When Simon Cowell declared Tuesday night that this season’s “American Idol” was David Archuleta’s to lose, he wasn’t joking. Not only did young David out-class every one of the guys, he left every lady in the rear view mirror as well, because for the most part, they did not deliver the goods on Wednesday night. Here is a recap….

THE GOOD

Carly Smithson went first last night, and in the little bit about “what viewers would be surprised to learn,” said she tends bar at an Irish pub in San Diego. I wasn’ t surprised, were you? Anyway, Carly sang Heart’s “Crazy on You,” and for me it was a bit too shouty. But by the end of the night, Carly sure looked good compared to the rest of the field. Randy said it was rough at the start but got better, Paula said Carly is a great singer, and Simon said it was better than last week, and that no other woman in this thing can touch Carly vocally. He may be right.

Brooke White strapped on her guitar and sang Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” and at first I was cringing. But it really was pretty decent. Brooke talked beforehand about dropping out of beauty school to pursue music, and she may just continue to get her shot. Randy said it was not bad but not great, Paula said it was the perfect song choice, and Simon said he “absolutely loved it.” There was joking about the fact that Brooke was looking at Simon while singing it, which, not surprisingly, made Cowell like it even more.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Syesha Mercado was shown in a cheesy commercial as an actress, but to me it looked more like a bad Saturday Night Live skit. She also does this weird impression of a baby crying, which is a little scary. Anyway, Syesha sang “Me and Mrs. (Mr.) Jones,” and just based on the fact she had to change the perspective made it weird. All the songs from the ’70s, and she chooses that one? Randy said as much, Paula said she was off-key on the low notes, and Simon said it was a bit indulgent and not designed for Syesha’s voice.

Kristy Lee Cook admitted to being a tomboy. Well, duh. She lives on a farm in Oregon or something.
Anyway, Kristy did not look like a tomboy last night. She looked like boobs disguised as Kristy Lee Cook. For the first half of the song, I didn’t hear a word because her boobs kept staring at me. Anyway, she sang Linda Rondstadt’s “You’re No Good,” and it was pretty good. Randy said it was 100% improvement from last week, Paula agreed, and so did Simon…though he did say Kristy needs to figure out if she is a country artist or not.

Alaina Whitaker talked about how she doesn’t like food to touch on her plate….whatever. She sang Olivia Newton John’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” and while it was pitchy, it was still a pretty strong vocal. Randy said it was not the right song, Paula disagreed, saying it was a real good job. And Simon said he likes Alaina, but that this was a bit old-fashioned. He also added that Alaina is still a dark horse to win this thing. I have to say, I agree.

Asia’h Epperson admitted to being a cheerleader growing up. Again, not a real big surprise. She sang Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself,” and did the Celine Dion version of it. This girl has a great voice, but even she couldn’t pull this off. And I think she may have messed up the lyrics. Randy said it was a difficult song but that Asia’h did a good job, Paula said it was “great,” and Simon said that Asia’h is not a good enough singer to pull it off…basically what I just said, but Simon can have the credit.

THE BAD

Ramiel showed herself as a kid doing some sort of Polynesian dancing…as with most of these girls, not real surprising considering her background. She sang “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” and for me it was all over the place, and kind of karaoke-ish. Randy said it was “rough” and “just okay.” Paula agree, and Simon also agreed, adding that she was much better last week.

Amanda Overmyer was one of my favorites, but she took a nosedive last night. We already know Amanda is a nurse and a biker, but she admitted to being a bookworm too. Then, she came out with a disturbing hair style that looked like she stuck her finger in a light socket, and sang Kansas’ “Carry on Wayward Son.” I felt like it was 2 am at a smoky bar and someone was going to yell, “Free Bird!”
Randy said it wasn’t the right song, Paula agreed but said Amanda showed nice dance moves, and Simon said it felt contrived and that he just wanted it to end.

Kady Malloy said she can sing opera, which was a bit odd, but whatever. Kady sang Heart’s “Magic Man,” and clearly does not have the pipes for it, which seems strange if she can sing opera. Randy said Kady never found the notes, Paula said it only sounded good on the high notes, and Simon said Kady has charisma, but he is frustrated that she sounds like she is struggling.

Alexandrea Lushington was, for me, the worst of the 20 contestants the last two nights. She admitted to singing at her dad’s fire station and at Ground Zero after 9/11, which was pretty cool. But then she sang Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now,” and it was a weird and disjointed choice. I’ll go so far as to say it was horrible. Randy said it was too safe, Paula said she thought it was cool that Alexandrea had her own arrangement to the song, and Simon said he was a big fan but that she is struggling now.

Okay….so for the guys, I think the boot is waiting to kick off Luke Menard and Jason Yeager….and for the girls, I’m going with Alexandrea and Amanda. I think Kady was pretty bad too, but she is cuter than Amanda. And I’m really disappointed in Amanda because I thought she could win this thing, but not now. So tonight is the results show….I haven’t looked but I’m guessing it’s a grueling hour. Whatever it is, I’ll see you all here tomorrow with the recap.