Tonight on American Idol. the music of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Singing music from Broadway musicals was a challenge for most of the idols. Some of them made it work and some of them didn’t.

Syesha Mercado: One Rock n’Roll Too Many
Syesha sounded fantastic but I think she made what is the cardinal sin of the night, she made it too Broadway. This is a pop singing contest. Syesha, needed to make this song contemporary. Unfortunately, while I liked it, I think she failed. Randy summed it up. She would make a great Broadway star, but this competition is not about being a Broadway star. Maybe she should have been on Your The One That I Want instead
Randy: “I feel tonight, not only is this your element, you could be a huge Broadway star. This was your best performance.”
Paula: “You brought the house down.”
Simon: “That was very sexy. I actually agreed with Randy. I thought this was one of your strongest performances so far.”

Jason Castro: Memory
Jason sounded just like the musical. I don’t really think he did anything special with that at all. I was pretty under-impressed with that performance.
Randy: “Vocally it was a train wreck. Its not your thing dude.”
Paula: “I think it was a wise choice because it allows you to put your influence on it.”
Simon: “It felt to me, and I’m sure to you, like the longest two minutes of your life. It came over as a young being forced by his Mum and Dad to sing a song at a wedding. Its not your style of music. It was a struggle.”

Brooke White: You Must Love Me
Brooke had to restart after the first line. Not a good start. Although Simon thought it was a brave thing to do. While she did a great job of singing the song with emotion as Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted her to, the performance didn’t do much to show off her voice until almost the end. Once again a very Broadway performance. Not a good modern day performance.
Randy: “It wasn’t great.”
Paula: “You must never start and stop. What I love about this performance is that you didn’t over act.”
Simon: “This is a tricky one. I think you are going to be very disappointed when you watch this back.”

David Archeluta: Think of Me
For the first time one of the finalists really did something unique with one of these songs. David Archuleta gets kudos from me tonight. This was a song designed for a diva, with a huge voice. Andrew Lloyd Webber even said he could never imagine a male singing this song. Well, Davis Archuleta pulled it off. It sounded great. It was a great arrangement and most important, not Broadway.
Randy: “If you can sing you can sing anything. Dude it was the bomb, this boy is the one to beat.”
Paula: “It was perfect. you took a risk on a known song… and turned it into a pop ballad.”
Simon: “I thought it was pleasant. It was not one of your best performances.”

Carly Smithson: Jesus Christ Superstar
This was a great song choice for Carly. Carly sounded great. The performance was cool. Paula was on her feet clapping.
Randy: “I don’t know if this was your best performance but it was definitely good.”
Paula: “I love what you did in the chorus.”
Simon: “It was one of my favorite performances of the night.”

David Cook: Music of the Night
David Cook actually has a really good voice. Who knew? That was very unexpected. You always think of him as a rocker. I prefer the rock music but, I really really liked that. I also thought this really demonstrated David Cook’s range and flexibility.
Randy: “That was a molten hot, boiling hot performance.”
Paula: “I thought it was fantastic”
Simon: “You made the most of the song. This is not a side of you I like.”

WBM’s Most Downloadable AI Performance of the Night: Music of the Night by David Cook

Runner Up: Jesus Christ Superstar by Carly Smithson

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow morning to check out our predictions for which of this season’s American Idol Top 6 will be headed home. Then, make sure you come back after the results show and see if we were right.

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