Idol Thoughts: The Top 6

Hmmm ... okay ... I don't quite know what to expect out of tonight's show, because "American Idol" and Andrew Lloyd Weber seem like a rather weird combination. Obviously, the songs are going to be hard to pull off because of their theatricality -- maybe that's the point ... to really test the Top 6 and push their performing abilities to their limits. Let's see what happens....

Syesha Mercado -- I've never heard the song before, but I really like it (would go perfectly on one of my "I Love Music" compilations!) ... and she performed it really well! I was a bit disappointed, though, since she sounded really promising when she was just singing in front of ALW backstage. Pretty darn good, though.

Jason Castro -- I've gotta say, he did much better with that daring choice of song than I expected he would! He almost should have chosen a slightly higher key for the first half of the song, 'cause he struggled just a bit with the lowest notes, but overall I'm impressed. He's in the Top 6 for a reason, that guy!

Brooke White -- Oops. You know what? I have mixed feelings about this one, and not just because of her false start. (Hey, she's not gonna be able to do that if she's performing in concert ... good for Paula for laying that down point-blank.) Simon was right, in that she seemed uncomfortable and didn't fully recover from that slip-up. Sorry to say, I think this is going to cost her.

David Archuleta -- Randy was absolutely right ... this kid can sing anything!! This song was completely unfamiliar to me, and it could very easily be an album track, or perhaps even a single on contemporary radio. Bravo, David!!

Carly Smithson -- ALW was right ... Carly needed to sing a song like this! (I actually expected David A. to sing a song from "Jesus Christ Superstar", but that's neither here nor there....) An excellent showing from Carly ... probably her best in at least the last few weeks!

David Cook -- This is one of the pitfalls of "Andrew Lloyd Weber night" ... some of the contestants sing songs that just aren't them. While David was good (especially with that big note in the middle), I just wasn't into the performance because it's not the kind of song he's best at singing. I'll admit that I may not be giving him his due, but (as Randy is fond of saying), "I'm just keeping it real."

I'm not sure if, or when, the "bottom three" becomes the "bottom two" (remember, I've never watched a season of "Idol" before), so I think I'll do it this way:

Who I think will be eliminated: Brooke White -- I thought she was going to go last week, but with her little flub tonight, I'm pretty certain that her number's up this week.

Who else I think will be in the bottom two: Syesha Mercado ... I'm tempted to say Jason Castro, but I think the fans love him too much to let him get voted out just yet. (If I may extend a prediction ... I think he'll be the next of the guys to go, unless one of the others screws up next week.)

Who I voted for: Of course, David Archuleta! Hey, at least I'm not blindly voting for him every single week, right?

The results are getting more and more nerve-wracking to watch ... and I have to wait a whole 24 hours to see them this week!