Eleanor Rigby playing in the background – I have my iTunes shuffling the Beatles]

Summary: Carly and David win the night, with Syesha and David Cook in the next group. Kristy Lee is so gots-to-go. And two weeks of the Beatles was too much for the group. They are just not up to the songs and frankly, who is?

Amanda – perfect song choice for her and I did enjoy it but this is ridiculous. She can only sing five notes. And can we agree that she needs to avoid the advice to sing a ballad sometime?

Kristy Lee – actually somewhat listenable this week but the makeover was over the top. She is normally very pretty but I thought her look was a distraction. It wasn’t natural for who she is. Jeez, I’m talking about her looks. I’m turning into Paula.

David Archuleta – great comeback. Perfect song for him and he nailed it. He’s back to the front of the line – but he does have some company (see Carly). Question – can he sing something other than a ballad?

Michael Johns – singing Day in the Life was sacrilege. A desecration of one of the greatest songs ever written. TERRIBLE song choice. This song has a structure of different movements that CANNOT be collapsed into a minute and a half. The lyrics are wistful, haunting, lamenting. He may have had personal reasons for choosing this song that were wistful, haunting and lamenting but he didn’t sing it that way. He just seems lost in terms of how he sees himself as an artist and not just a cute guy with a nice voice.

Brooke – I love Brooke (yeah, I know you know that already). I love her voice. She was only OK for me this week but I love her and love her voice.

David Cook – I LOVED what he did with Day Tripper although it wasn’t as similar to the Whitesnake cover as he said. Basically, he used the vocorder like them but was totally unnecessary – and frankly, stupid. But it was a really good performance. But I am a fan of 70s-80s arena rock, so I could be over-rating it.

Carly – possibly my favorite performance ever. Yes, EVER. Wow, she is good. I seriously had goose bumps through the entire song. Fabulous voice, fabulous interpretation, fabulous control, great range. She’s a pro. Look, she’s not my favorite performer but she’s the best singer in the group.

Jason – the male version of Brooke. I like listening to him. Not one of his best performances, though but not bad, either.

Syesha - I love Syesha (yeah, I know you know that already). I was only OK with her “Yesterday” the first time through but the judges loved it and Diandra really loved it so I went back and listened again with my eyes closed. Yeah, it was good, really good. Her problem is that she’s the second best female singer (next to Carly) with the second best personality (next to Brooke).

Chikezie – I don’t care how much distaste you have for My Man Chikezie, Wanda, I like him. I do love the tone of his voice. But he did fall into the trap I thought he would – that he would try to be as clever as last week. Simon was right that it was gimmicky. The slower, first part of the song was where he needed to stay.

Ramiele – she’s so cute and I really want to like her but she’s not really bringing it. She was OK but not up to where her potential is. I think she’s got the same problem as Michael in that she’s not found the right niche for her considerable vocal talents.