'Somewhere over the rainbow" is a pot of Jason Castro, I mean gold

Jason Castro is up next, and I feel I must apologize in advance to Kim, my friend at work who sent me an e-mail last week begging me to stop gushing about Jason. I can't do it - at least not yet. He's adorable and as long as he's on the show, he'll always be the one I enjoy watching the most. Of course, David Cook is the one I enjoy listening to the most, but let's be honest - a cute boy is always more interesting to look at.

I'm so super excited right now - he's singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," but not the traditional version. He's singing a version done by some Hawaiian guy who did it with his ukulele and he says that version is just magical and it captures what the song is all about - about hopes and dreams and dreams coming true and that's what this week is all about - trying to make a difference, and he hopes the song inspires them to dream big. If this is the version I'm thinking of, I first heard it in "50 First Dates," and it's so beautiful, so peaceful and lyrical.

It is that version...yes!! I will say he looks a little silly with the ukulele, but my goodness, he sounds wonderful. I don't care what anyone says, and I'm sure Kim will have plenty to say tomorrow, but I think he's the best one so far tonight. Absolutely his best performance - well, maybe tied with "Hallelujah." And he looks great, too. He's so refreshing to me because he's so different from the rest of them - he's so folksy and hippy-like and sometimes you need a change of pace - a night of just rock and pop gets old. I love that he's still in this competition and I think this week, he definitely deserves to stay. Plus he looks so cute in his little sweater tonight. Yummy.

Randy says "Dude, Jason Castro is back in the hunt. That was the hottest so far tonight right there!! That was crazy, molten hot!!" Paula says she was just telling Simon that he has the most definitive sound and that it was the perfect song and he did a great job. Simon says the first time he heard that version, he wasn't sure, the second time, loved it, third time (referring to Jason), fantastic!


Kristy Lee Cook is singing "Anyway," by Martina McBride. She says it has a verse in it that means a lot to her - that it's saying how you pour out your soul and give everything you have and if people don't like it, do it anyway, because you're doing it because it's right. She says it's really inspirational because it tells her not to give up and to give it her best shot and that no matter what happens, it will work out in the end.

I feel like Kristy Lee is the comeback kid. She sounds great tonight, looks great, too. I think the song choice is terrific and it just suits her voice perfectly. She nails the soft parts of the song and then really powers it out in the chorus. I'm actually kind of impressed with her tonight. She's really managed to come back from the ashes - I mean she started out in this competition terrible, singing out of tune and shaky and now, she's confident up there, strong and sounding great. I think she may actually escape the bottom three this week.

Randy tells her there were a couple of little pitch moments, but that he loved it, that it was actually really good. Paula says she thinks he should leave the pitch moments alone - she says Kristy outdid herself, that this was her best, by far. Simon says that with a choice in songs so broad, she really has an opportunity to show who she really is as an artist and he thought she was very good indeed. He also says that tonight, she looks like a star.