Beatles night shows competition is still fluid

Besides the tired infighting between the judges, Ryan's usual flirting with Simon and a new monstrous set, the Top 12 for the most part managed to take control of the 25 limited Lennon-McCartney songs they had to choose from.

The show opened up on a forgettable note when Syesha Mercado tackled "Got to Get You Into My Life." Although the vocal wasn't all that bad, it really was very lifeless despite her use of the Earth, Wind and Fire arrangement. The arrangement factor truly played a big role in the night, as it made or broke many of the finalists' performances. In Chikezie's case, his folk-turned-southern rock interpretation of "She's a Woman" really validated why he was still in the competition, and his performance was actually one of the better ones. Carly Smithson also pulled off another surprise, as she put her special touch on "Come Together," one of her favorite songs. The sound was very reminiscent of something Sheryl Crow would do, and she won much praise from the judges. But in Kristy Lee Cook's case, the arrangement led to her downfall, as "Eight Days a Week" was never intended to be sung in an up-tempo country style.

While the arrangements were important factors in many performances, other finalists' vocals defined how well they did. In Ramiele Malubay's instance, her vocals on "In My Life" were pretty but too reserved, which garnered criticism from the judges that she played it "too safe." David Hernandez gave the word "melisma" a whole new meaning when he took on "I Saw Her Standing There," which also brought forth a barrage of calls to not overdo it, and even David declared he would "try to turn it down a notch" next week (if there is a next week).

Two consistent performers did even better tonight than in weeks prior. Coffee shop soul/pop chanteuse Brooke White delivered a knockout punch with a beautiful rendition of "Let It Be." Her talents on the piano coupled with her rich vocals really give her an under the radar frontrunner status. The other finalist that was on top of his game was David Cook. After he delivered a stellar rocked-out version of the Lionel Richie classic "Hello" last week, David again channeled Chris Daughtry in his performance of "Eleanor Rigby." He received praise from the judges as being a dark horse, with Simon even toying with the possibility of an outside shot of him winning.

Proving that falsettos should only be used every once in a while, Jason Castro's version of "If I Fell" gave Paula a heartfelt connection, but his vocals were otherwise very vulnerable and showed his style of singing definitely has limits. Amanda Overmyer was also only lukewarm this week after she nailed her song last week, which was possibly the only reason she made it through. Her take on "You Can't Do That" was a certified, signature rock 'n roll nurse performance, though it was not nearly as bad as some of her past ones. Michael Johns also was only so-so once again, as he sang "Across the Universe" well but didn't really go anywhere with it, which drew the ire of both Simon and Randy.

But the biggest shock of the entire night was hands down David Archuleta's awful Stevie Wonder version of "We Can Work It Out." The favorite to win did everything from forgetting the lyrics to losing his meter and missing some key notes. If this was the first time the American public saw him perform, David would be on the first flight back to Utah. But his dedicated fanbase and history of amazing performances will be more than enough to sail him through to next week.

Predictions
Bottom 3: David H., Kristy Lee, Syesha
Bottom 2: Kristy Lee, Syesha
Eliminated: Kristy Lee