By: Mary Cavaliere

When I heard that Mariah Carey was the mentor for this week I knew the music would be great, and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s my take on the performances tonight with the best performance first and the worst performance last.

David Cook ~ ALWAYS BE MY BABY ~ I have just one word for David’s performance. DYNOMITE!!! If you go back and read my old blogs you’ll see that watching David has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for me. During the original auditions I liked him a lot and said he reminded me of Chris Daughtry (who I love). Then in the beginning of the Top 12 episodes I thought he was a bit one-dimensional and he bored me a bit. But these last few weeks have been brilliant on his part and in my book right now he is right up there with David Archuleta. I think it’s going to be a race to the end between these two.

David Archuleta ~ WHEN YOU BELIEVE ~ I had a Clay Aiken moment during David’s performance. What does that mean? Well, Clay Aiken makes me cry when he sings. Both of these young men possess the voice of an angel which is probably why my soul is deeply touched when I hear either of them.

Jason Castro ~ I DON’T WANT YOU TO CRY ~ I have never heard this song before but I have to say I absolutely loved it, and if it was a single released today, I would definitely buy it. I think this was one of Jason’s best performances. It showed a lot of creativity, originality, and just plain old Jason who you can’t help but adore.

Syesha Mercado ~ VANISHING ~ This was another Mariah Carey song I’ve never heard but I enjoyed what Syesha did with it. Very nicely done as usual Syesha!

Carly Smithson ~ WITHOUT YOU ~ Just like last week I loved the outfit and the hair, and I also loved her song choice. This was one of my favorite songs from my youth, and I had no idea Mariah Carey wrote it. But I agree with Simon. I expected more from Carly on this number. I think I know what the problem is and why she isn’t connecting with me or other viewers. She lacks emotion when she sings. Yes she makes all these funny faces like she’s feeling something but when you smile a huge smile in the middle of a gut-wrenching song like Without You, it’s obvious you aren’t “feeling” it, you’re just “singing” it.

Brooke White ~ HEROE ~ I think if Brooke had started out with just her and the piano, and then when the music swelled the orchestra joined her, it would have been much better. But it is too late in the game to let your nerves get the best of you, because after tonight we will be down to the final six. The reason Brooke hasn’t been voted out yet in spite of the many negative comments she’s gotten from the judges is because she has what Carly does not which is a star persona and a sincere, genuine, loving energy that attracts her audience.

Kristy Lee Cook ~ FOREVER ~ I’d like to say that Kristy Lee never ceases to amaze me, but unfortunately all I can say is she never ceases to bore me. Obviously Randy and Simon agreed with me tonight and they heard what I heard which was nothing special (as usual).

I was a little disappointed that there was no mention of Idol Gives Back. Last I heard they raised over $60 Million, but I would have liked to hear an update.

You can read more of Mary’s television blogs at www.myspace.com/italiangirl57

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