Ladies and gentlemen…. we’d like to welcome you to this evening’s special performance Phantom of American Idol. We’re not sure what happened to your actual American Idol show, but we hope you enjoy this phantom of what it used to be.

What in the world were these guys thinking when they scheduled Andrew Lloyd Webber? At least with Dolly Parton she had written some recognizable songs in the pop music world. But Webber……what the heck has he offered the pop music world? Last time I checked this was supposed to be about pop music, not opera or Broadway. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure one of the recurring criticisms leveled at performances over the years is that it was better suited for Broadway. So now they WANT IT TO SOUND LIKE BROADWAY? I feel like the coyote who just realized he ran off the cliff and can’t fly. The bottom has suddenly dropped out.

Oh well, we’ll survive this week and hopefully move on to better music for the Top Five and beyond. According to Ryan Seacrest, the contestants are in for a “daunting task”…..sheesh…no kidding. For that matter, I think the audience is in for a pretty daunting task as well….sitting through this without changing the channel. As your fearless commentator, I’ll suffer through it if you’re too frightened. So, with mask in hand, I’m ready to speak my mind.

• Syesha Mercado - She did a great job last week, but kept her spot in the bottom warm. According to news reports, the 1st spot is almost the kiss of death which means she has to hit a monster home run to make it to the next round. This music matches her talents and skills and for a second consecutive week, she comes out and does a really good job. We’ll have to wait this one out to see if she’s still got a fighting chance.
• Jason Castro - JC has been rising in the rankings over the last few weeks. I think he’s actually the weakest fighter left in the competition, but somehow he’s figured out how to stick around and be a player. I really am tired of his style, but I have to rank ‘em as I see ‘em. This song fits perfectly with his typical offering, which means it’s a bit whiny and irritating. Maybe, just maybe, he’s finally hit the wall.
• Brooke White - Brooke has dropped over the last few weeks even though she remains my personal favorite. She actually has a chance to do herself some real favors tonight since most of these songs have a high emotional quotient and she can probably connect to that element of a song better than anyone still left. She could reclaim one of the top spots if she delivers. Unfortunately, she blew the beginning. People will either give her kudos for stopping and starting again or throw her under the bus. The judges may play a big part in how people deal with that. As for the performance, she completely delivered the genuineness of the song.
• David Archuleta - DA has one speed and it is the ballad. So he will probably do quite well tonight, but I’m just tired of all the ballads. Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise for AI to have some fun music? No such worry for tonight, and no such worry with DA’s song selections. He doesn’t stray far from the farm. DA will be in his comfort zone yet again. As usual, his performance is really good, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard 8 times already. Then again, I guess if you know what you do well, then you should do it, and I guess you have to give him credit for that.
• Carly Smithson - The girl from the Green Isle brings her power vocals and her power tattoos to the stage to do ALW. If she holds true to form, she’ll power her way through something while totally singing past the content and the audience. I’m sure she’ll find something with lots of gymnastics, but I no longer have high expectations of her. At least this song, Jesus Christ Superstar, has more energy than anything that has passed for music so far tonight, but she just seems to be all over the map. It was the most entertaining song, but I didn’t think she really connected with the lyric.
• David Cook - Will he be able to bring some emo-grunge-rock feel to one of these songs? He has proven to be the most innovative fighter in this bout, but it will take his best stroke of creative genius to date to be able to make this work. Maybe he will bust out the voice box…wouldn’t that be interesting….the Phantom wailing through a voice box. He’s slipped in the last two weeks IMO, and could be ready to share space at the top with DA. DC is actually surprising me with his ability to do a song in a style that I didn’t think he had in him. Here’s the difference between him and Archuleta…he can do more than one thing. I think that will be the ultimate separation between them.

SURPRISING PERFORMANCES OF THE NIGHT

• Good
  • David Cook - Really surprised at his ability to do what he did tonight.
  • Mercado - A second consecutive week that I think she exceeded expectations
• Bad
  • Jason Castro- Painful….that’s about all I can say about that performance
  • The AI Producers - What a terrible choice of music for this show. I can only hope they never go down this road again.
• Most Enjoyable
  • NO ONE - I’m just protesting two consecutive weeks of depressing music. I won’t put anyone in this position again until they’re singing fun music. I have made my stand.

Final Round Seven Scoring Analysis

• Obviously DA and DC will be safe. Which means one other person is fighting for the right to be left out of the bottom three. I also think think that Castro and Brooke will be in the bottom three. That leaves Mercado and Smithson with a coin toss about which group they end up in. I think it could go either way. I’m hoping that the train-wreck that was JC will not get back on the tracks.

“May I take your order?” …. “Yes…I’d like one bucket of KLC to go, please!”

If you like your sustenance deep-fried and crispy, you’re out of luck on AI for the rest of the season. The last remaining countrified contestant took the last punch she could withstand last week and went down for the last time. After becoming a near-permanent fixture in the bottom three, KLC finally got the hook. What’s surprising is that she actually seemed to be getting better. The first 2-3 weeks were almost unbearable, but something happened and she began to make progress. Her pick of “Proud To Be An American” was a stroke of genius and I really thought she might make it to the top 5. But, I’m not cryin’ in my grits over her departure either. This has become a very up and down sort of season with contestants rising and falling and rising again and falling again. There have really only been two consistent performers so far which makes everybody vulnerable. So, with that said, on to this week’s rankings.

1. David Cook (STEADY, Last week #1) - I didn’t really care all that much for what DC did last week. I thought it was a step backward for him, but all of the judges took a different point of view. I really don’t care if the judges disagree with me or not, I didn’t dig it, and I didn’t think it was “all that”. Still, he has enough good-will built up from a string of rock-steady performances that I’m still not ready to drop him a spot here. But he is teetering on the edge of dropping.
2. David Archuleta (STEADY, Last week #2) - No change here either. The kid consistently delivers high-quality performances. It’s just that they almost all sound alike. If that’s what you like, you must be absolutely loving this kid. If you like it in small doses, a little goes a long way. This is his primary weakness. Give him a ballad and he’s gold. Give him something else and he suffers by comparison. The speed-dial element still makes him a strong candidate to take it all, but I’m not quite convinced yet that he’ll get there. Another solid week by DA, and another slightly off week by DC could rearrange these two.
3. Jason Castro (UP, Last week #4) - For the second consecutive week I’m forced to rank this guy in a place I do not think he deserves. It’s not that I have a personal vendetta against him, but I just honestly don’t think he’s that good. But he’s still here. The difference between him and KLC is that he has a lot more personality. I think that’s what’s keeping him alive. And quite honestly, I think it has him ahead of the rest of the gals.
4. Brooke White (DOWN, Last week #3) - Brooke and JC have shuffled spots in this week’s ranking. If you offered a recording contract today to both BW and JC, she would run rings around him in sales and tickets. But we’ve learned that AI is not always about identifying the most marketable or promising entertainer. BW has the potential to be an amazing artist. I believe she will be successful regardless of the outcome of this season of AI. JC’s future in the recording business depends on success on AI. But with AI being what it is, and with Brooke falling into the bottom three yet again, I have to drop her this week.
5. Carly Smithson (UP, Last week #6) - I just really don’t get the whole Smithson thing. Every week I confess she has great skills. But every week she fails to truly connect with what she is doing. She has been applauded, lauded, and wound up in the bottom three. She’s all over the chart. Which I think indicates that there are lots of people who believe in her overall talent, but don’t believe in her performance. And they can’t make up their mind. She is in this spot purely because she did not wind up in the bottom three last week, but I still think she should have gotten the exit cue cards last week.
6. Syesaha Mercado (STEADY, bottom feeders don’t move a lot) - Mercado actually out-fought Smithson last week, but got no credit for it. As with Smithson, she has real talent. But unlike Smithson, she HAS consistently wound up in the bottom. Even when she delivered a stellar performance, she would up in the bottom. That spells disaster. When you can’t rise above the bottom three when you deliver what was possibly the best performance of the night, I think you need to get out the oxygen bottles, because she is on life-support.

Early in the early rounds of the competition, predicting who will get knocked out is relatively easy. The middle rounds prove to be pretty challenging as contestants disappear and new voting alliances form. It’s also a time when contestants are finding their stride or losing steam. Which makes the middle rounds pretty unpredictable. I think the only safe bet is that DC and DA are safe and everyone else is up for grabs. Once we say goodbye to a couple more, it will stabilize again, but right now it’s a crap-shoot. Stay tuned tomorrow night for Round 7 analysis.