Heather Phares
During Tuesday night’s show, Randy Jackson said that singing Andrew Lloyd Webber songs was the toughest challenge the Idols have yet faced, and he was right — the schmaltz and rangy melodies were unflattering to most of the singers and often painful for the audience to endure. The best thing about the night was Webber himself; like Mariah Carey last week, Webber ended up being surprisingly charming and helpful, though his advice didn’t seem to sink in with too many of the singers.

Syesha was a surprising exception. After weeks of copying mega R&B divas like Mariah and Whitney, she finally showed her true colors as an aspiring Broadway baby. It was a little worrisome when she said, “Finally, something where I can show some personality” — although that explains a lot about her previous bland performances — but her “One Rock ‘n’ Roll Too Many” was sassy and fun, and one of the night’s most engaging moments. Given how many Idol alum end up on Broadway, Syesha will be right at home when she winds up there. Carly also paid attention to Webber’s lessons, and her “Superstar” was much more entertaining than the snoozy ballads she usually chooses for herself. Even though she was way more energetic than usual, her lack of charisma continues to make her one of the most frustrating Idols ever.

Charisma has never been a problem for David Cook, though, and his choice of what Webber called his “most sensual song,” Phantom of the Opera’s “The Music of the Night,” was a savvy one, although the ultra-traditional arrangement was a bit stiff and strange, especially for the show’s brave, original, creative rocker — what would’ve been more brave or original than breaking out the Les Paul on musical theater night? At any rate, it was a strong performance, even if Cook managed to be the schmaltziest David of the night. And that’s saying something, given that schmaltz and rangy melodies are David Archuleta’s bread and butter. However, on a night that should have been effortless for him, Archuleta had problems: He tried to make “Think of Me” more modern with a contemporary arrangement and some Stevie Wonder-inspired vocal runs, but his performance was tentative and the flubbed words didn’t help.

Of course, his flub was almost unnoticeable compared to THE flub of the night. Brooke’s false start doomed her performance of “You Must Love Me” — despite what Paula said, she couldn’t just continue, but starting over made her too nervous and hesitant (though it may have added the emotion Webber thought was missing from her rehearsals). Unless Brooke gets some heavy-duty sympathy votes, it wouldn’t be surprising if that false start spells the end for her. Idol’s other flower child also wilted under the glare of the footlights. Jason Castro tried to work the same magic with “Memory” that he did with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on Inspirational Songs week, going for a smaller, unpretentious performance in contrast to all the flashiness surrounding him, but this time he just seemed horribly out of place and uncomfortable — like Brooke, perhaps to the point of elimination.

Andrew Leahey
At least half of the contestants were “off” this week — off pitch, off-kilter, perhaps even off-putting — but their mistakes paled in comparison to the blunders made at the judging table. Simon, Randy, and Paula have all chosen their favorites by now, and their criticism is structured accordingly, often glossing over the mistakes of their #1 draft picks to encourage their longstanding presence on the show. It’s happened before, of course — that’s simply how the game is played, and everyone’s a player here, not only the contestants — but it seems doubly unfair now, when powerhouses like Michael Johns are forced to watch the show at home while other contestants bumble their way through Webber’s compositions. If a contestant messes up, the judges need to note it, even if the offender is someone who’s been pre-destined (not by America, but by the almighty Nigel Lythgoe) to make the Final Two.

Of course, this brings us to David Archuleta, who is the polar opposite of his main competitor (at least as far as the American Idol rubric goes). David Cook is tall, old, angsty, bearded; Archuleta is small, young, jovial, baby-faced. Having the two contestants square off in a David-vs-David finale is the network’s obvious goal, and the judges glossed over Archie’s fumbled lyrics last night without so much as a shrug. “Think Of Me” started off nicely, but it quickly diverged into an odd mix of key changes, vocal runs, gauzy strings, and boy band crooning. This is the sort of music that plays in Lou Pearlman’s elevator, but Randy seemed to think it was great, and Paula went so far as to deem Achie’s flawed performance “perfect.” Only Simon had enough sense to point out some of the singer’s weaknesses, but he nevertheless gave David enough praise (”it’s absolutely gonna get you through to next week”) to keep him from taking a much-deserved dunk in the Bottom Three.

David Cook, on the other hand, used to incur Simon’s wrath week after week. It’s easy to take his frontrunner status for granted now, but let’s not forget that Cook’s standing is the result of an uphill climb. He didn’t receive the extended video packages that established Archuleta, Carly, and Brooke as AmIdol stars before the auditions were even over, and had he forgotten his lyrics on two occasions (ahem, Brooke and David Archuleta), he’d most certainly be penalized for it. So I have no problem with Randy and Paula loving his understated performance of “Music of the Night,” although I do take issue with Simon’s wish that it was “gritty and more raw.” That would’ve been predictable. That would’ve been easy. Cook scaled things back and let his alt.rock colors fly at key moments, which made him one of the better performers of the evening.

Syesha was perhaps the best singer last night. It’s not hard for a diva to shine on Broadway tunes, but Syesha nevertheless left her peers in the dust with her sexy swagger and confident pipes (although, just to be fair, she did come in early). While Starlight Express may be one of Webber’s weakest shows, it still gave Syesha her strongest performance in weeks. Go figure. As for the others — Carly, Jason, and Brooke — the latter two will almost certainly be in the Bottom Three, while Carly deserves to stay another week and regain more of her lost momentum. She botched the lyrics during the first chorus of “Superstar,” but Carly’s energy and throaty high notes were still great — a fine return for someone who’s been toiling in the trenches for weeks.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Syesha: So, Syesha reveals herself as a creature of musical theatre — something we should have realized many years ago when she flaunted that icky baby voice as if she was auditioning for a cartoon. She’s at home here, sashaying across the stage, draping an arm across Ricky Minor’s shoulder (with considerably less sexual energy than Bowie and Mick Ronson, but what are you gonna do?), wringing every bit of theatricality out of this tune. And she sounds great, easily the best singer and performer of the night. Not a pop star, really, but if Diana DeGarmo can light up the Great White Way, Syesha sure as hell should after this is all over.

Jason: “I’m not sure I would have done it.” So said Andrew Lloyd Webber — who, for the record, was utterly terrific on TV, very funny and, better still, he doled out excellent advice to all the contestants — of Jason Castro’s choice of “Memory.” Well, Webber knows what the hell he’s talking about, as Jason tries to channel his hippie charm into an orchestra and goes off the rails almost immediately. As soon as the song shifts after the first verse, he can’t keep up with the progression of the song, singing behind the beat and never getting back on it. It’s awful, a patchouli and grease-paint scented mess that should kick him off the show. Even so, the utter horror of this is excusable because when is he ever, ever going to sing a song like this? Simon is right that it’s like he was forced by his mum and dad to sing the song, but that totally ignores Simon’s culpability here as he’s one of the mums and dads here, forcing the guy to sing something that’s not suited to him! Perhaps the problem is in the conception of this entire show — the idea that our American Idol needs to be able to sing ALW showtunes, something that has nothing to do with the kind of pop singer that has hit the charts in the past decade — because Jason, who is surely one of the more modern singers here, has no business singing Webber. And for that matter neither does Brooke White.

Brooke: For the second time, Brooke trips at the gate and decides to push the reset button — and it’s kinda more noticeable when you’re singing with a whole orchestra than when you’re all alone at a piano. Sure, this could be called unprofessional, but there are plenty of times when artists pull a do-over and start all over again, and this can actually be an endearing thing (spoken like the diehard Pavement fan that I am, the one that’s still cherishing the memory of them attempting to get “Kris Kraft” off the ground after three false starts). To me, starting-stopping adds a big element of humanity to a performance which may actually have helped give her a bit of emotion and seemed to connect her to the song a little bit more than she did in the rehearsal. Not quite enough to get this off the ground, though. This was a rough performance, but her tone is still soothing and warm, perfect for settings much more intimate than this, as she’s never ever going to sing a showtune with a band so big they spill over the stage as she did last night.

David A: Enough with this nonsense — not just bringing girls on stage to hug little David, but the very idea that this kid is in for some kind of real stardom after this is all over. Yes, he’ll sell records but he’s not a tween heartthrob. Compared to him, Zac Efron looks dangerous, the Jonas Brothers are mavericks, even the Naked Brothers Band seem like renegades. As “safe” pre-teen crushes go, David A is too safe, giving every indication that he’d rather spend the evening chatting with your parents then going out to the malt shop or whatever kids do these days. In that sense, he’s the second coming of Clay Aiken, a singer who appealed to the same exact demographic as David, but Clay is truly, deeply strange in his mannerisms and his taste. Clay is a downright diva, which means he can be flat-out weird, as when he did that awful “Grease” decked out in red pleather. David A is boring, right down to repeating his same little “aw shucks” shuffle after singing, always with a song that only feels at home in Star Searches and Vegas theaters, even demonstrating a tendency to forget lyrics, which he did last night. That wasn’t enough to sink his performance — like the pro he is, he soldiered through, not drawing attention to his mistake, something that Brooke should probably learn if she truly wants to sing on this scale — and perhaps he did try to make the song sound more modern (which meant more 1998 than 2008, but the attempt is appreciated all the same), but he was undone by his irrepressible blandness. Sure, his good looks and good voice may be enough for him to win this thing, but if he’s “exactly what this show is about” as Randy says, no wonder the ratings are down in key demographics as according to the LA Times.

Carly: Carly tones down her desperation (at least until that stupid baby blue T-shirt came out) and ALW pushes her in the right direction (which means it was NOT “so unexpected,” Paula) by telling her to do the theme song from Jesus Christ Superstar. If we had time she’d like to blow our minds, belting out Webber’s rock & show as if there was no tomorrow. She’s not all that good but she’s not all that bad, a pro singer in her comfort zone — and since so many of her peers were decidedly out of their comfort zone, she beats almost all of them by default, even if it doesn’t trump Syesha’s assured sashaying.

David C: Revealed! Another missing piece of the puzzle that is David Cook! Not only is he a rocker who loves Our Lady Peace, he’s a rocker who’s a musical theater guy! No wonder he sounded more comfortable last night, as he sanded away the affected grit in his voice (apart from the grungy glory note at the inclusion) and revved up the hambone shtick on a rendition of “Music of the Night” that would be absolutely stunning in any collegiate production of The Phantom of the Opera. As David C is just a shade more sensual than David A, this isn’t quite a seductive version of the “most sexy song” ALW ever wrote, but it is perhaps the most natural performance Cook has given all year — which may bode well for his status on the show but not so much for that inevitable AAA post-grunge album we’ll see this holiday season.