Pop and Country and Rock! Oh My!

Mariah Carey night. Hmmm. I wasn't sure what contestants would do with this one since now they get to be directly compared to a diva, singing that diva's songs. It all seems so unfair. Plus, so many of her songs are quite alike so on the surface it seems it would be quite difficult to be unique.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: It took only 90 seconds to get to the "Randy, do you know this girl" part of the show. You know he loves the attention, though. Mariah seems like a decent person. The mentors lately have been very pleasant with the contestants from what it seems. I called it before Simon said it--the guys had it easier last night since it's harder to draw a direct comparison. So what would have Michael Johns done with this week anyway? Nice to hear from Carly that the rest of the contestants are "boring." It bodes well for the rest of the season. we're back to filling with fluff since we now have few enough contestants to leave a lot of dead space to fill. Sort of like when there are 10 contestants and they do a 2-hour show. We're just waiting for when they sing 2 a piece.

David Archuleta: Nice job, kid. It was a good, solid way to start, further legitimizing his presence here in the Top 7.

Carly Smithson: What does this girl need to do to get some praise? She did a lot better than the judges give her credit for. We get it. They are looking for a little more "wow," but this performance was actually really good. I'm scared for what will happen.

Syesha Mercado: She was out of tune frequently. That's just the way it was. Why the judges don't hear more than "a couple of pitch problems" is beyond me. She didn't stink the place up, but she is in no way deserving of the kind of praise she gets. Nothing personal against Syesha, but her praise and Carly's criticism should have been flip-flopped last night. She also sang the song with the most ominous lyrics tonight.

Brooke White: For being a genre of songs she really had no business performing she did well. It was not her best night and all of us here at home could hear her rushing and saw the nerves. I'm glad she didn't get knocked for not using the band after the judges suggested they like that type of performance from her.

Kristy Lee Cook: Not bad. She seems a lot more confident each week and should have a nice country career after the show. Overall it was an "in the middle" type of performance.

David Cook: Awesome! That takes some serious chutzpah to take one of the most obviously pop Mariah Carey songs and change the vibe. It had sort of a Goo Goo Dolls kind of feel and Paula was right on when she put it on a future movie soundtrack. Nice to see him back this week after a rough past week. He is the most original with the brightest future ahead of him. He should have Daughtry-esque success after the show.

Jason Castro: I liked the group he had on the stage with him. I don't think it was the best vocal he's had over the past 3 or 4 weeks, but it was definitely a strong, strong performance. This guy is surprising me week after week.

MY TOP THREE: David Cook and the other two guys
MY BOTTOM THREE: Brooke White, Syesha Mercado, Kristy Lee Cook
VANISHING: Syesha Mercado