By CATHY S.
Sokocathy(at)gmail.com

The group of six was asked to sing Broadway hits written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The judges called it “the toughest night of the season.”

Syesha – One reader thought she had the best outfit of the night but was disappointed that she wore the same earrings she had worn once before. We agreed with Randy when he told Syesha “This is your element.” Even though Simon doesn’t like “Broadway Performances” from the contestants he liked that Syesha “showed massive personality.” A co-worker had her on her list of favorites.

Jason – The judges didn’t like him this week commenting “vocally a train wreck,” “too much melody for you.” Simon thought that Jason looked like he was forced to sing a song he really didn’t want to sing, but had to admit that it probably didn’t matter too much because he would get through to the next round because of his “charm.” Looks like Simon was right, but his charm isn’t all Jason has going for him. One reader comments that his singing was “yuck” but he is “gorgeous but would be hotter than Michael Johns if he didn’t have that hair.” “What kind of hair would you prefer on him?” I asked. “Ryan Seacrest’s hair with the faux-hawk.”

Brooke – was the guess of all of us to go home this week. How many chances should she get to start a song over again? Paula obviously had a real problem with Brooke. If Paula has any negative criticism to give to a contestant, she will start off with a positive, “First of all, you look beautiful tonight.” Then she gets them with the negative. After Brooke’s performance this week, several seconds went by before Paula could even find the words she wanted and then they were “You must never start and then stop.” I like Brooke and a family member likes her “soft voice,” but she needs help if she wants to stay in another week. Actually, she has the backing of Vote For The Worst right now, but I wouldn’t count on them. They’ve backed three or four contestants already this year and where are they now?

David Archuleta – He made the song Think of Me sound more like a pop ballad than a show tune, so I thought he was pretty good this week. I never heard the song before but a reader tells me that Archuleta sang it just like it is sung in Phantom of the Opera. All I can say is, once again, he picked the right song for himself. I haven’t been a fan of his, but I thought he was really good for the second week in a row. One cactus i.v. reader tells me that Archuleta is “growing on me.” He’s growing on me also. His fans, since day one, which happens to be almost everyone I talk to each week, of course think that David had another terrific week. I am actually starting to agree with them.

David Cook – chose to sing Music of the Night as it’s sung in Phantom of the Opera. I would have liked to hear his spin on it, but he told Ryan than he was trying not to be predictable. I thought the last two notes were “David Cook arranged” and liked it but a couple of readers liked the performance but didn’t like the way he ended the song. A family member was worried that David would do Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ version of Phantom of the Opera. She thought that that would have been a bad choice for him. I wonder if Cook considered doing that arrangement at all. It looks like it all worked out for him in the end and that’s a good thing.

We said goodbye to Carly Smithson this week. She had wanted to sing the song the group sang this week but was talked into singing Jesus Christ Superstar. I thought she shouted her way through the entire song but the judges liked her. Apparently America is not agreeing with the judges on this one. I did love her outfit though. Two readers didn’t agree with me and even thought she looked like she was wearing something she made out of her curtains. Even though Carly didn’t win A.I., she went from looking pregnant to looking great so we don’t have to feel too bad for her.

Most of us only have one or two of our original 12 picks still on the show. The picks we have are David Cook, David Archuleta and Brooke White. There’s definitely a huge chance that a few of us spotted this year’s American Idol way before they became the star that they are now.

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