This week, we look into the music of Neil Diamond. The remaining 5 contestants get to sing a pair of songs this evening. Who'll make the most of it? Who will just make a mess? And will anyone ever find out what exactly what is inside Paula's drinking glass?

We begin the evening with Jason Castro who sings 'Forever in Blue Jeans'. Will he be forever getting your vote?

The Good - He picked a song that he can use the guitar in, which is good. After last week's horrific effort, he needed something that he could sink his teeth into.

The Bad - But I'm not sure that's the right song to do it with. Obscure songs this year have been punished, and I'm not sure how familiar the audience is with that one. The lack of passion or any major money notes hit certainly didn't help his cause.

The Verdict - We'll see what happens the second song, but not a good start for Mr. Castro.

David Cook listened to Neil Diamond when he grew up. He starts with 'I'm Alive', a song that not many people know. What's up with the obscure music this evening?

The Good - Despite the lack of knowledge of the song, it's a good choice, if not just because the guitar rifts are similar to more well known songs. So it makes it sound like we sort of know the song...

The Bad - ...but we don't and once again that's a bad move. Also bad - the sound technicians, who make his performance sound washed out. With too much feedback, David Cook may be alive, but his guitar sounds like it's been rotting in it's grave for a few months.

The Verdict - This is another person who should be happy that he's getting a second song - though not as happy as his sound technician, who screwed the pooch on this one.

Speaking of second chances, Brooke White clearly needed one after nearly desecrating the stage last week. She goes for "I'm A Believer'...is that The Monkees I'm a Believer?

The Good - Yes it is, and it's a very good choice for her. We finally have a song that we know and can rock with. And she does rock it out on that guitar.

The Bad - She starts out way too low on that key register. Someone needs to tell her that she can't start out that low. And while she makes it her own, she skimps out on the major money notes, which is too bad, because that's where you can score big with the song.

The Verdict - I just don't know about this one. It's the best song choice of the night, but the weakest vocal performance of the night. Maybe I can appreciate the evening more if I had a taste of what Paula has been drinking.

Based on the last 3 efforts, I need me some David Archuleta singing right now. We'll be hearing his version of 'America' later, but right now, it's 'Sweet Caroline'.

The Good - For the second straight week, he takes a risk and now he goes for an upbeat song. He desperately needed to do that, and he delivers. He shows some sparks of wanting to perform this evening - something we have not gotten from the first 3 performers.

The Bad - Of course, the lyrics are cheesily easy to remember and the rate of difficulty on this song is somewhere between a tomato and an orange. And because he's not going to screw up on the lyrics, he gives us early song pitch problems instead.

The Verdict - Hey, we got an actual good performance tonight! Whoo-hoo! Could this be David finally waking up after mailing it in for the past few weeks?

Syesha Mercado finishes the first half of the show with 'Hello Again'. I'll say hello right back. Hello!

The Good - It was a vocally pleasing very nice performance. Right now, that would rank her second in overall performance...

The Bad - ...but we don't see that vocal power she had last week. What was a voluptuous vixen last week was just a tiny flirt this week with a sly wink. It's now the Top 5. You have to BRING IT.

The Verdict - Here's the problem. This song was something she needed to do early on in the competition. Now she needs to find the diva tunes and belt them out. It's sort of like she's doing the competition in reverse.

After Round 1, I only liked David Archuleta's performance. Everyone else ranged from ok to mediocre. And that includes the judges, as Paula Abdul talks about Jason Casto's second performance as passionless - although he has only sung one song so far. Way to show your lack of bias and undermine your own show, Paula.

Meh. Let's try this again.

Jason Castro gives us some 'September Morn'. I'm guessing Paula is waiting for the morn after that faux pas.

The Good - It's better than what he did for the first round. Very safe, very comforting.

The Bad - Very bleh. Jason gets a case of Archuleta's Lyrical Dropsies. And. The. Audience. Needs. To. Stop. Waving. Their. Freaking. Arms.

The Verdict - It feels like he's just going through the words and motion - both literally and non-literally. It's almost like he wants off the stage now. He may get his wish this week.

David Cook says that 'All I Really Need is You'. If he sings this like he sang the first song, then all I really need is some methaqualone.

The Good - MUCH much better song. The arrangement is much more current, and I agree with Simon that it was a brilliant choice. This is the David Cook that we're used to seeing on our television set.

The Bad - It saved him from me telling him that the song choice was dreadful. I would have loved it if he took a song like 'America' and gave it a good whack - but of course, he can't, because The Archulator got it. I didn't like it as much as the judges, because I'm waiting for that emotional connection - and I may be waiting for that connection until Miley Cyrus does a Budweiser commercial. And I still hate the sound technician.

The Verdict - I didn't like it as much as the judges did - but it was the best performance of the night so far and should be good enough to get him to next week without much difficulty.

Brooke White does 'I Am...I Said' as her second choice. But what do I sai...er I mean say?

The Good - She gets the lyrics right. She gets the pitch right. She plays the piano nicely. She starts in a good register. And she doesn't have to restart her performance. I consider that a victory.

The Bad - I'm still waiting for her to do something vocally challenging. You know, the performance that gets you votes and that states 'I want to win the competition' instead of 'I just want to hang around and let the people around me suck and get voted off...fourth place would be just groovy'. I guess I'l be waiting until...well, when does that Miley Cyrus Budweiser commercial air? Hey, she got frisky for Vanity Fair, so that beer commercial could come sooner than you think.

The Verdict - I think this performance saves her from leaving.

Well, as we said earlier as to why David Cook didn't sing 'America'. David Archuleta got the song instead. It's a perfect song for him. Can he capitalize on it?

The Good - Wait a sec. He picked two good songs tonight? Ok, now we know this is a weird week. Great choice of song and great performance of said song. He's got a little bit of Kristy Lee Cook deviousness in him after all.

The Bad - We the people, in order to form a more perfect Union, give the general publicthe right to vote, the right to bear arms, and the right to hear David's voice crack when he tries to hit the high notes in the speech section of the song.

The Verdict - The only person to take a pair of musical risks and have them both pay off. He may still be losing to David Cook right now, but this night will get him some new voters.

Syesha Mercado ends the show with 'Thank the Lord for the Night Time'. I could say the same for ending the show. We get both America and Religion this week, Who could ask for anything more?

The Good - This is one of his more well-known songs, and the rifts work (as they remind you of songs like like R.O.C.K. in the USA). She did a nice job in belting out the song - especially in the end.

The Bad - The first half however, was scary time. I wondered if she sang the right song, as she did not make it her own. She also sounded restrained, and I agree with Simon that it's time to go full out. There's no more bad people that you can fall back on, and being good is not enough.

The Verdict - If this was a talent show, she has no problems this week. However, it's a popularity contest, and I don't know if that's going to be good enough to get enough fans to keep her completely safe.

The Final Verdict - What a strange little night we had. Obscure songs, strange choices, and Paula giving her opinions before the contestant sang a song. But I don't think the results are going to be that strange...

TROUBLE - Jason Castro, Brooke White

The Davids right now are just untouchable, and Syesha has been coming up strong, so that leaves these two. So who leaves? The Blonde who's been terrible for the past 2 weeks, or the Dread-Haired one who's been terrible for the past 2 weeks? I'll go with the person who sang like he wanted off the show - and usually when you do that, your prayers get answered.

OUT - Jason Castro

Join us in 24 hours for the results.