I hate to be unfaithful, but David Cook, "All I really need is you"

OK, on to Round 2...

Jason Castro is singing "September Morn" and it's not the most interesting of songs - but I think his voice sounds great - he's really coming into his own, I think. His only weakness is the song's end - he often seems to fall out of tune just a tad right at the very end, so it's the last thing you hear and remember, which is a shame. I think tonight wasn't one of his absolute best performances, but it was solid. Plus, if you throw in his beautiful blue eyes and funky dreadlocks, he's unbeatable.

The judges disagree, though. Randy says he doesn't know what's happening to Jason tonight, but that it was just OK. He says this is a singing competition where they're trying to find the best vocals they can find, and that was just another just OK, whatever performance. Paula says he's playing it safe and he needs to get outside his comfort zone. In his defense, Jason says he was choking right before the song started, that he had something in his throat. Simon says they don't recognize him at the moment, that the last two weeks, this is not the Jason they put into the competition,there's no attempt to make the arrangement his own, he struggled through both songs, they were both forgettable and he thinks Jason is going to look back tonight and say "I don't know who this person is."

Is it just me or are they trying really hard to push him out of the competition? They're so hard on him - he was good tonight - I don't understand all the criticism. It's clear that the producers want to keep the sexes even, (2 guys, 2 girls) and they need to get rid of a guy this week, so they're doing their best to slaughter him. I mean, I've said it before - I know he's not going to win the competition - David Cook and David Archuleta are both more consistent than he is, but he deserves to stay longer than both Syesha and Brooke - it's infuriating to watch the judges purposely bash him to sway the viewers to not vote for him.


Up next is David Cook, singing "All I Really Need Is You." He's wonderful. I think it's been well-documented how much I love Jason Castro and I hate to appear fickle, but David Cook is spectacular - I could listen to him sing all day and not get tired of it. He's so smart with his song choices - he knows exactly how to manipulate songs to make them highlight his talents. Plus his dedication to his family is really endearing - he's wearing an "AC" on the chest of his blazer and the guitar he used fr his first song had the same "AC" on it. For those of you who haven't followed the news, his brother, Adam, is battling cancer and I really appreciate the way he chooses to honor his brother during his performances - it's very touching.

Randy tells him he's a huge David Cook fan because, again, he rocked the house with that, it was blazin'. Paula tells him she is so proud of him, that he picked two songs that are less familiar, and he was the only one who was able to pull that off - she adds that she feels like she's already looking at the "American Idol." Simon says, "David, I'm going to be honest with you. I thought the first song was OK - I thought the second song was brilliant." He adds that he actually made that song sound like it was written this year, he changed the arrangement, he made it work for him - that it was smart, well done.


Brooke White plays the piano while singing "I Am, I Said" and I feel like that piano is her saving grace - it's like when she has to concentrate on something else, her singing sounds so much more natural, more relaxed. The times that she just stands and sings, you can tell she's really focusing and it comes off kind of tense. This performance was great, way better than her first one.

Randy says sitting behind the piano, showing all the flaws and everything and that song was the most difficult of the night to sing with all the octaves, he thinks she did a nice job. Paula says something about her vulnerability and how everyone loves who Brooke is and how it works... I don't know - do any of us really care what Paula thinks, anyway? Simon tells her he really, really hated the first song because it was kind of like a girls night out at the karaoke bar, but this is the Brooke they like, sitting behind the piano, singing a very good song. He says it wasn't incredible, but it was a million times better than the first one.