Neil Diamond!

I can't think of anything to say about Neil Diamond. I don't dislike him exactly, but his popularity and longevity mystify me. There are so many better songwriters in the world. I went to a concert last week in Boulder featuring Nick Lowe and Ron Sexsmith, two songwriters who are exponentially better, and the place was half empty. But Neil Diamond has sold hundreds of millions of records. The world is very strange.

This season of "American Idol" is getting strange, too. The producers seem determined to change every little nagging detail all at once, including some that didn't really need changing. For the first night of the season where each contestant would be called upon to perform two songs instead of one, the judges were asked to hold off on doing their little comment schpiel until after the second song. Except after the first five performances, Ryan Seacrest brought the whole cast out and asked the judges to recap the round quickly, which led to the season's highlight thus far, and one unlikely to be topped -- Paula Abdul's inexplicable conviction that Jason Castro had already performed two songs when indeed he had only performed one. Whatever it is she's taking, I want the prescription.

Jason Castro I think that the producers see Castro as the biggest threat to their idealized David Cook-David Archuleta showdown, and that's why the judges have been increasingly savage on him in the past few weeks. While it is true that the laid-back Castro is prone to experiencing lulls, I rather liked both of his Tuesday songs. "Forever in Blue Jeans," particularly, suited Jason's vibe, and it was surprisingly pleasant to hear his lower register utilized for once. He didn't try and make a reggae song out of it, and the result was to my ears the most commercial-sounding tune we've heard from Castro. It was also about as good technically as he's capable of being. His "September Morn" was less satisfactory. His voiced strained obviously at a few points and while the parts that were in the pocket were affecting on the whole he didn't seem to find a personal entry into the song in the way he did "Blue Jeans." Still, I thought the harsh words he received from Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell were uncalled for. If the objective for an "American Idol" candidate is to illustrate what one would be like as a successful recording artist, Jason is doing a better job than David Archuleta. 9/7

David Cook Cook, I feel it is underreported, sounds much worse than he tries to sing a song "straight" rather than imposing his own arrangement (or someone else's arrangement that suits his style) than does Jason Castro. Cook did "I'm Alive" more or less like a Neil Diamond song and it sounded wrong, almost as if he was attempting an impersonation at points. The arrangement was large but not in the fashion that lets Cook best showcase his power. If he was going to attempt to show his more introspective side, he could have at least picked a more familiar melody so that people could have better followed how well he was doing. As for his second outing, Cook's rendition of "All I Really Need Is You" was much more what we've come to expect from the guy, a relevant-sounding hard-pop-rocker with soaring, gritty vocals. I haven't always been Cook's biggest fan, but I would be far happier with a David Cook win than a David Archuleta win. 7/9

Brooke White When "Idol" did the two-week Beatles song theme earlier in the season, Brooke White had two performances that had the same Jekyll and Hyde character as her two Diamond tunes from last night. When she did "Let It Be," it was elegant and moving. Her "Here Comes the Sun" was gaudy and tacky and both White and the viewer felt as if they couldn't wait for it to be over. White's "I'm a Believer" and "I Am, I Said" demonstrated the same duality, only conveniently this time White saved the good one for her second go-round. That might save her from elimination this week, because "I'm a Believer" was dreadful indeed. It sounded off, the tempo was sluggish, White's vocal was a disaster, and she looked and sounded utterly miserable. I thought for all the world that she was sabotaging herself so that she could go home. But then she came on for the second time and was quite lovely, so who's to say? Obviously whatever record company gets a hold of Brooke needs to keep her away from the upbeat stuff. 5/8

David Archuleta Snooze buttons engage! David Archuleta hasn't developed musically or emotionally for this entire season, and his first choice of "Sweet Caroline" revealed this -- even singing a song about holding hands, Archuleta's utter lack of adult sex appeal made the lyrics sound like something being parroted by a high school kid in a musical theater production. I don't understand -- well, I do understand, but I resent it -- why the judges don't take David to task for using such an unshaded, open-throated theatrical style of singing when it's supposed to be a contest looking for a pop recording artist. Who was the last guy have to a hit single taken from a musical, Murray Head? David's second song, "America," was presented with the same billowing-flag scenery as the producers gave Kristy Lee Cook for her abominable "God Bless the USA." It wasn't quite as base as that occasion, however, since David probably did not consciously choose the song looking for votes and certainly does not need them. Past that, though, Archuleta sounded even more hammy and old-fashioned on the song than he did on his first number. 7/7

Syesha Mercado Syesha might have been the evening's best performer, but I also think she's the most likely to go home. The numbers start to work against you at this point, and I just think based on the amount of blog coverage and extraneous screen time they get that the other four are all more popular than Mercado. She can hang her head high if this is the point she goes out. She more than anyone else in the cast grew over the course of the season. She started out as an actress with a good sense of stage presence, some raw vocal talent, and little idea of her identity. She's leaving as a great singer with possible careers ahead of her in either field. First she challenged herself and made herself better by picking harder and harder songs each week, and now we're seeing her begin to define her own style. Her first Diamond choice, "Hello Again," was done in a ballad style that's nothing new for Syesha, but as it was a less difficult melody we got to hear her really express herself and play around with her delivery in her middle register. The second song, "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime," was not as technically precise but it did introduce a swinging 60's girl-group vibe that fit Syesha surprisingly well. She also looked as beautiful as she has all season. She blew away Archuleta and Brooke last night but if it's her time, it'll be perhaps the best way to go. 9/8

Like I said, I like Syesha Mercado to get sent packing tonight, through no fault of her own. The six-sided die likes Brooke White.