It had been all over the internet that David Cook was going to be performing Collective Soul's "The World I Know" for his personal pick, so this came as a surprise. It wasn't a good surprise. Instead of Collective Soul, Cook chose "Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot. The problem with doing a song like this is that it's so specific to its audience. It's the kind of song that pretty much only fans of the modern rock genre know, and people who don't are likely to tune out. Cook really had a lot of pitch problems in the beginning of this song. It seemed too low for him. It sounded better toward the end. As Paula (in a rare moment of clarity) pointed out, the song seemed to end before it really got going.

Round Three - The Producers' Picks

David Archuleta - "Longer": C

It doesn't get much cheesier than the late Dan Fogelberg's "Longer." I'm not sure why the producers would pick this song for David Archuleta. I thought the idea was to give the contestants something that sounds like what they would actually record. Is this what they really see for David Archuleta - MOR Adult Contemporary? He did an passable job singing it. It would have been nice if he could have thought of something interesting to do with it, rather than just sing it the way it was written.

Syesha Mercado - "Hit Me Up": C-

The producers went more modern with Syesha by giving her a song from the Happy Feet soundtrack. While I appreciate the effort to make Syesha sound current, I don't think this was a very good choice. The song didn't give Syesha much room for her own interpretation. There wasn't a lot of melody to it. It was more of a dance track, with too much spotlight on the backing vocalists.

David Cook - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing": B+

I guess one of Aerosmith's worst songs is (according to Simon Cowell) "one of the greatest songs ever written." Though not a great choice by the producers, David made the most of it. I thought this was a very good performance. He sounded strong throughout, but he really shined at the end. He made the smart choice of making no attempt to sound like the incomparable Steven Tyler. He succeeded in making this one his own.

Best Of The Night:

David Cook - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"
David Cook - "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

Worst Of The Night:

David Arhuleta - "With You"
David Cook - "Dare You To Move"

Advancing To The Finals:

David Cook and David Archuleta

I was kind of hoping Syesha had a chance of pulling an upset, but based on tonight's performances, I do not think that will be the case.