Brooke White goes home

OK - back to the results.

Syesha and Brooke are back on the stage ... And after more than 45 million votes, it is Brooke White who goes home. Syesha is safe another week.

I almost feel bad for Brooke -- she's hysterical crying, almost immediately. It was her time to go, though. She actually got a lot further than I thought she would at the beginning of the season. I can't believe they're making her sing when she can't stop crying. Not nice at all. Well, only three weeks to go ... Can't wait to see who takes the prize.

Neil Diamond performs

The Ford commercial this week is set to "Catch the Wind" and it has an environmental message, about cleaning up the Earth -- it was OK.

Neil Diamond is singing "Pretty Amazing Grace," a song off his new album, "Home Before Dark." I really like Diamond's speaking voice and his singing voice is nice, too. It's deep, but soothing. The song is acually very nice -- kind of soft, but with a tinge of rock in it. Very nice -- who knew I'd like Neil Diamond??

Ryan mentions that there is a special guest in the audience and it turns out to be Neil Diamond's mother -- how sweet. I always think it's sweet when parents get to watch their kids succeed in the spotlight -- it's so nice to see the pride in their eyes.

Simon's first kiss

Natasha Bedingfield performs "Pocketful of Sunshine." It's OK. I'm not overly impressed, but it's a nice song and she has an interesting voice, I guess.

Ryan plays like he's going to make her go through the judges' critiques, but it was just a joke ... he then continues the joking by asking her if she would go to the prom with David Archuleta. She says she has a dress, so she'd love to go if he asks her, but then Ryan points out that she also has a boyfriend.

So, now we're back to the stupid questions section.

The first question is for the judges -- why is it always Paula who gives the contestants a break? Paula says that somebody has to. She says that she wants to keep the dreams alive because they work so hard and it's so difficult to get into the industry.

Next question is for Paula -- is she going to do any more music videos with Randy? She says they're gonna keep on dancing like there's no tomorrow.

Next question is for Simon -- she says that he always says that performances are forgettable -- so which of these two performances are more memorable: his kiss with Paula Abdul or his first kiss with her at the bottom of his garden when he was 9 years old? He asks her if it's Tara Miller and she says it is ... then they go back and forth until Ryan asks her if he was a good kisser -- she hesitates and then Simon says to bear in mind that he was only 9 years old. Paula then asks Tara if she's over the rabies and she says, yes, that she's had lot of therapy, so she's fine. Simon asks Tara if she still looks cute -- and she says that he has aged very well and that she has, too, so probably. Simon seems really taken aback that she's called and kind of happy to hear from her -- it was quite a human moment for him to be talking to his first kiss, his first real crush. It was kind of cute.

Syesha Mercado and Brooke White in the bottom two

They show a clip of the upcoming season of "So You Think You Can Dance," and I haven't been so excited for something in a very long time. That is by far, the best show on television -- better than "Idol," in my opinion, and I just can't wait for it to start -- the dancers on that show are so amazing -- just breathtaking, really.

So, back to the results ... David Cook is next. Ryan asks him what his reaction is to Paula telling him that she was looking at the next American Idol. He says the first thing he thought about was what Simon said to Carly last week, about it being the kiss of death. Paula says, "Not with me." And David responds, "I hope you're right." Ryan then says, "I've got good news -- she was right." David is safe, so that means that Syesha and Brooke are in the bottom two.

Ryan tells them to come on out. Wait -- are they doing this right now? Ryan is going through the songs they sang and what the judges said ...

Ryan asks Syesha if song choices are tough for her. She says they are, that on rehearsal days, she finds herself not knowing what to sing and since she's not familiar with some of the songs, she doesn't know which is best. Ryan then asks Brooke how she was able to come back for her second song after Simon told her the first song was a nightmare. She says she genuinely had a good time, that she's happy to be there and she just kicked into that happy, grateful mode.

Jason Castro and David Archuleta are safe

They start the show pretty quick tonight, almost immediately going into the group song, which is a tribute to Neil Diamond, this week's mentor. I have to say, it's not one of their best performances -- maybe 5 people is just not enough for a group song, I don't know. But they all seem kind of unsure of the songs and the choreography -- it was a very tentative and cautious kind of performance.

Like every week, they show a clip of last night's performances and then Ryan takes a minute to address Paula's major screw-up last night. He says the rumors are not true (my assumption is that people said she was either drunk or on drugs) and that she is part of their family and they love her.

So on to the results. Jason Castro is up first. Ryan asks him if he knows what Simon meant when he said that he wasn't the Jason they put into the competition. He says he was thinking back and the weeks he got really good comments were weeks when he did songs he already knew, or changed a song and last night, he didn't know any of the songs and he didn't change them. Ryan asks him if he's nervous right now and he says yeah, a little. Ryan stalls for a bit, but then tells him to head to the sofas, that he is safe.

David Archuleta is next and Ryan asks Paula what she meant when she told David that she wants to see him have more fun on stage. She says there's a certain zone you hit when you're a performer and she's seen him hit it many times and she just wants to see that joy. Ryan then asks David if, at this stage, he feels like he's being more careful, more cautious? David says that this week, he just wanted to have fun, that in previous weeks, he had done more mature-sounding sounds, so he wanted to enjoy this week, but that he'll work on it some more. Ryan tells him he's safe and he puts on this really surprised and shocked look, which is kind of strange, because he's never really done that before. I wonder why he's so shocked tonight.

"America," are you really sure about David Archuleta?

David Archuleta sings "America" and it feels a little bit like Kristy Lee singing "God Bless the USA," like he's obviously looking to garner as many votes as he can -- totally cheesy. But he sounded great, so I guess that's all that matters, right? I read an interview in which his dad says that he's David's musical consultant, which means, basically, that David's dad is choosing these songs; so I can't really blame David himself, but he sang the two most obvious songs -- the most well-known. It's like he thinks people vote for the songs they recognize -- he doesn't trust that people will vote for his voice, whether they know the songs or not. He could have really taken a chance tonight and sung a completely unknown song and made it special, but instead he played it safe, as usual. I just wonder if this is the guy we want to buy music from. It's getting to the end of this competition, and I think the winner should be the one we'd spend money on, the one we'd pay to see in concert, the one whose CD we'd spend money to buy, and for me, that person is so not David Archuleta - it's David Cook, and perhaps Jason Castro, if he made a CD with songs like "Hallelujah." So, when you pick up the phone to vote for David Archuleta, just ask yourself if you're really sure - are you really going to follow his career a year from now, 3 months from now, even?

Anyway, Randy loves him and tells him that for a young man, he's definitely in the zone, another good performance. Paula says this was the perfect song for him to sing, that his voice is so on point and some other gibberish I don't feel like rewinding for. Simon says that was a smart choice of song, that it was clever. He says he ticked the boxes, meaning it was absolutely the right choice, check, check, check (gesturing like he's checking off boxes on a checklist).


Last one of the night is Syesha, singing "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime." The song is not a ballad, so I'm loving it just because of that. But she does a great job with it - I think she's improved so much after getting to put some performance into her singing last week for Andrew Lloyd Webber week. It's like she really didn't think she could spice things up. But she was great last week, and this week is pretty good, too. She could manage to sneak up on the Davids without them even realizing it.

Randy tells her that she's finally realizing who she is, that she is also in the zone and this is the way he likes her. Paula says she didn't get to comment on her first song, so she says she loves hearing her vulnerable side, that it's her magic, but her second song shows a whole different side and it's her theatrical side. she said something else, too, but her thoughts are so jumbled, they're hard to decipher. Simon tells Syesha that what she demonstrated again is that she is a very good actress/singer. But he thinks she may be in trouble tonight. Syesha asks why and he says that there are only 5 of them left and it was a calculated guess. He just didn't think she had a really memorable second song like some of the other ones did.


Well, I think Syesha was pretty great this week - I'm actually going to keep her out of my bottom two. I think the judges badly want to get rid of Jason, so I think he may end up in the bottom two and I think Brooke White will join him. If we're being fair, I think Brooke will go home tomorrow, but you never know - the producers can alter the results any which way the want. But, I'm sticking to my guns - I say Brooke tomorrow.

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.