Express' Greg Barber on the elimination of Jason Castro on "American Idol."

THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT about the lineup of contestants as this episode kicks off. Sure, there's only four of them, that's true — but something deeper. You can see it in each of their eyes. Every last one of them is concerned that tonight might be their last night on that stage. And almost all of them have a reason to worry.

Welcome to the beginning of the end, my friends. It's a new "Idol" world order, and no one is safe.

In fact, they're 51 million different kinds of not safe. That's how many votes came in after Tuesday night's Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame-themed show. And according to Seacrest, each of the top three vote-getters was within 1 million votes of his or her nearest competitor. Which is pretty tight, considering the volume of votes.

The talk at first turns to Syesha: Did Randy make her cry? He says no. He says Syesha told him no. Seacrest intimates that maybe the answer is really yes. Paula haughtily suggests that she facilitated Syesha's "moment of recognition."

Then, Seacrest asks Simon if he really was as angry as he seemed last night. "No, I wasn't angry, I was just surprised at some of the disastrous song choices," he says.

There's a great intro for a group sing!

Which kicks off slightly awkwardly since Li'l David Archuleta seems to miss his cue by a millisecond or two. The song in question is "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan, and unlike last week, the Idolites harmonize really well. (Watch here.) Too bad there'll be one less of them in less than an hour.

THE EASY PART
As the elimination round begins, Li'l David is first out — a natural choice, since he's the one least likely to be sent home. He had a highly rated night in which he sang two songs — "Stand by Me" and "Love Me Tender" — that played magnificently to his audience of squealing teenage girls whose hearts and eyelids flutter at the mere thought of him. His breathy exhortations were sure to stimulate the raw nerves of their ... phone-dialing fingers.

What was his game plan, Seacrest asks.

"It's never really changed. I definitely concentrated more on having fun with 'Stand by Me,'" he says. "And then with 'Love Me Tender,' I just wanted to really connect with the song and hope that everyone else would connect with it if, you know."

We know. Oh, and he's safe.

The gremlins are loose in the "Idol" control room, by the way. First, there was a problem with the lighting during the first break, then the video switching was totally bungled as Seacrest attempted to show footage from past Idolites' trips home, during which a shot of Li'l David and then only the "Idol" logo were shown. And as he tried to cut to a shot of David Cook, Syesha and Jason Castro backstage, he somehow instead received video that appeared to be a rally of some sort — probably video from one of the aforementioned trips home that the Top 3 take every year.

Too bad this show isn't one of the highest-rated programs on network television. I hear those are run more smoothly.

THE NEXT EASIEST PART
First, we're treated to video of the Idolites being treated to a special showing of the Cirque du Soleil show "Love," featuring the music of The Beatles, with which the "Idol" four are quite well acquainted. They get cheered. They get groped. They get manicured. They see a show. Being sorta famous is neat!

Then, it's time for a cold splash of reality.

David Cook is the next out on stage. And for the first time all season, he might be in jeopardy after two relatively uninspiring performances on Tuesday.

If he makes it to the final, Seacrest asks, what does he need to succeed?

Says Randy, "Stay original, dude, and rock it out, baby."

"Did you feel like you were a little off last night?" Seacrest asks David.

"Yeah, I did," David says. "I don't know what it was, I just woke up and immediately there was a vibe like, 'Something's not feeling right today.' And it carried the whole day through."

He might have been in jeopardy, but if he was, it wasn't for long. He's through.

Syesha and Jason are called out on stage. Seacrest begins to read from his notecards as if he's about to reveal who's going home — a performance that rattles Jason. "Are you gonna tell us right now?" he whispers. But he's not. It's commercial time.

WHOLE LOTTA BULL
It's the Ford entertainmercial! The music: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. The costumes: If the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers were thrown in a bullring, this is what they'd look like. The plot: The Idolites are matadors and a Ford Mustang is the bull. After the car revs by each of them, it turns, opens its doors and invites them in. And they ride off into the sunset. (Watch here.)

The moral: If you're on a TV show and the producers want you to dress up like a Mighty Morphin' Matador and you think it's a bad idea because you're concerned it'll make you look like an asshat, follow that instinct. Because it will.

BOREDOM CALLING
If there's time to fill, call in the phone callers!

» Q) David Cook, will you go on a date with me?
» A) We'll see.

» Q) What has been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?
» Syesha: Stage fright.
» Li'l David: I dunno.
» Jason: "Just the brain being dead."

I didn't make that last one up, I swear.

» Q) Simon, why haven't you been knighted yet?
» A) "Your majesty, if you're watching, I'm available."

» Q) Syesha, how do you feel being the only girl in the Top 4? Are you proud of your accomplishment?
» A) "I'm very proud. It's kinda funny, the last commercial we did, I felt a little, um, well, I can't really talk about it, but it was kind of uncomfortable."

OK, except here's an interesting thing. I know Syesha said the word "commercial" — referring, of course, to the Ford entertainmercial — because I read her lips, but her audio cut out on just that word. In its entirety. As if someone had used the several-second delay that broadcasters are required to use for live programming to edit that word and only that word out of the broadcast.

Did someone in the "Idol" control room want to keep the word "commercial" from being associated with the Ford, well, commercials? I think so.

So, just in case you're keeping track, it's OK for Syesha to obliquely reference the fact that her male cohorts' junk was getting mashed in the matador pants they were wearing, but she can't say the word "commercial," lest the wrath of Ford be visited upon the "Idol" powers that be.

Have at that, blogosphere!

» Q) Contestants, have you received feedback from the original artists for the covers you've done?
» A) David Cook heard from a member of Our Lady Peace after performing one of their songs. It was nifty.

» Q) Simon, have you ever acted? You could be the next James Bond.
» A) "I'm available."

Fascinating.

IN LIVING COLOR
Maroon 5 performs. They sound pretty good, although Adam Levine's voice seems higher during this performance than it usually does. (Watch here.)

I hope he didn't pick up an addiction to helium while on tour. That happens sometimes.

Oh, and Peter Gabriel wants his suit back.

Adam's advice for the Idolites: "Get ready to work, baby. It's gonna be really tough, and you're going to have to work a lot. And you're gonna get jaded and say, 'God, I hate this,' but you really love it, so try to remember that."

Being rich and famous must truly be such drudgery.

ROLL OF THE BICE
Not enough hair in a room? There's only one sure-fire cure: Bo Bice. And he takes the stage, fresh from the "Idol" alum relocation program.

He looks like Gregg Allman, rocks like Skynyrd and sounds like crud. If I didn't know this was a scheduled performance, I'd wonder why this strange mountain man with flowing locks was shouting at me with musical accompaniment. He doesn't need a witness, he needs a vocal coach. (Watch here.)

Maybe he sounds better in a studio. Preferably while he's inside it and I'm outside it.

THE HARD PART
Syesha and Jason take the stage once again. Seacrest reads the list of charges against Jason, which includes this bit of nastiness from Tuesday night: "Simon even said, I believe he said, 'Pack your bags,'" Seacrest says. "I did," Jason replies. "Somebody told me that I shot the tambourine man yesterday. That was pretty funny." (Watch here.)

Then, he reads off the judges' reactions to Syesha's Tuesday-night performances, emphasizing, oddly enough, the bits of criticism rather than the heaps of praise.

"Jason, why do you think last night was so tough for you?" Seacrest asks.

"I think my inexperience is coming in," he says. "Just learning, like with the two songs the week before, and this week I tried to pick two I knew, and even then I screwed it up."

And why was Syesha so emotional?

"It was a combination of things," she says. "Paula standing up and crying, saying, 'Welcome to your dream,' because I do feel like I'm living my dream. And just the meaning behind the song, like, I mean, it's kind of change. I mean, we're in 2008 and we might have the first female president or black president. ... It's just a combination of different things: what the song means and what I'm going through right now."

After all that, it's time for the big reveal. And performance has won out over popularity. Syesha's through to the Top 3. Jason's going home.

The gremlins rear their ugly heads one more time, leaving Jason awkwardly standing on stage — "What's going on?" he asks — before the band finally begins his swan song: another stab at "I Shot the Sheriff." For Jason, though, it's a fitting ending.

Jason isn't a bad performer, just one with an extremely narrow range. His cover of "Daydream" by The Lovin' Spoonful was superb, as was his rendition of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's take on "Over the Rainbow." When he's singing the kinds of songs that lend themselves to his upbeat, light-touch style of musicianship, he's golden. But anything else sounds trite and, at times, utterly ridiculous coming out of his mouth.

His lack of adaptability should have sunk him long before now — and it would have if his sheer winsomeness hadn't buoyed him along. But as all good guys know, being a good guy only gets you so far. And this is how far it got Jason.

So now it's down to a pair of Davids and Syesha, who has risen from perennial also-ran to a standout in her own right. Can she pull off the ultimate upset and outflank Cook or Archuleta to make her way into the finals? We shall see.

» NEXT WEEK: It's the penultimate pair of "Idol" showings as the contestants sing a song of their choice, the judges' choice and the producers' choice — and we've gotcha covered. I'll have a preview Tuesday, a recap of the performances and an Idol Chatter Live chat on Wednesday and a review of the next-to-last elimination show on Thursday. Get it all at readexpress.com/idol.

Till then, let's talk. What did you think about Jason's elimination? Syesha's rise? The dominance of the Davids? Give your take in the comments section below.

Photos courtesy Fox

Posted by Greg Barber at 6:33 AM on May 8, 2008
Tagged in Entertainment , Idol Chatter , Television , Top Columns