Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Idol voters got it right Wednesday night.

Ramiele Malubay was sent packing, too late to save us from her horrid attempt at country music. But, hey, better late than never.

The surprise of the night was Brooke White’s first visit to the bottom three.

If you’re counting, that means every female left in the competition has been close to elimination at least once. David Cook and David Archuleta have never had that distinction.

And then there were eight. Here’s how I’d rank them.

1. David Cook: One solid performance follows another. He’s the only member of the final eight who has yet to stumble. And if country week didn’t stump this hard rocker, what will?

2. David Archuleta: David Cook turne in this week’s best performance; David Archuleta turned in this week’s best vocal, hands down, proving once again why he ranks among the favorites in this competition.

3. Michael Johns: OK, I didn’t get this week’s performance. Neither did my wife, who winced through the whole thing. But the judges loved it, and so did some of my co-workers, so we’ll keep Michael firmly entrenched near the top. For now, he’s leaped past Brooke.

4. Brooke White: I still think Brooke’s the best of the ladies, but she hasn’t truly sparkled since the first week of the finals. Maybe she needs to watch tapes from earlier shows, when she kept it simple, relied on her distinctive sound and excelled.

5. Jason Castro: It’s a matter of time before he’s gone. This week’s performance of “Traveling Through” was one of his best yet. But what did it prove? That there are three males in the competition with much better vocal talent.

6. Syesha Mercado: Still isn’t getting the respect she deserves from the judges. She’s been solid the last three weeks. This week, she simply outsang all the other ladies. And Idol voters were kinder, keeping her out of the bottom three.

7. Carly Smithson: No doubt, the young woman can sing. Problem is, she’s still oversinging everything. Sorry, I just don’t see star potential in Carly, even if she starts dressing like one, as Simon suggested this week.

8. Kristy Lee Cook: Wow, she’s still around? She’s actually sounded better since she ditched the jeans filled with holes … maybe they were too drafty. But the country crooner was outperformed by several others on country week, so time’s running out. And she seems to know it.