Phantom Night!

Andrew Lloyd Webber night on American Idol! Can I sing along? So many songs to choose from...I can hear "Phantom of the Opera" in my head all night. Only because I've been singing songs from that show for TWENTY YEARS now! Now that I feel old...I guess no one will want to hear me sing "Music of the Night" after David Cook's performance tonight. I can still do it justice in the shower though!

Syesha Mercado -- I hadn't heard her song before, but she was totally in her element! Broadway may just be her calling here. She was emotive, strong, and full of herself, which seems to be her real personality, anyway! I think she is safe and she picked a great song for herself!

Jason Castro -- Okay, "Memory." Really? "Memory?" And he didn't know it was sung by a cat? Where has Jason been? Something a little silly about him singing: "I was beautiful then..." We giggled at that. Susan says that he has to go. She doesn't like "breathy" boys singing.

Brooke White -- Oh, Brooke. We like you so much! We have such positive thoughts. We try to send them your way. When you stopped and started over, that was good. Regroup. And even though you had to do that, the song was very emotional, which must have been how you were feeling. "You MUST Love Me." Hopefully, enough people will take that as a command to keep you around. We like you, we really do. After all, Jason sang "Memory." Maybe that will be enough to save you!

David Archuleta -- "Think of Me" -- I wondered about this, but Paula (yes, Paula) was right that David A. can take a song like that and make it contemporary. I liked the arrangement and it was perfect for him after all. (But the teenage girls rushing the stage before his performance was a little much! And by the way, who told the audience they could WAVE THEIR ARMS AGAIN?! -- Stop it!!!) He did great, as always!

Carly Smithson -- When at first she was going to sing "All I Ask of You" I thought: NO! But when Andrew Lloyd Webber asked her to sing "Jesus Christ Superstar" I knew it would be good, and was that not the truth? She was awesome! I had chills from the first note. This was totally one of the best performances she's had. She could do this on Broadway too. That would be a show revival I'd like to see!

David Cook -- "Music of the Night." He totally stole this one from me! More chills from the first notes. He has shown he can can sing and arrange anything. It was pretty straightforward, but he nailed the high notes. One of his best, I thought. David Cook is emerging as the one to beat, I think. I believe the judges could have been more effusive for him, though. I like his rock songs best, but for Andrew Lloyd Webber material, he did an awesome job.

Will/Should Go: Well, at this stage, I'm going to say Jason Castro. He is doing the same thing every week. I'm fearful for Brooke, though. (But we did vote twenty times for her. Hope that was enough.) I think everyone else is safe.

Best: For me, Carly Smithson and David Cook. David A. was masterful too.