To me, the real atrocity of last night was that group sing on “Reelin’ in the Years.” I have no problem with Steely Dan on the show, of course — if anything, the great Walter Becker and Donald Fagen would be my dream judges/mentors, rivaling that legendary episode with Quentin Tarantino as guest judge — but this was an outright embarrassment, with each line getting more ridiculous, culminating in David Archuleta botching lyrics once again. The only thing they can do to make up for this is to have a Becker/Fagen night next year, preferably early in the season when the show has enough contestants to be interesting to watch.

Also, it’s a shame that Bo Bice wasn’t allowed to play an instrument in the season he was on Idol — his very good performance last night showed that he was more comfortable with an axe than anybody this season, and more of a rocker too. But his Southern rock has never seemed more out of step with American Idol than it did last night.

Matt Collar
In answer to the phone in question of what was the biggest challenge each Idol had to overcome this season, the soon-to-be ousted Jason, pointing at his dreadlocks, responded with his usual deft hippy aplomb, “The dead brain.” And while no one would disagree with Jason’s own summation of his time on the show, in truth his actual Achilles’ heel was his voice. Dude just can’t sing very well. But at least he was a hundred times more interesting than the final three. Cook, Archie, and Syesha can sing quite well, but man are they dull. Syesha would be a shoo-in for the final two any other season, especially with the Idol tradition of having a girl/guy finale. But with Cook’s earnest rawk dominance and Archie’s Disney-diva-naïf chops, Syesha comes off as merely competent and that doesn’t grab you votes. Plus, I wonder if her votes are gonna get split by little girls who can’t decide whether they want to be Syesha or date Archie? And by date I mean like pass notes with check boxes in them, put stickers on his locker, see a movie at the mall, and stuff.

Matt Collar
Seriously, between Cook’s sparkly blazer he must have stolen off Liza Minnelli at the Café Carlyle in 1978 and Castro’s two cringe-inducing dormroom bong haze performances –- who forgets “jingle jangle morning”?! — AmIdol vacillated between dull, bad, and farty. Archie was his usual boring self and Syesha, while good, still had a few issues. I guess I won’t hold it against her for doing Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” as that is the version she attempted to pull off with mixed results. But despite whatever research she did, her “A Change Is Gonna Come” ended up being less about the Civil Rights Movement and more about having a cry over herself getting this far on Idol. Either way, she definitely deserves to make it to the final three over Jason. In that sense, Paula was right — Welcome to your dream Syesha, everybody else sucks.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Week came complete with a package explaining what rock & roll is all about — because the nation’s tweens and teens need it spelled out for them as they’re too distracted by Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I will refrain from complaining that Jackie Brenston’s name wasn’t mentioned during this segment as it is so rare to have Ike Turner mentioned in a positive light on national TV. Good on them. I will complain a bit about another package suggesting that Alan Freed was the guy that invented rock & roll, but as this is a show created by industry folks, do I really expect any better? After all, they picked Kiss’s theme park rock of “Rock & Roll All Nite” as the song that ran throughout the video. The only good thing about that is that its inclusion proved how raw and real “Rocket 88” still sounds all these years later…but maybe I’m just bitter that nobody attempted “She’s About A Mover,” “Omaha,” “Dixie Chicken,” “Laugh Laugh,” “Personality Crisis,” “September Gurls,” “We Got the Beat,” “See Emily Play” or “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” all songs that do indeed show up on the Hall of Fame’s 500, which for some inane reason was treated like a body of work by the show, as if one person was responsible for it all.

David Cook: The resident rocker should be in his comfort zone tonight — as Randy and others took pains to point out — so how come he seemed so flaccid that Simon LeBon sounded dangerous in comparison? Same reason as always: he takes everything slow n’ serious, singing “Hungry Like The Wolf” with a hint of gravel in his voice then crooning “Baba O’Reilly,” effectively neutering it. So, in a sense, he is a quintessential modern mainstream rocker: everything he touches turns dull.

Syesha: First time out, Syesha does “Proud Mary,” naturally photocopying the Tina Turner version to the letter (any bets on whether she thinks Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the hundreds of covers of Tina’s original?). Maybe this was a good idea in theory, but in practice, having Syesha mock Tina’s every move only illustrates the gap in soul between the two singers.

But that’s nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what she did next. I quote: “[Sam Cooke died] during the Civil Rights Movement which was a pivotal time in history and now I’m singing it in a pivotal time in my life.” Well, that’s really all you need to know about this version of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which has never been turned into an anthem for self-fulfillment but hey, if anybody can do it, it’s Syesha, who quite sincerely believes that there is a parallel between civil rights and reality TV as she repeats it after her performance! Never mind that her phrasing makes it seem that Cooke was killed as part of the civil rights struggle, she sings it as if her march to stardom is the same as the March on Washington. Usually, it’s easy to excuse her narcissism as she can actually sing, but the stench of solipsism is too much to take this time around.

Jason Cook: Oh, this guy just doesn’t want to be here anymore. He clowns his way through “I Shot the Sheriff” then does a Dylan impersonation on “Mr. Tambourine Man,” tripping over some of the tune’s best-known lyrics so badly that it becomes clear that it was an intentional flub. He still has remnants of his charm but, jeez, let’s put the guy out of his misery — he’s gotten as far as he needs to do in order to have a career and he just doesn’t want to do the game anymore. Love the “where was the deputy” ad-lib, though.

David A: The least rock & roll of all remaining four Idol contestants — though really, are any of them rock & roll? — does the best tonight because he sticks to what he knows, good ballads. Not that he’s “da bomb,” as Randy automatically spits out anytime Archuleta opens his mouth, but because he doesn’t try too hard and thereby seems a bit more likable than he has in a few weeks. Which doesn’t mean he’s perfect — he cracks a little, goes flat a bit, still seems too coached — but on a night filled with fumbles, he doesn’t stumble.

One final note: the producers are going to have to do a lot better job addressing the Paula snafu than brushing away the “rumors” surrounding her premature judging of Jason Castro’s second song. It’s a classic case of “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?,” but that shtick is hard to pull off when there are millions of witnesses to the screw-up.

Andrew Leahey
Was anyone else hoping for a fuller explanation of Paula’s loopy criticism? She gave conflicting reports yesterday, first appearing on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to claim that she’d mistakenly looked at her notes from the dress rehearsal (which begs the question: should the dress rehearsals really influence what the judges say?) and then telling Entertainment Weekly that she mistook her notes on David Cook’s performance for something pertaining to Jason Castro (which begs the question: why did she criticize Castro’s imaginary second song, only to subsequently praise Cook?). As is often the case with Miss Abdul, none of it made sense. But when last night’s show rolled around, Seacrest only briefly mentioned the mishap by claiming the “rumors” were wrong and asserting that everybody still loves Paula. Well, that’s great. Let’s all hug each other, legally download Paula’s latest single from iTunes, and forget that we’ve spent three months watching this show, voting for contestants, and striving to find some justification for the amount of energy we’ve spent on a potentially fabricated competition.

As for the elimination itself, Brooke’s teary exit was moving but necessary, since she really has no place in this competition after Carly’s dismissal. The same goes Syesha, who will outlast Jason Castro next week if Fox deems it important to have a co-ed Top Three. Otherwise, she’s the next to go, and American Idol will be one big dude-fest until the finale on May 21st.

Matt Collar
So, Brooke is gone and Jason lives on. I won’t be surprised if Jason makes the final three either as his popularity, unlike his voice, seems boundless. I was somewhat icked out by Natasha Bedingfield’s apparent muppet crush on David Archuleta. The moment made for great TV but reinforced my fear that the mainstream pop world is primed to embrace lil’ Archie like some kind of pop idol Pikachu they will coddle and feed until his vestigial tail drops off and he finally grows some musical genitalia.

Oh well, I still say David Cook wins despite the toddler hair and the unfortunate v-neck t-shirt.

Andrew Leahey
Alright. Episodes like this leave us with three possible conclusions:

1. Paula Abdul is clairvoyant.
2. Paula Abdul is stoned.
3. The conspiracy theorists were right, and this show is totally, utterly scripted.

At its best, American Idol is a harmlessly fun show that encourages healthy music criticism. It allows the TV-viewing public to take part in the machinations that turn everyday vocalists into superstars. Few media outlets challenge so many people to think about the music they consume — to choose between folksy crooners and flat-ironed emo rockers, male teenyboppers and female divas, Irish bar singers and Australian bluesmen. Whether or not that power is actually in our hands, we still have the illusion of choice — the fantasy that we’re in charge of our own musical landscape — and such authority (even if it’s all a pipe dream) helps us engage our inner Simon Cowell as we pinpoint the musical tics we hate, the tics we love, the singers who inspire us to vote, and so on. American Idol may only be a Star Search-styled program transplanted to the major leagues, but if done correctly, it has the potential to be something more.

Last night, however, Idol was a mess. Half the contestants were downright bad, and the ones who sang well only played into the stereotypes that were carved out for them weeks ago. Is this really the best crop of young American talent? Are we supposed to be proud that our votes have furnished an underwhelming Top Five with two stars, one Broadway candidate, and a pair of hit-or-miss guitar strummers? We learned nothing new, and Paula’s hilarious flub provided little relief from the tide of terrible television. Who’s going home tonight? Who knows. It’s out of our hands, really — but it’s apparently in Paula’s script.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Before we go any further, just a moment to say… what the blazing hell was last night’s show? Not counting “Idol Gives Back” — which should never be considered as part of the rubric of regular Idol, even though they kicked somebody off this year — this is the worst episode this season, probably the worst in several seasons, as they tried to cram two songs a piece from the Top Five into an hour, holding off commentary from the judges until the final performance. Well, that was the plan anyway, but for some reason the producers decided to turn to the judges halfway through the show, leading to stunning sight of Paula Abdul wandering far off script and giving a critique of Jason Castro’s second song before he sang it. If you’re charitable, she’s confused, relying on notes that she made during dress rehearsals. If you’re a conspiracist, you’ll take this as proof that the show is rigged, relying on notes given to her by producers. Either way, we’re all winners as it was a marvelous bit of a live television in a show that needed an unexpected moment, as the contestants are dispiritingly predictable. All the contestants are united in one other front: they have a hard time picking the right song.

Jason: By far the worst offender in terms of song selection was Jason Castro. Of all mainstream pop composers, only Neil Diamond has a wealth of songs suited to Castro’s sunny strum-along style (and, to get the cheap joke out of the way quickly, that’s not even including “The Pot Smoker’s Song”!), so what does Castro do? Not one but two songs from Neil’s late ‘70s/early ‘80s peak as schmaltzy adult contemporary balladeer, trying to smile his way through “Forever In Blue Jeans” and then crooning “September Morn” badly. “Forever In Blue Jeans” had a semblance of the sunniness that has kept Jason charming but there’s no two ways around it: these songs choices add up to a colossal blunder for Castro, suggesting that he neither can pick songs nor has a true understanding of his own style.

David C: You certainly can’t say that David Cook doesn’t understand who he is or that he can’t pick songs. He has the fortitude to sift through the entire Neil Diamond catalog and pick two dull, crawling songs nobody knows and then contort them into his signature overblown yet anonymous post-grunge. As he grew up in an age where obscurity equaled credibility, he always favors the unknown to the familiar, which lends his choices a stupid arrogance; he picks the right songs but the songs are bad, yet he’s convinced they’re good because only he knows them. He winds up picking songs that showcase him, not the song, and when they’re judged just as songs, they’re tunes nobody wants to hear and they show that the guy has no taste at all.

Brooke: In contrast to David C, Brooke picks songs everybody knows. One of them everybody knows too well — the rightly deathless “I’m a Believer” which she turns too sugary, a feat that previously seemed impossible. It was Brooke at her absolute worst — all butterflies, sunshine and popsicles — but she redeemed herself by a soft, comparatively sparse “I Am I Said” that showcased her warm crooning at her best, as even her cracking voice lent it some emotional heft. It was as good as she should have been and it makes you wonder why on earth she picked “I’m a Believer” for her first song, as “You Got To Me” would have filled that same uptempo bill better.

David A: Jason and Brooke had worse performances, but hands down the most unbearable contestant of the night was — surprise surprise — David Archuleta, who breathlessly seized the opportunity to be a schmaltzy cheeseball. He was merely awful on “Sweet Caroline,” shoehorning runs where the song won’t allow it, and utterly horrific on “America,” singing with a po-faced sincerity that shows he can’t even be a good lounge singer because he doesn’t know how bloody ridiculous the tune is (quite the opposite of Neil’s original). At this point, I almost want him to take the thing just to see how bad his album will be.

Syesha: Ever willing to show off, Syesha picks a tune for her voice and a tune to tear it up, singing both expertly and quite boringly. She’s better on the ballad, as it really gives her a chance to run, but the decision to try make the faux-gospel of “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime” real (when it would have been better off in the hands of Jason, who would have had the audience clap along) shows she’s destined for the literalism of the theatah, not the pop charts.

Heather Phares
Brooke’s false start added excitement to Tuesday night’s show, but Carly’s elimination on Wednesday elicited outright shock. But was it really so surprising that she and Syesha, another of the most technically gifted singers left on the show, were sitting in the Bottom Two stools? Both had some pretty revealing confessions in their interviews with Ryan during the show: Syesha said that while she was singing, she was “being somebody else … a fun person.” Carly put an even finer point on it, saying “I haven’t been having fun” because she’d chosen songs to show off her singing ability throughout the competition. Carly and Syesha are both blessed with big voices, but each week they both seemed obligated to display just how big their voices were at the expense of showing much personality — while less gifted but more relatable contestants like Brooke and Jason became audience favorites. While it might seem unfair that Brooke and Jason escaped the Bottom Two this week — though Brooke at least had the decency to be shocked that she was safe — as Randy rather obviously explained, “it must be a popularity thing in the vote.” Simon nailed it when he said that Brooke’s flub made her human to the audience, and that Jason’s awkwardness was charming (and, based on the screams he got from the crowd, that awkward charm isn’t going anywhere anytime soon). Even though Carly and Syesha finally displayed some fun and personality this week, it was too little, too late for Carly, and the fact that she seemed relieved to be going home was just as telling as her revelation that she wasn’t enjoying herself. She (understandably) never seemed to get over her major-label failure at 15, and her desperation to “make it” in showbiz now while protecting herself from further hurt and rejection made her all too human — but unfortunately, that humanity never showed up enough in her singing for people to really embrace her on the show. Maybe post-Idol she’ll finally have the chance to have a singing career on something like her own terms.

Andrew Leahey
Bizarre. This show is totally, totally bizarre.

Many years from now, last night’s television waves will reach the radio towers of some distant star, whose super-intelligent inhabitants will decode and re-broadcast them via an extraterrestrial TV set. And what will those aliens see? Which images will they come to associate with that tiny green-and-blue planet on the other side of the galaxy? Andrew Lloyd Webber fidgeting like a quirky, excited schoolchild… Clay Aiken wearing a knight’s costume, a honey-dyed bob, and more makeup than Tammy Faye… A Ford commercial that leaves viewers with the desire to watch Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome… And finally, an incomprehensible decision to boot Carly Smithson, the show’s strongest female contestant and a humble sweetie to boot. Wow. Go America.

It’s hard to imagine Brooke and Syesha enjoying the same transatlantic success as Leona Lewis, whose presence last night was a helpful reminder that reality TV can occasionally turn out a true star. Her vocal performance of “Bleeding Love” often bordered on yodeling, but Cowell’s X Factor protégé still treated AmIdol viewers to the sort of steady, assured performance that Brooke so rarely musters (and Syesha so rarely pulls off). Simon’s shoutout to Clive Davis was also notable, given that the cranky Brit is rapidly taking Clive’s place in the industry by turning young, photogenic R&B singers into chart-topping divas. Leona Lewis may not have the raw talent of Alicia Keys, whom Clive rescued from record label purgatory in the early 2000s, but she does have two worldwide number one singles in her (very) brief discography. There’s no way Simon Cowell will have similar success mentoring the remaining Idol females, which makes Carly’s exit all the more puzzling.

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.

Expect next week to deliver two giant helpings of musical theater schlock. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s catalog is certainly more pop-friendly than, say, the music of Frank Loesser, but I don’t see how selections from Phantom of the Opera are at all applicable to today’s market. My predictions for Tuesday night: David Cook and Carly both perform songs from Phantom, either David Archuleta or Syesha delivers a sappy “Memory” from Cats, Brooke tackles something from Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jason Castro strums his way through a breezy version of Joseph’s “Any Dream Will Do.” Bonus prediction: during the group sing on Wednesday, everybody straps on roller-skates to perform a lively, movement-filled, and altogether hazardous medley of Starlight Express tunes.

Matt Collar:
With Kristy Lee Cook’s departure, it seems as if the competition has moved into survival of the fittest mode, in which the weakest singers will now be sent home in successive order over the coming weeks. If that is truly the case, then Syesha and Jason should be concerned how much shelf-life they’ve got left on the Idol stage. Of course, Jason seems to be a popular Idol despite his obvious lack of vocal prowess, and Syesha has stepped up her performances the past few weeks. The other big conundrum now is who will go home first, Brooke or Carly? Both evince their own kind of artistic depth, with Brooke giving the impression of a singer-songwriter and Carly easily nabbing the title of true professional. However, while Carly has been safe as of late, both of them have failed to deliver knock-out performances like the dueling Davids, and it is unclear if the voting public –- especially those up-for-grabs Kristy Lee voters –- are going to continue to rally behind them as the show wears on.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
Last night, the inevitable could be delayed no more and Kristy Lee Cook was finally sent home. Kristy Lee lasted far long than anyone would have expected, withstanding withering criticisms week after week, but KLC was possessed with a keen self-awareness, knowing that a good portion of those criticisms were on the money. And so, she worked hard, picking songs that either suited her voice or were designed to get her votes, and it kept her in the competition when stronger singers left the show. That self-awareness cuts both ways, as Kristy Lee has long acted as she knew that death was just around the corner and that she perhaps could postpone it but never prevent it — which kind of made her AmIdol’s version of Charlie on Lost, as the specter of death hung over her every move (this would make Simon the show’s Desmond, I suppose, with David Archuleta being Ben, the character that seems innocent at first but gradually reveals himself to be insidious. Except Ben is more loveable … but I digress). Kristy Lee handled the end with grace and gallows humor, but it’s hardly like she sold her horses in vain — if Phil frickin’ Stacey can get signed to a major label as a country singer, so can Kristy Lee, and with the right producers and packaging, she may even be a success there, too.

Carly: Oh of course Carly was going to pick “Without You” — a big ballad with rock pedigree, it’s perfect for her. And she sang it not badly but not greatly either, investing way too much in the wailing coda and not enough in the verse and, worse still, it was possible to hear her consciously crank up the intensity phrase by phrase, which is what Simon was talking about when he says she over thinks it all. And she does — she’s that desperate to win, a desperateness that shows through too strongly in her interviews, a desperateness that could very well keep away voters. Speaking of alienating voters, the producers compensated for Carly’s discreet covering of her arm tattoo by clearly lighting for the first time ever her husband with the tattooed face. That’s bound to keep some people from dialing in. (Side note: Last night, it struck me that Nilsson’s version of “Without You” really is the template for all this showy diva singing, as his cover builds to those wild glory notes at the end, which is what all these wannabe divas have done ever since.)

Syesha: Syesha is so in love with what she can do with her voice that she never thinks of singing something the audience wants to hear — she only picks songs that show off that range and, by now, we all know that she can pull them off, at least technically. But she never injects personality into those technical exhibitions, so she winds up being forgettable week after week, especially when she’s picking songs like “Vanishing” that are memorable for how they were sung instead of what was sung.

Brooke: Brooke took the right approach to Mariah, turning a ballad into a soft singer/songwriter thing but her touch was a little shaky, as she wavered out of tune a couple of times and sped up her piano at others. This might have made for the roughest performance of the night, but there was a human element to it that I found endearing. I also like that she took the criticism she received for “Every Breath You Take” to heart and didn’t bring in the full band later. Not the best performance of the night, but it has to be said that she was the only one of the female contestants that attempted to re-arrange a Mariah song — something she may have been forced to do because of her style, but it still separates her from the pack at least a little.

Kristy Lee: Unlike Brooke, Kristy Lee pretty much stuck to Mariah’s big ballad template but ever so slightly spun it toward a Faith Hill-kind of country ballad, usually by just emphasizing the twang in her voice. She doesn’t quite have the vocal chops for this but she tries valiantly, and while the effort is appreciated her performance just wound up being a tad forgettable, so she may go this week — that is, if Syesha’s forgettableness doesn’t wind up trumping Kristy Lee’s.

David C: As David’s completely predictable somber post-grunge rearrangements of pop songs go, “Always Be My Baby” was one of his better ones, partially because it was original, partially because it wasn’t overblown. Although he completely swallows his words on his lower register, he reigned in his tendency for hernia-inducing histrionics, which made this one of his better performances.

Jason: This is as good a time as ever to mention that Mariah was in top form on Idol — she looked great, she was charming and, best of all, really gave the contestants savvy advice. Unlike some of the other contestants, Jason really followed through on her advice, which helped his rearrangement of “I Don’t Want to Cry.” It was a perhaps predictable slice of sunny, strum-along hippie folk, but he pulled it off, partially due to his ingratiating presence but what really made this stand out was that unlike every other performance last night it flowed easily, never seeming labored or forced. Even so, Castro’s charm is so casual, it’s also easy to have the performance fade a bit in memory after the show was done.

Andrew Leahey
It’s important to note that during last year’s Top Seven week, we finally managed to send Sanjaya home. One year prior to that, TV viewers bid a half-hearted adieu to Ace Young. Knowing such statistics won’t do you any good (at least not until Fox comes out with an “American Idol Trivial Pursuit” board game, which is totally likely), but it does prove that this season is, in fact, a relatively good one. And that’s comforting to remember during Mariah Carey Night, an evening that almost promises to be a letdown due to the diva’s superiority to 99% of America’s vocalists. Unless you’re on par with Kelly Clarkson (and who is, really? Even Kelly Clarkson isn’t on par with her former self), your best bet is to break down these tunes and resurrect them as something else entirely.

That is, unless you’re Syesha. In that case, you completely ape the original and spend the final 30 seconds (a third of the total performance) doing vocal acrobatics around two words: “vanishing” and “away.” If Kristy’s performance was “like ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun,” then Syesha’s derivative diva diatribe was the equivalent of ordering the complete Mariah Carey discography on iTunes and only getting an .avi file of “Glitter.” And just for the record, I rather liked Kristy’s performance. Relocate that girl to Nashville, give her a crash course in stage presence, and put her through the same machine that molded Kellie Pickler into the award-winning darling of CMT. She’d sell records.

Although they’re currently outnumbered by the girls, the three remaining guys still own this competition. I just wish that Jason Castro had returned to the chorus during “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” because those 30 seconds were pretty great. He’s another person who could stand a little machine molding — not so much that he loses the genuine aloofness that we all love, necessarily, but just enough to hone his voice and sharpen that falsetto. Here’s to hoping he sticks around, because regardless of how many times David Archuleta nails his runs or David Cook nails his high notes, Castro is the only contestant whose album I’d consider buying.

Of course, David Cook will likely outlast Castro on our way to the finale, and for good reason. Cook’s brother was in the audience last night — a rare occurrence given his hospitalized battle with cancer — and David deserves props for not parlaying that into a much-deserved sympathy vote. We’ve already heard about Kristy’s bronchitis, Syesha’s loss of voice, Brooke’s inability to attend a wedding, and Archuleta’s inability to attend prom. David Cook has remained silent, though, and he’s probably had to battle with Idol’s producers to keep his brother’s condition under wraps. I fail to see how that’s at all pompous, and the fact that he bounced back last night (no more Our Lady Peace songs, thank God) only sweetens the deal. Like it or lump it, all signs point toward a David-versus-David finale.

Matt Collar
Ruminate on this: Mariah Carey is the Led Zeppelin of diva vocalists. Like Zep, her influences run deep and from the source and with her obvious technical abilities she herself is unique. Unfortunately, everybody who came after her is heavily influenced by her and her alone. Subsequently, as they ignore her influences — and since most of them simply aren’t as good singers as her — they are only pale, watered down copies of an original. So, again like Zep, Carey is both praised and vilified for being an influential artist and a derivative corporate entity.

Now, you could argue that Whitney Houston is the Led Zeppelin of diva vocalists, but you’d be wrong. She’s the Rolling Stones of diva vocalists.

Okay, the performances: I enjoyed Jason, who is finally delivering on Europe’s long-awaited dream combining French tennis-star-turned-reggae-sensation Yannick Noah, Latin boy-toy Enrique Iglesias and Texas pot-head sex symbol Matthew McConaughey into a super pop idol. A world of Speedo endorsements and Nutella ads are his for the taking! Similarly enjoyable was Brooke who looked gorgeous in that gray sparkly dress, even if she was a bit of a nervous poodle on the piano. And, although I’ve heard better arrangements of “Without You,” Carly sang it with her usual raw conviction. Unfortunately, she still hasn’t really given us more than a display of her great chops and I think she desperately needs to prove she’s more than just a dazzling cover-band singer. Nonetheless, anybody that covers Badfinger is alright in my book.

I am going on record here: With his performance last night, David Cook won the competition. This isn’t to say that I’m a big fan of Cook. On the contrary, I’ve not been fond of his smug, post-grunge yawping. However, he does have a knack for delivering memorable performances with melodic, no-fuss arrangements that perfectly showcase his abilities. I also completely agree with Paula that Cook’s “Always Be My Baby” is totally soundtrack-ready. Furthermore, Cook seems less and less post-grunge and more alt-emo rock — this especially in light of last week’s admittedly less than stellar Our Lady Peace performance. Add in that fact that he cried and was truly overwrought by his brother being in the audience and you have a perfect storm of talent, taste, emotion, and zeitgeist to carry him to the finals with a big win. I do think David Archuleta is the frontrunner, but next to Cook’s savvy rock cred, lil’ David is looking more and more like the coached Pinocchio we assume he is.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine: A week as overblown as Idol Gives Back cries out for the ouster of an Idol contestant similarly overblown — perhaps Syesha and her Whitney worship, but more appropriately Carly, whose singing often suffers from being as overstuffed as this week’s episode. Instead, we got the elimination of Michael Johns, a wannabe classic rocker whose performances have been on a steady rise ever since a rocky start. It was a surprise elimination delivered by Ryan with the cold efficiency of his execution of Chris Daughtry a couple seasons back, a move that only highlighted how unfair Michael’s dismissal was to him… and to us, the viewing audience, who put up with four and a half hours of crap this week only to have one of the better contestants get the boot. So long, Michael — send out an application to Velvet Revolver before it’s too late. Perhaps it’s for the best that you’re not going to be around for Mariah Carey Week next week, but I still think you could have pulled off a killer “Vision of Love.”

Heather Phares: Well, that sucked.

Andrew Leahey: What the hell?!

MC: I think they blew their wad with Miley. I mean, she was the main attraction.
HP: Yeah, I dunno, her fakey smiley persona was really tiresome and her singing wasn’t great. And Miley’s songs were so out of place with the “emotional” tone of the rest of the night.
AL: Miley was a flurry of hair extensions and mediocre talent and bad jokes.
STE: I don’t know — Miley Cyrus is problematic — she’s a draw they didn’t really need. And she can’t do emotional the way that Annie Lennox did, but she’s a good performer — more interesting to watch than some of the Idol contestants.
AL: I liked the whole Annie segment. She connected more with the kids in her video segment than Celine did.
HP: Yeah, “Many Rivers to Cross” was actually good.
MC: A friend pointed out this morning that if Miley was on Idol she probably wouldn’t do that well. She’s not a great singer. I do appreciate her kind of tweener-Pat Benatar stage presence though.
STE: But Miley also has the benefit of performing big stages for a long time — so she owns it more than a lot of them. I thought she was easier to watch, even with the scrunchy face, than other contestants.
AL: I thought it was awkward. That microphone stand was like her pendulum. She just swung herself around it for the duration of the first song.

MC: Not as awkward as the Celebrity Cover Band?
HP: The Band From TV! I liked that for the sheer WTF-ness. Plus, Greg Grunberg can do no wrong.
STE: To me, the show needed more Celeb Cover Band moments. I like that kind of shameless cross-pollination celeb shtick — it’s surprising, trashy and fun.
HP: If you’re going to do something that strange and kitschy, commit to it all the way! And that doesn’t mean more Robin Williams.
AL: Nothing should mean more Robin Williams.
HP: “Won’t someone think of the viewers?”
STE: To me, that was the second most fascinating moment of the night — Robin recycling that Yakov Smirnov shtick, Simon not quite hiding his exasperation.
HP: That’s true, Tom, but it was soooooo painful. The Miley/Billy Crystal bit was interesting for the same reason, but still hard to watch.
MC: Robin Williams was admittedly in bad taste, but I still liked him, possibly BECAUSE it was so tasetless and offensive and schticky.
STE: Really, seeing Robin and Billy getting OLD was fascinating to me. They seemed like borscht belt comedians on one of the first Jerry Lewis telethons.

AL: Heather, were you giddy or nauseous when they used Rihanna’s song for the opener?
HP: Both! Syesha found a diva she actually can sing better than… but then all those dancers came along.
AL: Yeah, it turned into “American Idol Bandstand.” I thought the solos in that song were good. Jason Castro does a good Rihanna impression.
MC: Jason Castro sounded really good — like he’s got some boy band in him down deep.
AL: He pulls off the dreads so much better than that worthless dude from ‘N Sync, though…
STE: The kids were a complete afterthought last night.
HP: Yes, and that was one of the few things that was actually kind of nice about the show — getting a break from the Idols.
STE: Ha! Good point.

HP: So, DAUGHTRY is now pretty much officially the season 5 winner now, eh?
MC: Well, they wanted Daughtry to win too.
HP: Right, but now they’ve made the revision that he won official. Since he’s “the best selling band of last year.”
STE: Love that he’s a band now — just like Blondie.
HP: Oh, if only he were BLONDIE.
AL: Daughtry is the new Dave Matthews. With slightly less hair.
HP: BALDIE?
MC: Debbie Hairless.
AL: Chris Daughtry, wearing a skull cap while walking through AFRICA.
MC: Yeah, but he seemed genuinely moved by his experience in Africa. I like that vibe though. Like they drop these unprepared rocker-types down in the sweltering heat and poverty and it just totally blows their minds. He looked all clammy and tired and totally overcome with emotion. I like seeing rich celebrities getting smacked in the face with dire, harsh reality. And on Idol Gives Back they do a really good job of making seem pretty organic and real.
HP: Honestly, I connected more with the segment where Fantasia and Elliott went to Africa earlier in the season. That actually made me want to give money!
AL: Maybe that’s because it’s easier to feel a connection with Elliot? And I agree — that clip was the most poignant thing I’ve seen all season.
STE: Elliott is one of the few Idol contestants that is continually empathetic.
HP: I guess it just boils down to me liking Elliott better, even after two years. Still, with that segment, they got the point across in five minutes, not 150.

AL: Carrie Underwood didn’t have a video segment, did she? Seemed like most of the performers also traveled to some poverty-stricken area…
HP: Carrie’s performance was good, but she shouldn’t talk much — the setup with Teri was awkward.
MC: Setup was weird, but DANG, Carrie looks and sounds phenomenal. Fergie sounded and looked great, too. Yeah, her whole frenetic cartwheel thing was odd, but I suspect she’s been getting in shape by doing gymnastics and wanted to show off.
HP: Hmmm, can’t say I agree with you on any of that, Matt. But I guess she was better than Miley. Or less aggravating than Miley, which is saying something.
AL: I thought she was a rock & roll caricature, actually. She nailed the vocals toward the end. That first song was dreadful. I don’t think she delivers ballads well at all. I did like the acrobatics, though.
MC: I fast-forwarded through the ballad with John Legend. I just meant the Heart stuff.
STE: I’m sorry, I just kind of hate Fergie, and thought that the Wilsons totally showed her up.
MC: You don’t think she nailed the vocals?! I was impressed.
STE: No, I don’t really — I thought she was marginally better at rocking than David Cook, but was outclassed by Heart. Of course, I still have night terrors about her Bumbershoot set.

MC: Were the Idols answering phones live?
STE: Can’t imagine they were answering live, but maybe it was.
AL: I attempted to find a number to call, actually, but didn’t come up with anything.
STE: You contriubted last year right?
AL: Yes. And this year.
MC: Who did you speak with?
AL: No one — I spoke with their website.
MC: At least you didn’t have to speak to David Cook’s hand.
AL: David Cook will rise again. And he will lay waste to your picks for the Top Two.
STE: No, he won’t.
HP: Yeah, any thoughts on who’s leaving? I still think it’s Syesha’s time.
MC: I can agree with that, although I fear for Carly.
AL: Bottom Three: Syesha, Kristy, Carly.
STE: Syesha, Carly, David. They’re gonna do a double-shocker because Carly and David were so bad.
AL: And who’s going home, Tom?
STE: Flip between Carly and Syesha — my gut is on Syesha, but I think that it’s time for a shocker — and Carly really did no favors by blaming it on Simon
MC: NOBODY IS GOING HOME! Kidding.
AL: Someone better go home. I didn’t watch 3.5 hours of Idol thus far to see Syesha stay.
STE: I tell you, with another show tonight, somebody should go home. “We’re all winners!” — isn’t gonna cut it.
HP: As angry as I am with myself and the show for wasting two and a half hours of my life, I will be BEYOND FURIOUS if they don’t boot someone tonight.
STE: Especially because it’s another freaking hour tonight!
HP: Yeah, if this is an hour of bonus footage from Idol Gives Back, I am done with this show for good.
AL: Or at least until next Tuesday …

MC: Whoever goes home this week — do you think it will be due to their performance or lack of steady voting block? Like, will Carly go because she picked a bad song or stay despite it because she has a big voting fanbase?
HP: Lack of voting block. I don’t think Syesha has as much momentum/voting base as say, David Cook or Carly, though I think they were both worse than she was on Tuesday. But we don’t really know if Carly HAS a big fanbase … do we? They haven’t done much with who the top vote-getters are this season.
MC: This is the real test of that.
AL: I don’t know — I think Syesha has been steadily worse than the others, and Tuesday’s performance doesn’t give her enough of an upswing to send Carly or David home instead of her.
STE: Syesha could slip by because there is no other big-voiced singer in there. But she’s forgettable.
MC: I could see Jason Castro going home despite giving good uke.
AL: He would be a certainty for the Bottom 3 if he hadn’t pulled that song off It’s also important to note that he didn’t mess up the lyrics — he sang them the way they’re structured in the cover.
HP: Yeah — that was the one thing I didn’t like about that version of the song.
STE: Jason is easily safe — especially if you note that the Israel version is selling well on iTunes.
AL: What, you mean Our Lady Peace isn’t getting a boost?
STE: And I think Carly, who has already been in the bottom two, is dangerous because she’s a real hard one to figure out — lots of raw talent that she’s learned to hone, but not a whole lot of star charisma, and I still maintain that tattoo will keep some voters away.
AL: I don’t know what kind of singer she wants to be. She auditioned with Whitney, and now she’s singing these classic rock tunes…
MC: I think she’s got star charisma, but just isn’t good with the Idol game. There is no pretense about her.

AL: I never thought Brooke would be a more viable Idol candidate than Carly. Brooke would’ve been the coolest babysitter ever. She’d totally bake you cookies and take you to the park.
MC: I bet Jason would bake you something and take you to the park too!
STE: Well, as I’ve said before, Brooke is much closer to the current vibe on the charts – Colbie Caillat, Sara Bareilles, etc.
HP: But then you wonder why a genuine-seeming singer songwriter type needs to be on a show like Idol.
STE: Excellent point Heather — the whole point of Idol is to get a Leona Lewis. (Sidenote: After listening to Leona, they really haven’t found another Mariah on Idol the way that they did on X Factor. And I can’t imagine any contestant here getting this kind of international push the way Leona is.) With Carly, you can almost see how this whole process — trying to get heard on the major label — has worn her down completely. She’s defiant when she doesn’t need to be, can’t quite pick songs, isn’t sure how to present herself.
MC: She’s been through the pop machine before and I think she’s decided that it has mean something to her personally, or why even bother.
AL: All she needs to do is mention the name of that tattoo business she co-owns. Boom — solid business for a year or so.
STE: Well, you’d think so Andrew — then you see that awful tattoo she has. Or her husband’s face.
MC: She should get one of those portrait tattoos of her husband’s tattooed face on her arm.
AL: How… meta?
HP: Yeah, that must never happen, for the good of the space-time continuum.
MC: A portrait tattoo of his tatooed face looking into a mirror on Carly’s arm reflected looking into a mirror…
HP: Matt, do you WANT the world to end?
AL: Matt should write for Lost.
MC: Driveshaft should reform with David Cook as lead singer.

STE: Final thought — since this is our first roundtable, arriving in the mid-point of the season: Who will be the final three?
HP: David Cook, Brooke … David A? With the Davids and Brooke, you have three very different options and three contestants who have very clear identities. Actually, I’d be really happy if David A left soon. I’m done with him.
AL: I’d be happy to David A left soon, too, but there would be hell to pay if he did.
HP: Really? Again, I have no idea just how strong his fan base is … maybe I’m underestimating it.
AL: I think I agree with Heather’s prediction of the Final Three: The Davids and Brooke. Jason might be able to edge his way in there, but he has to be SOLID from here on out. Which won’t happen, what with April 20th coming up and everything….
HP: Yeah, I don’t think he has it in him, as much as I like him.
STE: I think Jason could edge out one of the Davids — either Cook’s Our Lady Peace mistake starts derailing him, or David A just is too syurpy and square to make it — but Clay made it to the final two.
MC: I say David A makes it. David Cook makes it. Everybody else is up in the air.
AL: Syesha and Kristy most definitely do NOT make it.
MC: Third spot is Carly’s for the taking if she can get her song choices together. I don’t see Brooke going to the three.
STE: I think David C is on shakier ground than people think — and not just because I dislike him, but I think he’ll do more performances like this week, not less. Carly I just don’t see fan support elsewhere. The Davids have support, so do Jason and maybe Brooke. And I think that Cook and Carly’s screw-ups could echo poorly in the next weeks, especially with Mariah and Neil Diamond weeks coming up.
HP: We’ll see — this is the first time Cook has really screwed up. As much as I like Carly, I just don’t think she communicates enough personality to make it to the final three. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Michael. He might still be able to make it.
AL: Not unless he pulls out the blues again.
MC: Michael Johns is the dark horse.
AL: If you listen to Michael’s old band, they are not too great.
STE: Doesn’t matter if Michael’s old band is not great — he can be better than competition on certain weeks. Michael actually could make it more than Jason, but Jason is more like Brooke in terms of vibe of the charts.
HP: Yeah, that’s why I didn’t put both Brooke and Jason in my Final Three. Brooke is more consistent, Jason is more charming.
STE: And charming usually wins out in things like this.
HP: Was Jordin all that charming?
STE: No, Jordin was not charming, and neither was Blake.
HP: I think they’ll go with consistent. Brooke is just “meh” when she’s at her worst, but when Jason’s bad, I don’t think he really recovers from it.
MC: Brooke was way iffy this week for me. She should have nailed that.
STE: She did good, but would have been better on the piano.
AL: I don’t agree there — I think her vocals suffer when she does piano.
MC: I think her vocals suffer when she’s with a band.
STE: I think that she seems more natural when she’s with an instrument — spot-on vocals don’t matter to me as much as overall performance.
HP: Right, and I like that they’ve got a female contestant who is as much a musician as she is a singer.
AL: Agreed. I just felt more of a connection with her on Tuesday night than I would’ve if she had to split her attention between the vocals and the piano keys.
MC: No way Brooke will be able to sing the Idol song.
HP: Depends on what it is — we don’t know what they’ve got to choose from and how they could be tailoring the pick to the last few finalists.
STE: Yeah, they always tailor the songs — so look for something that David A can sing.
AL: They should let the contestants write their own.
STE: Really, I can’t imagine David A or C selling records, or Michael for that matter. Jason and Brooke are the only ones that have a real chance But I don’t see them winning.

MC: Archuleta is going to sell a googillion records though.
STE: I don’t think David A would sell records.
MC: Did you hear those screams for him last night? I’m not saying I like him, but I think he’s way more commercial than you are giving him credit for.
STE: Sure, there were screams for him, but picture him making a record — at best, you get Measure of a Man delivered five years later.
AL: I think Cook can sell records.
STE: I don’t think so.
AL: To each his own, my friend.
STE: Yes, I don’t like David C — but he’s not as good at this game as Daughtry. There’s a huge difference between patterning yourself after Live and patterning yourself after Our Lady Peace.
AL: If Cook performs with Our Lady Peace in the final episode, then I’ll grant you that.
MC: Right, but he sure butchered that OLP track. Their version is actually somewhat catchy. I couldn’t even garner the chorus from him.
AL: Remember that Daughtry also sang Fuel, and Seether and CREED. He singlehandedly boosted record sales for Wind-Up Records.
STE: Yes, but Fuel had a real US hit, which OLP never has. Also, Cook looks like he’s following in Daughtry’s footsteps, the way that Archuleta looks like he’s following Clay, and the second coming often doesn’t do as well as the first.
MC: Archuleta wins hands down.
STE: You get an Archuleta win, you have two bland teens two years in a row — don’t believe that will happen.
HP: Exactly. Archuleta is like some werid Clay/Jordin hybrid — the most cloying tendencies of both in one person.
MC: Okay, but Archuleta gets final two. NO WAY he’s out before the end. Best bet for me is David A going up against David C. in finals.
STE: Archuleta will only get out before the end if he really botches a week. But if he wins, we’re definitely not doing another year of this.