Finalists show their theatrical sides on ALW night

If the Top 6 finalists do not win American Idol, they can at least find comfort in knowing they could succeed on Broadway. Well, most of them anyway.

The theme of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's catalog was something that has never been done on the show, and could have been a disaster. Instead, the finalists took Webber's advice to heart and actually put on a few memorable performances.

First up was Syesha Mercado, who took on "One Rock 'n Roll Too Many" from Starlight. After Webber decided Syesha should go with her "animated" version over the "un-animated" version, it was apparent to see why he made the decision. She tore up the stage in a low-cut red dress and invoked a lot of sass into her performance. A cameo by Ricky Minor dressed in era attire was also a refreshing twist.

Randy and Paula kept pushing the Broadway thing on Syesha, as Paula called it "her happy place." Simon agreed with Randy, saying she is "comfortable" in the style of music, and called the performance "sexy." It would not be a surprise to see her in the bottom two, but in all likelihood she will escape it this week.

Brooke White, on the other hand, suffered a stumble when she had to restart her performance of "You Must Love Me" from the film adaptation of Evita. Although Webber said Brooke "sang it like she meant it" during their session together, he abrupt restart ended up throwing her off, and she never really recovered. Vocally, it was her weakest performance to date.

Paula had a long pause of her own during her critique, and finally came out with "You must never start and stop." Simon disagreed, saying he would have done the same thing had he flubbed the lyrics. But he also warned Brooke that she would be disappointed upon watching her performance back. A definite bottom 2 appearance tonight.

Jason Castro was the second sub-par performance of the night, as he struggled his way through "Memory" from Cats. ALW seemed to be having fun with Jason, making light of his dreadlocks, but said he would not be surprised if Jason disregarded his advice completely and ended up sounding better. Whatever he did, it did not work out. Jason spent the majority of the performance staring down at the floor, staying planted in a stool throughout the duration. His vocals were also wishy washy and he never really seemed to find a comfort zone.

Randy went as far as calling it a "train wreck" vocally, but Paula gave him credit for singing something a female power-singng balladeer would sing. Simon compared the performance to a little boy being forced to sing a song at a wedding by his parents but making the whole scene miserable. Jason could make the bottom 2, but he will most likely just scrape by, having the third-lowest votes.

The night did improve as it went on. David Archuleta sang "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. He was vocally on par but it was not he greatest performance. If there was one good thing about it, though, it was the fact that David actually listened to ALW's advice that he keep his eyes open as much as possible, as he only closed them a few times.

Randy seemed like a cheerleader during his critique, as he went above and beyond with his praise for the performance. Paula also reached a bit high, calling it "absolutely perfect." But leave it to Simon to get things right once again, as he called it "pleasant but probably one of [David's] weakest performances." Watch as David sails through to take on "Sweet Caroline" next week.

Carly Smithson also put on one of the highlights (if not the highlight) of her time on the show with "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar. The performance was upbeat and lively, something she really needed to do. And ALW gave her some of the best advice a mentor had ever given a contestant, after making her change her song. He also said she looked really happy singing it.

The incorporation of the band and Carly's movement all around the stage added to the overall package, and she received mild praise from the judges (a bit too mild). Simon did say it was "one of his favorite performances of the night," which counts for something. Despite having a standout performance, it looks like Carly will in fact be in the bottom 2, and more than likely she will (undeservingly) go home.

The show was able to go out on a good note, but nothing as lively as Carly's performance. David Cook pulled out a win in "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera, and the highlight of the entire show came during his mentor session with ALW. Trying to get it across to David that the song is romantic and that he needed to imagine he was singing it to the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, Webber asked David to imagine him as a "17-year-old girl," which drew laughs from the audience (and most likely all of America).

David was very controlled, on cue and technically a good vocalist on the song, as he was able to bring out opera elements that he had never shown on the show. It bordered on boring a few times, but he was able to finish on a signature "Cook" note. Two judges were wild about it, but the other one not so much. Simon said he preferred the "gritty rocker" side of David over the theatrical one, something most of his fans also would agree with.

So as it stands, it looks like Ryan will play games with the finalists tonight and separate them all into three groups of two, and then announce which one is the bottom group. If one was to put money on the outcome, it does not look good for Carly nor Brooke, but worse for Carly thanks to the sympathy vote for Brooke. Whatever happens, it will be awfully close.

Predictions:
Bottom 2: Brooke, Carly
Eliminated: Carly