Finally getting a chance to review last night’s performances on American Idol. I don’t believe there was truly an amazing performance tonight but there were several good ones. Kristy Lee Cook has her best night of the season. David Archuleta was very strong as usual and Jason Castro did HIS thing.

Knocked It Out: Kristy Lee Cook, David Archuleta, Jason Castro

In The Middle: Michael Johns, David Cook

Danger Zone: Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Brooke White

Michael Johns - “Dream On” - One of my favorite songs as a kid. A very classic Aerosmith song written by Steven Tyler. This guy has a major infatuation with guy vests and scarfs. His fashion might suck but he really hit the high notes out of the park on this tune. Overall it was above average and he will for sure be back next week. Grade B

Syesha Mercado - “I Believe” - She attempted to tackle a song that former Idol Fantasia made a knock-out. Randy was hard on Syesha as he has been on everyone all night I don’t know the Fantasia version so I thought she did a pretty good job. Syesha needs to make her own identity. Attitude could cost her tomorrow night. Grade C-

Jason Castro - “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” - He did the Hawaiian version of this song that I heard about 3 million times when in Maui a couple of years ago. Fidel is the most limited singer in this competition. He sings the same type of song every time. As I said a month ago, he would have won Idol back in the 60’s if it had been around. Another song about dreams. He is a fan favorite and likely will survive. Grade B+

Kristy Lee Cook - “Anyway” - The token hottie remaining attempted to tackle this Martina McBride song. I tried very hard to listen to her performance without looking at the TV. This very well might have been her best so far. She does at times remind me a bit of a young Faith Hill. By hanging around, she seems to be picking up a bit of confidence as well. Grade A

David Cook - “Innocent” - This song is from Our Lady Peace. I have become a fan of David, but he simply was horrible tonight. Bad song selection, bad arrangement and even worse vocals. The Michael Jackson jacket didn’t help either. I didn’t dig this performance much at all. He will likely survive it though. Grade D-

Carly Smithson - “The Show Must Go On” - Carly attempted to tackle a classic Queen song (a theme this season) and she did a so/so job. It was in the bottom half of the performances tonight. She is an extremely talented singer but I don’t think she can win this competition. Her stylist should be fired for feeding her left over clothes from a depleted good will store. She might be in the bottom three tomorrow night. Grade D

David Archuleta - “Angels” - David probably deserves a Dove Award. He will have a very successful music career. He is extremely talented. I just don’t think he is the next American Idol. His performance tonight didn’t stand out to me more than any of his ones prior. But no matter what he will be back next week rather easily. Grade B+

Brooke White - “You’ve Got a Friend” - I vaguely remember hearing Carole King’s original version of this song on the radio. Brooke’s version didn’t even come close to Carole’s. I liked the dress, legs, hair and overall performance of Brooke. She needed a Red Bull before her performance. She seemed half asleep and extremely unenergetic. Grade C-