And the 'Idol' bus keeps on rollin'

The producers have been gunning for a David 2x, David-squared, David vs. Goliath (whatever you want to call it) finale since the early stages of the season. So why should they stop now?

Of course they should not stop now, and that's exactly what they told America last night. Upon first reading the song spoilers chosen by the judges, I thought all three were poor. But after watching the Top 3 actually perform the choices, only two were clunkers.

To start off the show, David Archuleta followed Paula's wishes by singing Billy Joel's "And So It Goes." Vocally, he was as strong as ever on the performance, but it was a total snoozefest. Simon was the biggest critic of the performance, calling it a "bit predictable" while maintaining it was still good. Paula called David a storyteller, and Randy thought Paula chose a "dope song" and that he was "in it to win it."

As for his personal choice, David inexplicably picked "With You" by Chris Brown. After a little confusion on when to walk out onto the stage to prepare for the performance, David opened with the words "my boo," which alone was worth any price of admission. Seeing him try to dance and keep up with the tempo of the song was great, and he had all the girls in the audience (and probably at home) screaming. To be fair, David actually did get to show off his personality better than ever before, so he did score a few points in that department. Randy complained about not believing him saying "my boo," but he maintained that he was actually stepping out of his comfort zone. Paula thought it was a different side of David, and Simon compared him to a chiuauha trying to be a tiger, which earned him heaps of boos.

On his final performance, David tried his best on Dan Fogelberg's "Longer," which he was dealt by the producers. The choice was awful, boring with a capital B, and although he was vocally on par with his first performance, the lifeless song left him with a forgettable performance. Randy and Paula were not disappointed, as they agreed that it was a "hot one" and that they "expecting nothing more" from him. Simon was wise in choosing who to critique, as he said he would not go after him for his singing but instead accusing the song of being "gooey" and having awful lyrics. He did follow it up by saying he thought David did enough to make the finale.

On to Syesha Mercado, who was able to show more of her spunky side. In round one, Syesha had to sing Randy Jackson's choice of "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, which on paper would be a perfect fit for her but in actually performing, came off as a karaoke-wannabe showcase. Randy of course said she did amazing, while Paula said she was glad Syesha was the last girl standing. Simon criticized Randy's song choice for being "not challenging enough," though he did say she looked stunning.

For her personal choice, Syesha decided to step it up a notch and did a sizzling rendition of the Peggy Lee classic "Fever." Wearing a short silver dress, Syesha danced around a chair and gave props to the musicians, especially the cellist, in what could only be described as a sultry display of soul in the vein of "One Rock 'N Roll Too Many." When it came time for the judges to deliberate, no one saw what was coming. After calling the song choice "interesting, Randy said she sang it very well. But when it came time for Paula, she started off with her panic-inducing "you look lovely tonight" blah comment, then said she did not think the performance showed her Syesha, and that she was surprised she picked that song. Simon went a little further, calling the performance "lame cabaret" and that she would probably regret it tomorrow. So the Idol bus kept on rollin' with Syesha underneath once again.

But it was her third performance that was the most blatant evidence that TPTB would stop at nothing to ensure her departure. Syesha was handed Gia Farrell's "Hit Me Up," which is prominently featured in the movie Happy Feet. Syesha did what she could with the mess, moving around on stage and putting her power vocals into it. Sadly, she could only do so much. Randy said he could see her singing something Rihanna-esque and that it was "just okay" for him. Paula was harsher, saying she did not think it was enough to get her into the finale, and brought up the fact that it was from Happy Feet, which got a rise out of Simon, saying the song was "about penguins." Simon took the cake with his comments, though, saying he was hoping she would have a "defining moment." How could she have a defining moment with that song!?

As for David Cook, his song choices were by far the best of the three. He started off with Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which Simon bragged about being challenging compared to Randy's choice since he chose it. David was able to change up the arrangement enough to give the song a completely new life. It was not on the level of "Billie Jean" nor "Always Be My Baby," but it was masterful in its own way. The way he was able to make do with just the piano and a guitar in the first half of the song showed his vocal craft. Randy said he had been a fan of David's for a long time and said he wished Simon had chosen something "less predictable" because he wanted more rock, for which he was booed. Paula said David was her second favorite singer to sing one of her favorite songs, while Simon took all the credit for the choice and declared "round 1 goes to Cook and Cowell."

On his personal choice, DC tackled Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move," which was not his best performance by a mile. There was vocal straining to hit the high notes and a bit of pitchiness, which Randy addressed in his critique. Paula did not like how the song was arranged to fit into the one-and-a-half-minute format, and said she wanted more, to which everyone would agree with. Simon said it was what he expected, and that all three of the finalists had an "okay" middle round.

But it was on the producers' choice that David shone the brightest. On what normally would be thought to be a cheesy song, DC brought the house down with Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." Although he jumped right to the bridge from the first verse, David was able to hit a few great high notes and the performance, which included a host of strings, was the best of the night. It was as if TPTB were prepping for a Cook coronation song. Randy was only a little impressed, and called it "very predictable," for which he was incessantly booed. Paula told David she'd "see ya in the finals!" and Simon called the song "one of greatest of all time," taking note that Diane Warren, the song's writer, was prominently seated in the audience, and told David he had won the night.

So the Idol bus going the speed limit last night with DC and Arch inside it and Syesha stuck underneath all the while. That is not to take anything away from the Davids, though, but they were all pretty much even last night. Syesha was just stuck with the worst songs and got no love for "Fever," which was severely underrated. But there was probably little she could have done to defend against the imminent third-place finish. She will go on to have a healthy career, and maybe she'll even end up on the silver screen a la Jennifer Hudson. But Syesha should not complain, because placing third on Idol is a huge step up from being shown on ABC's failure of a talent show The One for four episodes.

Prediction
Eliminated: Syesha