In a competition where song choice means so much, a night where experts are picking the songs should have been great, but it didn’t come close.

The second-to-last episode of “American Idol” featured to final three singing songs chosen by the judges, the producers and themselves. All year, Randy, Paula and Simon have been harping on song choice, so these musical mavens should have hit nothing but home runs with their choices for the contestants.

Instead, exactly the opposite happened. Every performance was underwhelming and some downright dreadful. Most of the worst moments came in the songs selected by either the producers or the judges.

If anything, this episode proved picking a song to sing is harder than it looks.

David Archuleta – Sang: “And So It Goes” & “With You” & “Longer”

• Randy Said: 1^st Song – In the Zone; 2^nd Song – Couldn’t Believe Him Singing That Song; 3^rd Song – Another Hot One.
• Paula Said: 1^st Song – Pure and Stirring Performance; 2^nd Song – Did a Great Job; 3^rd Song – Very Lovely.
• Simon Said: 1^st Song – Good. Not Outstanding; 2^nd Song – Like a Chihuahua Pretending to be a Tiger; 3^rd Song – You Sang it Very Well.

Archuleta’s voice was perfect on the first song and he hit ever not with aplomb. Still, he looked like a creepy elf explaining the lyrics as he sang. Nothing to get excited about. He may be able to sing, but he can’t perform.

Grade: B-

Archuleta’s take on Chris Brown sounded like one of those Kidz Bop CD recordings of pop songs. He struggled with the words and the melody at the beginning. His voice sounded spectacular at the end, but it was way too hard to overcome the comical song choice and the corresponding performance.

Grade: D

This was a sweet, somewhat jazzy version of an AM Radio standard. It was simply pleasant, like a spring morning in the countryside.

Grade: B

Prognosis: Nothing’s going to stop the Archuleta juggernaut at this point.

Syesha Mercado - Sang: “If I Ain’t Got You” & “Fever” & “Hit Me Up”

• Randy: 1^st – An Amazing Job; 2^nd – Sang it Amazingly Well; 3^rd – Just A’ight.
• Paula: 1^st – You Look Stunning; 2^nd – Not Sure it Shows Me Who You Are as an Artist; 3^rd – Didn’t Know if it’s Good Enough to Get Into the Finals.
• Simon: 1^st – Sang That Very Well; 2^nd – Lame Cabaret Performance; 3^rd – Did Your Best Last Week.

Syesha leads off with a jazzy but slightly old-fashioned performance of Alicia Keys’ hit. The backing vocals and music drowned her out during the verses and she struggled mightily with the chorus. One of her weakest.

Grade: C-

After making a contemporary song sound old-fashioned, Syesha takes this standard into the modern age with a smooth pop rendition. She sounded good and looked great.

Grade: B

The producers did their best to sabotage Syesha by sticking her with a silly song about penguins for her last performance. She performed admirably but seemed a bit lost with the rhythm at times. What this did prove, however, is that Syesha is the most like a pop star of any of the contestants and her voice sounded ready for the radio on this track.

Grade: B-

Prognosis: When even Paula tells Syesha she’s on her way out you have to think she’s done.

David Cook – Sang: “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” & “Dare You To Move” & “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”

• Randy: 1^st – Needed More Rock; 2^nd – Not Your Best. A Little Pitchy; 3^rd – Just OK, Very Predictable.
• Paula: 1^st – My Second Favorite Performance of That Song; 2^nd – Just Got to the Beginning When You Hit the End; 3^rd – See Ya in the Finals.
• Simon: 1^st – One of Your Best To Date; 2^nd – Just OK; 3^rd – David Cook Wins the Night.

David starts off with what has become his trademark, an emo take on a pop song. This has become tired at this point and very predictable. It was pretty well-sung, but was only about his fourth or fifth best attempt at reinvention.

Grade: B-

The Switchfoot song is a perfect choice for David Cook. It is an emo pop tart, exactly what he tries to make out of many pop hits. Still, it’s a terrible song in general and he didn’t even sound close to as good as the original. How is he supposed to have any success in this genre of music when he can’t outperform its worst?

Grade: C-

David Cook started off sounding like a mix between adult contemporary radio and hair metal balladry, as opposed to the sweeping pop epic recorded by Aerosmith. After that inauspicious start the music got louder and he started to shout. Whatever.

Grade: C

Prognosis: Got enough love from the judges to hit the finals.

Bold Prediction: Syesha is going home this week even though she was the best of the night, not because she was particularly good, but because she was mediocre and the others were horrible. What an awful penultimate show for “the most talented top 12 ever.”

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