Andrew Lloyd Weber night. A phrase that I’m sure had many of the contestants quaking in their boots. How can you avoid Simon telling a performance is too Broadway when you’re singing Andrew Lloyd Weber. Even Randy said this would be the toughest night of the season. In all honesty, shouldn’t they consider just letting them all be safe this week? Actually, some fared decently— others not so well.

Syesha Mercado started off the night singing “One Rock and Roll Too Many” from Starlight Express. Andrew Lloyd Weber was impressed with her abilities, and this was her best performance, in spite of the fact that she was actually more animated during the rehearsal. I’m not sure why she’s pursuing a pop career, instead of just going straight for a career on Broadway. Perhaps that’s her intended path, and this is just for publicity. Randy agreed that she could be a huge Broadway star, and Simon was much more impressed with her singing this genre than any other.

I can’t believe Jason Castro didn’t know “Memory” was a really big song. I get not knowing a lot of Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals, but haven’t you heard “Memory” a thousand times on elevators, if nowhere else? He also didn’t know that Cats was about, well, cats. That’s okay. That concept threw me too when I first saw the musical. I liked that he wasn’t terribly familiar with the song, though, as it allowed him to just sing it the way it sounded to him and not try to sound like an impression of Betty Buckley (the original cast member to sing the song, whom you may remember as Abby from Eight is Enough if you’re old enough to remember such things). I think Randy is probably biased against the song (I am too, frankly), as he called it a train wreck, and I don’t think it was more than perhaps a minor fender bender. Simon said it was a very long two minutes and that Jason seemed miserable.

Brooke White sang “You Must Love Me” from Evita (the movie). She had another start over moment, this time because she forgot the lyric. This caused controversy among the judges. Paula, who applauded her starting over the last time, told her she should never start over. But Simon and Randy both agreed that it was better to start over than try to make up the lyrics. In spite of that, I thought it was a nice, emotional, honest performance. Randy and Simon disagreed, saying it was at best so-so.

You know how I like it when David Cook takes a song and makes it his own? I feel hypocritical saying I wasn’t as thrilled with David Archuleta taking “Think of Me” and turning it into a pop ballad. I was glad that Andrew Lloyd Weber gave him the instruction to open his eyes— yes, please! It was an interesting version, and it sounded modern. However, I wasn’t crazy about it. I like the original, I guess. Randy thought it was the bomb, and Paula declared it perfect. Simon said it was pleasant and one of his weakest performances.

Andrew Lloyd Weber saved Carly Smithson bacon. She was all set to sing “All I Ask of You”, which would have been a horrible, horrible choice for her, which Andrew Lloyd Weber told her, so she switched to “Jesus Christ Superstar”. It was definitely a better choice, although it was a little screechy in parts. Even thought it was a much better choice, I’m not sure the performance will save her from the bottom three. Randy said it wasn’t her best performance but was good. Simon said that it was a little shouty but was one of his favorite performances of the night.

The final performance of the night was David Cook, who revealed something SHOCKING! He’s a former musical theater performer. What?!? How do I always choose the musical theater person as my favorite? I was really surprised with his choice of “Music of the Night”. I had really expected him to choose something from Jesus Christ Superstar or Starlight Express. I never expected him to choose something from Phantom. The performance started a bit weak, but pretty quickly he got into the song. He hit several notes that I didn’t think he could hit. Randy said it was an amazing vocal performance. Simon wasn’t that crazy about that style of music for David (don’t worry, Simon, I don’t think he plans to head for Broadway), but thought he did a decent job with the song.

So, who will be in the bottom three tomorrow? I’m really not sure. I’m pretty sure it won’t be either of the Davids. Other than that, it’s anyone’s game. Based on tonight’s performance, it should probably be Brooke or Jason. But I’m not sure the voting will support that. Here’s my order of favorites for the night.

1. David Cook
2. Syesha Mercado
3. Carly Smithson
4. Brooke White
5. Jason Cook
6. David Archuleta