American Idol: Final Four

Tonight we've got songs from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.  I think this show will make David Cook and break Jason Castro.

• David Cook first sang Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf.  He was sans guitar for this song and I still liked it tons.  This is one of my fave Duran Duran songs, and I thought it was pretty good.  He didn't really go outside of the box like he's done in the past, but I still liked it.  (Numbers 01, 05)
• Syesha Mercado first sang Tina Turner's Proud Mary.  Even though the song has been over-done, she did a fantastic job.  She has only improved over these last few weeks.  I liked her song very much.  (Numbers 02, 06)
• Jason Castro sang Bob Marley's I Shot the Sheriff.  Go figure.  This kid is such a fucking DOOF!!!!  The song fits him, but I wasn't feelin' the vibe.  As Randy said, there was nothing special about it.  Simon dared call it atrocious and said that is one song that should not be touched.  (Numbers 03, 07)
• David Archuleta sang Ben E. King's Stand By Me.  I have to say that I wasn't bored with his performance like I have been in weeks past.  I thought he livened the song up a bit, for a change.  I liked the performance; it was probably the best of the first set.  (Numbers 04, 08)
• David Cook's second song was The Who's Baba O'Reily.  He was back behind his guitar again.... liking it.  The song was more to form for him, but I wanted to hear more because the song is long and intricate.  Overall, I liked it.  (01, 05)
• Syesha Mercado's second song was Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come.  What a big, big voice!!!  I thought it was a very good performance for her.  (02, 06)
• Jason Castro's second song was Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man.  [Enter random DOOF comment here.]  Um, he FORGOT THE WORDS!!!!  He MUST go home now.  You cannot be a member of the final four on AI and forget some lyrics.  You just can't.  I think Simon had it right when he told Jason to pack his suitcase.  Definitely the worst of the night.  (03, 07)
• David Archulet's second song was Elvis' Love Me Tender.  He's no Elvis, but it was pretty good.  I felt that he really thought about each word he sang.  I have to state again that although David A. has a beautiful and big voice, I'm really afraid that he can't sing sing anything other than ballads.  That bores me to tears.  Put him in a true rock song, and he will fail miserably.  But that's just my take on it.  (04, 08)

Right now, I think that Jason Castro MUST go tomorrow night.  DOOF-ism and lyric dropping can no longer be tolerated.  David Archuleta needs to inject a beat into a song and sing it and quit boring me with ballads.  An American Idol cannot be limited to one genre.  (This is why a "crooner" a la Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin will never win AI.)  David Cook is already a star and it's just a matter of his continuing to think just outside of the box for the songs he picks.  Syesha has definitely improved the most, in both voice and confidence.  She is seemingly the most versatile singer in the competition at this point.

Bottom Two: Jason Castro (based on Doof-ism and lyric-dropping) and David Archuleta (based on limited genre) 

Going Home: Jason Castro