American Idol: The Top 3 - All About Choice

Since the word on the street is that David Archuleta's dad has been banished from backstage at American Idol, I wonder what kind of effect this will have on the young lad's performance choices. We will see.

Syesha is wearing her best pageant dress. It's odd.

David Archuleta (And So It Goes - Billy Joel): It started beautifully, and then he had to go and change it up too much. I really loved the beginning, and I think the song is wonderfully suited to his voice. I think, though, that the simplicity of the song (as it is written) is one thing that makes it so fantastic, and then he went and made it sound like everything else he has sung. It could have been outstanding. He should have stuck with the simplicity. Still, it was the most I have liked him in weeks and weeks. Now I'm aching to go and listen to Billy Joel's version. Just so good. Humph. I want to listen to someone in the finals and yearn to hear their version again, not make me want to hear the other person who sang it first.

Syesha Mercado (If I Aint Got You - Alicia Keys): I wonder if Syesha got the text message from Randy on her American Idol sponsored cell phone. Maybe her iPhone sponsored by American Idol? Anyhow, I don't particularly like this song, but Syesha made it kind of uninteresting. I think it just showed that Syesha is not as engaging a performer as Alicia Keys. Humph. Not the best song choice, Randy.

David Cook (If the First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack): The guitar is really nice in the background in the beginning, and he sounded fantastic. The range is perfect for him, and it was something different. It was utterly amazing. I got chills, and I think that Randy needs to stuff it. We've heard David rock, it was great to hear him do something without the rock. I totally agree with Simon, this was a great song for him. It was pure, it was there, it was genuine. Go Cook. I bow down. See, that's what I want in the finals.

David Archuleta (With You - Chris Brown): I wonder how Archuleta gets along in real life? This is an awful song anyhow, in my opinion. I hate any song that includes the word "boo" as a term of endearment. This song was awful. He seemed like a total poser, his frogginess took over. He tried and tried and tried to be young and hip, and it ended up being weird and unbelievable.

Syesha Mercado (Fever - Peggy Lee): This is one of my favorite songs ever, and I am looking forward to seeing what she can do with it. Holy short dress, Batman. This is Syesha's audition for her future roles on broadway. The lighting is awful when she is on the chair. When she got up, it was good. I loved the end, and I thought she did a nice job. I disagree with Simon. It may have been slightly cabaret, but it was not lame. Not lame like David Archuleta. It was kind of all over the place, but it was nice. She moves better than anyone else, that's for sure. I say she's second.

David Cook (Dare You to Move - Switchfoot): This song is not great for him, because it's too low. He needs to learn where his range is, because I think he thinks he is more of a bass than he is. It picked up when it went into the higher part of the song, but I didn't find it memorable at all. Randy tripped over some names before telling David that it was not his best. It was kind of karaoke.

David Archuleta (Longer - Dan Fogelberg): So this is the Producer's pick, which means this is the kind of music they want him to make... um, please no? It's so boring I think I almost fell asleep. My friend thinks he looks like a Monchichi. I don't see it, but he said I had to post the picture.


Syesha (Hit Me Up -Gia Farrell): It started out good, then it got shrieky. The back up singers were way too loud again, but it was ok. My kids are in love with Happy Feet, so I have heard the song a lot. Syesha looked like she had a Bad Sandy makeover backstage.

David Cook (I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith): It started out way too low for him (again), and the his ennunciation was odd. Not the best choice, at all. The band was too loud, and David got drowned out. I did not like that much. I love him, but that was not great for his voice, in my opinion. The judges loved it, but it seemed all over the place to me.

All in all, David Cook's choice by Simon won the night for me. The others were all kind of bad. Go Cook!

(I think that Archuleta is getting into the finals easily, even through the embarrasment of him saying "Boo" on national television.)