Tonight's the night when the three remaining contestants vie for a place in the finals. They each performed three songs. In standard tradition the judges picked one song, the producers picked one, and the contestants each picked one for themselves.

Round 1 - Judge's Picks

David Archuleta - "And So It Goes": B-

Paula Abdul chose this minor Billy Joel hit for David Archuleta. I think she could have made a better choice. This song is okay, but kind of boring. It's not the kind of song that really strikes you when you hear it. This being the night that may or may not put the contestant into the finals, it would have been better to pick a song that would allow them to really get the audience's attention. All that being said, David did a decent job with it. I wouldn't say the performance stood out in any way, but he sounded very good. Randy Jackson said the song was "dope." I'm pretty sure he is the only person to ever refer to "And So It Goes" as dope.

Syesha Mercado - "If I Ain't Got You": C+

Randy Jackson picked this song for Syesha. Randy was hoping to go for something contemporary by picking an Alicia Keys song, but I don't think it was that great of a choice. Again, the choices for the top-three night should be memorable, but this wasn't. Syesha sounded fine, but there wasn't anything interesting or exciting about the performance.

David Cook - "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face": B

Simon Cowell gets the award for the most interesting and challenging song pick. David Cook doing a Roberta Flack song is not predictable, and that's exactly what Simon was going for. Cook's performance was good, but it was somewhat predictable in that he started out soft and then built to a big ending. However, I do think he sang it very well. It was a nice performance.

Round 2 - Contestant's Picks

David Archuleta - "With You": C-

David Archuleta attempted to show he is young and hip by doing a Chris Brown song. This was a bad choice. The song didn't suit him at all, and the whole thing was very awkward. Furthermore, the song did not show off his voice in any way. I think Archuleta could have found something contemporary that would have been more suited to his style, rather than come across as a wannabe R&B singer. Definitely not "dope."

Syesha Mercado - "Fever": C

Syesha tried to vamp things up by doing a cabaret-style performance of the Peggy Lee classic "Fever." She danced around a chair in the middle of the stage and unfortunately seemed more intent on creating a "performance" rather than singing well. The whole thing fell flat. As with her first song, a fairly average vocal from Syesha.

David Cook - "Dare You To Move": C