The judges always tell contestants every year that they need to branch out and show more facets to themselves. And almost always they're lying and the suckers who take them up on it go down in flames. But this time... it worked. I agree with Simon that this is not the side of David Cook I want to see. But it's really quite compelling that he's got that in him on top of all the rocker stuff. He sang it well. It was one of the night's best even. And I'm kind of amazed by that.

So... the summation. My tops of the night goes to... Sayesha Mercado. Seriously. And hands down.

Both of the Davids can share the next spot for very different reasons. David Archuleta did what he needed to do vocally. David Cook surprised in an unexpected way, and made it work.

Carly Smithson came next in my book. That was a great performance, bringing out a lot of the best of what Carly can do.

The bottom two were clearly Jason and Brooke.

And I have to think one of those two will be leaving also. We're too close and have too much talent left for those clunker performances to ride it out. So who goes?

I'm guessing Brooke. And I freely admit I'm sorry to see her go. More than any other contestant save the Cookerator, she's won me over as the season went on.

UPDATE: THE RESULTS

See kids? This is the reason we harp on the contestants to show their personality and individuality early and often. Those, coupled with talent, help build a thing called a "fan base." And toward the end, you can deliver a hell of a great performance and still get booted because others who did worse have one of those, and you don't.

So we lose Carly Smithson tonight (can I be really too surprised, after picking her to go last week?). Carly waited too long to break out of her shell. She has a great voice. She just never really put it all together tonight and defined herself for us as anything more personal than a Irish brogue, tattoos and a big voice. She seemed to be just starting to try to go there this week. Too late.

Brooke White looked surprised and relieved to survive, and she should. She didn't even hit the bottom two tonight, and she definitely should have. Jason Castro's charm is starting to really build now, so is it possible we'll have an all-male top three, after having a 50/50 mix in the top six?

Anyway next week is Neil Diamond week and I can't wait. Another amazing song book. Another legendary mentor. Another chance for some amazing singers to go darn near any direction.

David "Don't Call Me Archie" Archuleta lead us off with "When You Believe." And would you believe David A. went with a straight up syrupy ballad on Mariah week? Not much of a stretch is it? And yet in the spirit of dancing with the partner who brung ya', David belted the socks off this one. A very nice and classic male-diva performance here. Even though is voice broke at one point, he managed to sing through it professionally rather than collapse in a bundle of nerves this time. Remembering that this kid is still just 17 years old makes it hard not to smile hearing him sing as well as he does. He is exactly the kind of singer American Idol was designed to discover - showy, likable, marketable, and not terribly original. I'm growing bored with him, but he has a whole legion of teen and tween fans already downloading and listening to him obsessively on iTunes. No stumble this week, so he must remain the front runner. The judges were as transparently protective of him as ever, which should be no surprise by now.

Carly "Pay Attention To Me" Smithson was up next with, "Without You." Carly is having a rough go of it, as I read around the Idol-sphere. Some people will just never like the girl no matter how great she sings. In her defense, singing loud is not "shouting", even though you might have giggled once or twice when Simon used the phrase in the past. Carly is one of the most professional and controlled singers in Idol history, but... she has this strange tendency to reign herself in when she should show off, and show off when it's least fitting. Mariah night should have been a natural fit for her. And, while she sang well, that "reign it in" tendency happened in yet another ill-suited place - that place being this performance. Yah... she hit her power notes. But that was a given. The fact that most of her performance was dominated by restraint on a theme night that screamed "show off" was the problem. The judges semi sort-of made this point to her, with Simon coming the closest to the mark.

Sayesha "Wannabe Whitney" Mercado followed with "Vanishing." Yes, yes... one wants to make the easy joke about "vanishing from the show" just on the name alone. Yet, considering we're having one of the most baldly "diva" themes in Idol history, I have to note that this was the best classic "diva" performance of the night. Yes, that means it was better than David Archuleta. So if you like that sort of thing (and it wouldn't be so popular if a lot of people didn't) this was the one to watch. My take on Sayesha has been, and remains, that she can't win as nothing more than a diva. She's a great singer. But she's not even as good in that regard as fellow contestant Carly Smithson, let alone Mariah Carey. However she knows more than Carly when the theme calls for showing off - and she delivered. She looked great. She sounded great. What's more she chose a lesser-known early Mariah song to just barely wink at those of us who always thought she might take a stab at originality rather than run-of-the-mill diva copycat. Wish it were true. To the extent playing the diva role is going to be her thing, it was a great week for her. I'll be picking her for the bottom three again and continuing to ponder what might have been with just a slight change of her direction, just so we're clear.

Brooke "Cry You A River" White next took on "Hero." It was good to hear one of the most distinctive re-arrangers on the show take on one of the Mariah classics, rather than one of the imitators. Still, I'm getting a little annoyed by all the judges describing her as a "singer-songwriter" type, when she's not singing any songs she's written. There are other ways to describe her style better. She reminds people of Carole King, Carly Simon, or Joni Mitchell (okay I just tossed that last one in myself, because I love Joni Mitchell, and I'm starting to admit I like Brooke), not because she writes songs like they do, but because she has a deeply soulful, introspective, and honest tone. You can almost listen to how each lyric feels to her, personally, as she ponders what it means. It's compelling. And off key and kind of a mess in places. This week I mean, for that last comment. The arrangement was perfect. Finally she let the band take a break and deliver a performance with just herself and the piano. The execution was inconsistent and seemed to catch her unprepared about half way through. A shame, because she was on the verge of one of the night's breakout performances. But she missed it.

Kristy "Lee" Cook went with "Forever" next. As Paula Abdul is usually quick to note when a vocal performance stinks, she looked fabulous. And no, this vocal performance didn't stink. It was just back to Kristy showing she's out-of-her-depth at this point. She can't sing as well as Syesha or Carly. She's not as compelling as Brooke. She's not as original as Jason. And she's not going to win like one of the Davids. So where does that leave her? Well tonight it left her showing us about what we might expect. A very solid country-twanged arrangement of a Mariah song which exposed too many of her vocal weaknesses despite her best effort. She's a good singer. She's not a star-quality singer. She's the only one left in this amazingly talented top seven who could get lost in the crowd of prior Idol top tens.

David "Don't Call Me Daughtry" Cook went next with "Always Be My Baby." Does he HAVE to steal the show every week? Is it some kind of compulsive disorder with him? You realize this is only going to make for more mass bitterness when David Archuleta wins anyway, right? We're all just being set up for a massive Idol meltdown. But anyway... once again David Cook made the rest of the contestants (save one, but we hadn't seen him yet) look like they were playing karaoke while he was making music. Can we just let the "who did the arrangement" question aside while agreeing it sounded really terrific and original and everything one could BEST hope for when the alt-rock force that is David Cook met the Diva wall that is Mariah? I would not in a million years think I would hit the replay button on a Mariah Carey song as often as I have with David Cook's version of this one. Oddly, it was Paula "Meds" Abdul who probably hit the weirdest and most accurate button when she talked about how this sounded like it could be on a movie soundtrack. It does sound like that. I have no idea what the movie would be, but I suspect Mandy Moore is in it and this song comes during the part where she finally leaves the jerk and goes to the one who loved her all along and would be especially popular with the under-21 crowd. Hollywood call for a treatment.

And finally, Jason "Put The Lime in the Coconut" Castro closed us out with "I Don't Want to Cry." It's a really nice sign when the show closes with not one, but two performances you feel immediately compelled to replay. I'll have to give David Cook the edge here, but other than that Jason gave the performance of the night. Is this because no diva could hope to out-diva Mariah, so the best bets were the least diva-style singers who had to try something else? I think that has to play a factor. But also note, Jason stepped his game onto another level last week as well, re-finding his ability to intimately connect with the audience while making things sound original and new. So in another sense, this was more of the same from him this week. It sounded totally unlike something Mariah Carey wrote, and very much like something Jason Castro sang, if that makes any sense. For reasons I cannot understand, Randy "Dawg-Lover" Jackson "didn't get" the arrangement at all. I'm guessing for all his boasting about working with Mariah in the past, hearing different arrangements than hers blows his mind a little bit. Simon didn't agree with him anyway.

So to sum up the night, as Simon "Nipples" Cowell noted, the boys ruled. And that's not to say the girls sucked. Really the weakest performance of the night was probably Brooke's, and even that was pretty great in places. We just have a lot of talent left on the board and it's letting things like originality and inventiveness stand out against merely good singing.

Tops of the night was, once again, David Cook. Once again he gave a performance that sounded like it could be a hit single now rather than the best on a talent show. And if you didn't tell people, not many would even realize it was a song by Mariah Carey. They'd just remember David Cook.

Next in line was Jason Castro who sounded like he had at least the demo version of something that might become a hit single, and also didn't sound much like the original Mariah version.

After that you have to note David Archuleta hit all the notes he needed to in order to remain the favorite. It was a perfect theme for him, and he didn't stumble.

The girls are a little harder to sort out, but I have to think they all place below the guys this week.

Sayesha gave my favorite performance among them. Carly was once again talented, but out-of sync. Brooke was the most original but probably performed the worst. And Kristy is simply out of her depth no matter how well she does now.

My picks for the bottom three - I think it's got to be all girls. So which one isn't among the bottom is the real question. Based purely on performance the safe one should be Sayesha. But these things are never based purely on that.

I think the bottom three will be Sayesha, Carly, and Kristy. And the one going home will be... Carly. I know. It's wrong. It ought to be Kristy. But Country is popular, and she's the only one left selling that brand. Carly got out-diva'd by Sayesha, and has been on the bubble due to an inability to find herself for some time. I think this is the end of the road for her.

UPDATE: THE RESULTS

I'm falling into a pattern here of picking only two of the bottom three, and over-thinking the one being sent home. The good news was - I think we have the right Top Six. The sequencing of the dismissals was perhaps a bit off. But we're down to the three best girls and three best guys and all of them, in my humble opinion, deserve to be there. Which is going to make the remaining eliminations extra painful.

Cute gimmick with the elimination, making us think either Jason Castro or David Cook was in the bottom three. But in the end David Cook switched places with Sayesha Mercado producing the expected all-girl bottom three. Unexpectedly to me, as I'd picked her for elimination, Carly Smithson was safe.

Sayesha was the one who least deserved to be there based on last night's performance and she was laudably sent to safety next. That left only Brooke and Kristy, who respectively gave last night's worst performance, and was most out of her depth overall compared to the others remaining. So who would stay?

Brook White got the reprieve, thankfully. Kristy was very gracious in her exit, acting like she fully expected it and was sincerely happy to make it so far. I came to like her much more over the past few weeks, but in the end she simply wasn't as good as the ones still remaining and that had to catch her eventually. Being in the top ten, she'll make plenty of money on the Idol tour to buy back that horse too.

Not sure what next week's Idol theme is, but it's going to be pretty intense as now we really get down to pitting the heavyweights against one another. I'm still thinking Carly and Sayesha are most at risk, so if either of them has a breakout performance in them, next week is the time to pull it out.

Michael Johns, after closing the show so memorably last week, opened the show this week with "Dream On," by Aerosmith. In Michael's interpretation the lyrics of this song perfectly encapsulate his experience coming to the U. S. to follow his dream. This having happened in the 1990's, rather than the 1920's, this dream involved becoming a huge singing star rather than finding a responsible job and raising his children in a land of opportunity. Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to. I guess he thinks he needs to push this humble immigrant angle because this is AMERICAN Idol, and he talks a little too much like Crocodile Dundee to wear that label too comfotably yet. Oh, the performance? Meh. It was pretty good. I did NOT enjoy him reaching for that screechy falsetto note at the end, but on the replay I discovered he was actually in tune for it. The biggest problem is that Micheal Johns is not really a "rocker" in the Aerosmith sense (or the David Cook sense for that matter). And nothing about this performance really seemed to fit him comfortably. The judges were mostly back to themselves this week, and Randy and Simon at least seemed to pick the right flaws here to focus on. Not a bad performance. A bit of a let down after last week though.

Syesha Mercado followed up singing "I Believe," by Fantasia. I happen to think singing Idol's own songs back at them - this was the Idol-written "original song" for Fantasia which she performed for her victory in Season Three - has a certain poetic justice. Idol unleashes this saccharine crap, filled with double-entendre lyrics loosely fitting some overarching story the song is about but are really describing how wonderful it is to win American Idol, every year and they're always grating on the nerves. But the judges CAN'T rip the show's own songs, no matter how deserving, so they have to pick on other things. Syesha actually sang this one very well, as she has been doing a number of weeks running. She didn't really sing it like Fantasia as much as Mariah Carey, including a squeeky little ultra-soprano aria near the end. I'm just going to keep hammering at this point until Syesha is gone, which I still think will be soon - being a pretty looking, pretty voiced diva is not enough for her to win. She needs to make some original statement about who she is, and no matter how well she sounds until she does that she's in danger. The judges mostly criticized her for not having a real "connection" with the song, which is kind of true but not the main problem in my opinion.

Jason Castro took the next slot, and when he announced he was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," you knew this was going to either be great or abysmal. When he mentioned it would not be the original version, but rather the ukulele version by Israel "Iz" Ka'ano'i Kamakawiwo'ole (yes of course I had to look that spelling up), I vaguely recalled hearing it before and got optimistic. That said I didn't realize he meant to accompany himself on an actual ukulele - but he did. And after hearing it, that was totally the right choice. He still brought enough originality and personality to it that it didn't sound like merely an imitation of the "Iz" version. Finally after a number of weeks where he couldn't quite recapture that intimate soulful connection with a song that he showed with "Hallelujah," it was back on display once more. Far and away my favorite performance of the night. The judges were uniformly praising, without a single criticism of any kind.

Kristy Lee Cook, she of the continual near-Idol-death experiences, made a push to stay out of the bottom three this week with "Anyway," by Martina McBride. It was a nice selection for her, with simple, sweet lyrics reinforcing her "All American Girl" image. The song was that kind of pop-country style which well suits her voice also. I didn't know quite what to expect from this one. Sometimes Kristy has just appeared lost and in over her head up there. But after the last few weeks one has to notice that she's been steadily improving and making the most of whatever gifts she's got. And this week? I was really pleasantly surprised. This performance wasn't just "good for Kristy." It was quite legitimately good, period. She had good control of the song; good power; didn't over or under sing it; and seemed to really believe in the words she was singing. This was the best we've ever heard her. So, of course, she could take the ironic "finally did well" exit spot this week, as that seems to happen to someone every year. But on the merits, she doesn't even belong in the bottom three this week. Seriously.

After this the night got a little weird...

David Cook came next telling us he was singing a song called "Innocent," by his favorite band Our Lady Peace. And the explanation for how it inspired him was somewhat overwrought and, perhaps, over thought. For weeks running David has been the one to most automatically have me hitting the replay to see him do it again. This week? Well I hit the replay for a different reason. I didn't know the song at all. And as I learned it, I didn't really like it. So I had to replay this thing to try to separate performance from song. And David will be happy to know, the thing wasn't quite as bad as it seemed to me on first impression. I mean it wasn't "bad" in the "missed notes," or "off key," or "forgotten lyrics" sense anyway. It was just kind of dull and uninteresting, and a tremendous letdown from someone we've grown used to putting out something electrifying each week. Then there was the cheesy message "Give Back" written on his hand which he opened to the camera to close the song, giving the whole thing a telethon feel. This was David's weakest performance in weeks. I don't expect him to get the boot over it or anything, but a little surprise trip to the bottom three to shake him out of doing that again wouldn't hurt.

Carly Smithson, who has often made poor song choices despite having perhaps the best voice of the season, chose "The Show Must Go On," by Queen. Ahem. I have warned the contestants over and over to avoid Queen songs, haven't I? I mean, Michael Johns kind of succeeded in making that his thing, but while one exception might make the rule, two definitely do not. And so, this week turned into a total reversal of last week for her. Last week she looked frumpy and sounded great. This week she looked much better and sounded... angry. Very angry in places. You could almost picture her grabbing someone by the shirt collar and screaming "THE SHOW MUST GO ON, DAMMIT!!!" into their face while a vein throbbed in her forehead. There were still some nice sounding spots, and she showed some truly explosive vocal power in places. But if there was one thing truly off putting about this performance it was definitely her apparent anger management issues. Carly was apparently telling us she's inspired by a white hot inner rage. I dunno about Carly anymore. As good as she sings - and it's pretty sensational at times - she chooses weird songs that don't quite seem to fit her rather frequently, and seems increasingly lost in who she wants to be as a singer. Simon warned her she could be in trouble this week, and I think he's right.

Then came David Archuleta with his hordes of screaming teen groupies singing "Angels," by Robbie Williams. Simon called the song one of the best pop songs written. I call it kind of blah with the same old power-notes tossed over it as you'd find most anywhere else. David accompanied himself on piano, and that choice seemed to be good for this one. As the song opened he struggled a bit with the softer, lower notes. But as soon as the arrangement opened up to let him belt out in his ballad-powerstyle he was back at the top of his game. In fact this was one of those songs where he sounded better and better the longer it went, which left a pretty good impression by the time he was done. If David Archuleta can deliver this kind of performance every week, he's going to be awfully hard to beat no matter how well the others do. And that's not to say I thought this was so much better than others can do. The sound is just part of an amazingly likable, popular, star-is-born image that's all coming together to the delight of Idol's producers. And it was back on track this week.

Brooke White closed us out with "You've Got a Friend," by Carole King. I always thought James Taylor wrote that and others like Carole King covered it. Brooke was quick to correct us on that point in her pre-song interview. Anyway it was a great song choice for her in the "safe" sense of the word. There was little doubt she'd sound good singing it - and she did. But Brooke chose to do this one standing solo at the microphone, accompanying herself neither with guitar nor piano. And I think the orchestral arrangement which went along with this choice took away a lot of Brooke's potential to make something special with this one. It came across as sincere, and good, and a bit old fashioned. It also came across pretty much just like Carole King, with little stamp of originality. In baseball terms this one seemed like she might be able to hit a home run, and instead dribbled out a little infield single. Not bad. But a little underwhelming considering the expectations.

In summary, this was a little bit of a letdown week. The judges were not as off in their own little world this time, but some of the contestants unfortunately were. Song choices were definitely off in a lot of cases. A couple of singers who totally needed to stepped it up. A couple who you wouldn't expect managed to stumble. And we won't know the results until Thursday night, because Idol Gives Back needs a whole night to itself and it wouldn't feel quite right to end that feel-good fest with a tearful goodbye.

Tops of the night goes to Jason Castro, hands down. I'm not sure he's got enough in him to win this whole thing, but that was Jason at his best.

Next tier down we'll put the Archuleta Express, and give unexpectedly high praise to Kristy Lee Cook.

After that it gets hard to sort it out.

I think Michael Johns is quite safe, though I didn't find his performance anything special. I think David Cook might get a surprise shake-up and hit the bottom three, but that's more about song choice than talent. Brooke may have played it a little too safe and could see the bottom three again as a result. I think Syesha Mercado sang excellently and yet is in danger. And I think Carly Smithson may finally be getting past the point where her raw vocal talent is enough to carry her.

Predictions: I think the bottom three this week will be Carly, Syesha and... Brooke. I think David Cook might come pretty close in the voting, but I suspect his fan-base at this point is enough to keep him out of the bottom three. I expect Brooke to be sent to safety while Carly and Syesha wait it out to hear who goes home... after the break. And in the end I think it will be the end of the road for... Syesha. We'll have to wait an extra night to find out though.

UPDATE: The Results

Wow. Like most of the rest of America, I didn't see this one coming. Idol has at least one "shock" elimination every season. And the reason they're shocks is no one saw them coming. Tamyra Grey, LaToya London, Chris Daughtry... all of them got the boot suddenly and unexpectedly. But this one has to rank pretty highly up there.

Michael Johns, who hadn't even seen the bottom three before, is headed home after a performance that didn't slay me but hardly seemed elimination material.

As I expected Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado hit the bottom three as well, and Kristy Lee Cook finally avoided it. But Michael Johns leaving... and so soon after that amazing performance to close last week's show... did not see that coming at all.

But looking at the remaining guys... David Archuleta, David Cook, Jason Castro... barring a surprising stinker of a performance from one of them in the upcoming weeks, prepare to shed a couple of the girls before we see another guy eliminated. Kristy Lee Cook, Syesha Mercado, and Carly Smithson, in that order, could very well leave before another guy gets the boot.

Brooke White lead us off this week, and I have a confession to make. I think I've entirely lost my fear of this girl as a closeted psychopath, and actually kind of like her now. Even the stalker lyrics of her song choice last week couldn't rekindle my fear. I realized this as I actually looked forward to her performance this week. She chose "Jolene," which fit her voice nicely, as did her decision to self-accompany on acoustic guitar. The only truly unusual aspect to this song for her was how implausible it sounded hearing a gorgeous blonde girl sing a song from the perspective of a loser-girl who can only beg a prettier girl not to seduce away the only man who would ever want her. However Brooke did seem to pour herself into the lyrics with that typical earnestness and believability we've come to expect from her. In her vocal anyway. Her face was smiling and flirting with the studio audience in a way ill suited to the song. She had a little trouble finding the pitch initially, but found it by the first refrain and never lost it again. Also, this performance began the night's trend of having extra musicians accompanying the performers right up on stage with them. A trend which seemed to distract Simon into critiquing Brooke like they were supposed to be a band together, which made little sense, but it was a rough night for the judges altogether. This was a pretty solid performance, and probably one of the best starting performances of the season.

David Cook came next, and I really wish people would stop whining about him "stealing" arrangements from other artists. Here's how the show works people... the Idolateers choose songs, the producers try to get the rights so they can do them, and then they perform. If along the way the contestant wants to pull a Blake Lewis and invent a new arrangement they can, but that's not a requirement. Anyway, in an apparent attempt to appease the whiners they made a point to note that David Cook did his own arrangement this week of the song, "Little Sparrow." And it was a pretty nice arrangement too. Made a country song sound rock-like and modern not unlike Irish groups like the Pogues have long been doing with Celtic folk tunes (which form the foundation of most American country music, just as a point of gratuitous trivia) for ages, but rarely happens in American music for whatever reason. This wasn't really a breakout performance, or a stunner like he pulled last week. But it was solid, professional sounding, and very good. David showed off the upper range of his voice more than we've heard in the past, and once again delivered flawlessly. At the judges table, Simon made some weird comment about David making "a song about sparrows" sound good, because he either didn't listen to the lyrics or doesn't understand what a metaphor is. After two performances Idolateers 2, Judges 0.

Ramiele Mulabay came out next singing "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind." Of all the contestants, Ramiele was portrayed as being the one most intimidated and star-struck meeting Dolly Parton. Has Dolly really been that big a deal with the kids during the past 20 years, which are the only ones Ramiele has been alive? I dunno. Eliot Yamin freaked the hell out meeting Stevie Wonder a couple seasons back and I bought that, so I guess I'll buy this too. As for the performance, wow. This one illustrated to me how great the contestants are on Idol this season. Oh I didn't like Ramiele here. No no. It illustrated this because Ramiele delivered a performance that would have made her safe among a top 9 in probably any other season. But among this crowd it stood out as pageanty and amateurish, even though she sounded vocally stronger this week than she has for a while. Once again she made a poor song choice. Once again she had a few pitch problems (though nothing close to the disaster last week). But overall it was a pretty solid job. However her performance was just bouncing across the stage, smiling and singing in a manner that was the very depiction of "insincere" and "trying to impress." The judges babbled some nonsense, until Simon called it forgettable and cruise-ship material. We'll give that round to the judges for that one.

Jason Castro followed, once again with his acoustic guitar, singing "Traveling Through." We're going to ignore Dolly's very bad joke upon meeting Jason and saying she would "dread" to have to do those "locks." Oh, I just mentioned it? Dang! Anyway as soon as this one started it had a good feel to it. Jason has been running on cruise control for a few weeks now, and right from the start this one seemed to be a pick up from that level. It was a nice song choice. The range suited him. The tempo suited him. It was arranged in a manner that wasn't very country sounding (as an aside, that was true of most of the night's arrangements). And really I listened to this one start to finish liking it better and better as it went on. By the end the wife and I were nodding and commenting to one another how it was probably his second best performance ever on the show. And playing it back this morning I confirmed it. Very nice job. Then at the judges table Paula Abdul was the only one who seemed to get it, and that is just wrong. Simon talked about it like it was awful, which it simply wasn't on any level. We were actually off to a very good night so far, but