Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blasted technology.

So I get home at 5 a.m. after working election night and settle down on the couch to catch up on what I missed from Tuesday’s episode of “American Idol.”

I’d caught two performances at work — Jason Castro and Brooke White — and if that was an indication of how the night went … well, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Idol made for a toxic mix.

I hit the play button on the DVR. I whizzed through three commercials. And then … nothing. The show didn’t record.

So what follows is a little late and comes with a big assist from YouTube.

Best of the bunch:

Wow. Syesha Mercado took the stage in a slinky red dress and brought the house down with a fine performance of “One Rock ‘n’ Roll Too Many.” David Archuleta wasn’t far behind with a splendid vocal on “Think of Me.” But the night belonged to Syesha.

Deserves to go home:

Jason Castro, whose ridiculous song choice (“Memories”) merely showed how weak his vocals are compared to the other guys in the competition, David Cook and David Archuleta.

Please keep her:

Brooke, who flubbed the start of a song for the second time in the finals, then had trouble recovering during her rendition of “You Will Love Me.” I still think she’s the most marketable of the remaining ladies, but she might pay a steep price for last night’s goof.

Baffled by the judges:

The only truly baffling moment came when Paula tied herself into verbal knots with whatever she was trying to tell Jason after he butchered “Memories.” Note to Paula: It was bad, real bad. That simple.

Best line of the night from the judges:

Simon to Jason: “That felt to me, and I’m sure to you, like the longest two minutes of your life. … You were miserable throughout; I was partly miserable throughout.”

Surprise of the night:

First, David Cook didn’t try to turn “The Music of the Night” into a rocker (he’s managed to do that with everything else he’s performed) and showed darn nice vocal range. Carly Smithson actually looked like she was having fun singing “Jesus Christ, Superstar.” Of course, the performance was marred by her typical over-the-top vocals.

Prediction for Wednesday

Bye, bye, Brooke. Jason was worst, but he probably has a more avid group of followers. And, at this stage of the competition, fans are voting for their favorites, regardless of how they do in a given week.