Idol Chatter & Voice Views

And then there were five.

American Idol said so long to Carly Smithson last night. The farewell was overdue in my mind, though a little surprising considering she had gotten a good review from Simon Tuesday.

Carly hadn’t gotten many good reviews from Simon this year. She was so pleased with his comments Tuesday that she showed off a T-shirt bearing the slogan: “Simon loves me (this week).”

Cute, but not enough to save her from elimination.

The reason for the lukewarm reviews is simple. Carly can sing with the best of the Idol finalists. But in always striving for the big note, her performances lacked nuance and emotion.

I, for one, won’t miss all that shouting.

Anyway, on to this week’s rankings.

1. David Cook: He delivered a standard version of “Music of the Night” Tuesday, meaning he didn’t try to turn it into a rock song. Why not? He explained during Wednesday’s show. In his case, doing the predictable with the song was the most unpredictable thing he could have done. Follow the logic? Regardless, in the end, he sang it well, showing he’s a more versatile performer than many Idol viewers likely suspected.

2. David Archuleta: No doubt, young David’s the master of pop ballads, as he proved again Tuesday night when he sang “Think of Me.” Thing is, he’s not as versatile as David #1. If he’s not singing a pop ballad, he seems to struggle. Still, a 2008 Idol finale that includes someone not named David will be a real shocker.

3. Syesha Mercado: Somehow, Syesha landed in the bottom two this week, despite a “molten hot lava bomb” of a performance Tuesday. (Sorry to steal your line, Randy, just couldn’t resist.) Syesha, quite simply, is getting better and better. But judging from the number of times she’s been sitting on a stool, waiting to see if she’ll be eliminated, it seems she’s the least popular of the remaining Idols.

4. Brooke White: Once upon a time, Brooke dazzled with “You’re So Vain,” “Love is a Battlefield” and “Let it Be.” But that was a while back, and recent performances have been much less consistent. Somehow, she avoided the bottom two Wednesday despite botching the start of “You Will Love Me” Tuesday night. She needs to bounce back with a monster performance next week.

5. Jason Castro: How far will dreads and a cute smile take an Idol contestant? We’re about to find out with Mr. Castro. In the past two weeks, he’s proven he’s the worst singer of the remaining contestants. Thing is, the voters don’t seem to care. He deserved to go home after butchering “Memory” Tuesday and didn’t even land in the bottom two.