If you are a fan of musical theater, this was an exciting night for you. Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the kings of Broadway and has created some of the most memorable, and longest running, musicals of all time, so it was nice to hear some of those tonight.

Big voices reigned supreme and danced all over the singer-songwriter-style competition. If you could read and comprehend a lyric, you excelled tonight- even moreso, if you actually saw the production the song came from.  

I gave credit where credit was due here. You can't just sing these songs - you do have to inhabit them - that's what makes people come back to the shows again and again. Syesha did it. Carly did it. And most surprisingly, David C. did it showing extraordinary versitility and a genuine love of music that could just win him this competition.

What did you think? Who did you love? Who did you hate? Who surprised you the most?

Here are my thoughts:

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Singer: Syesha Mercado

Song: One Rock N Roll Too Many

Rants & Raves: Syesha hits her stride at last. From the moment she stepped on the stage, it was pretty clear that she needs to sing in character instead of as herself. This was far and beyond her best performance to date. She sounded great and pleased me with her choice of an upbeat tune at last!

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Jason Castro

Memory

Ok, I love Jason Castro, but this didn't work so well. It pains me to say but the biggest problem with some of these songs is that they have to be understood to be sung well. Cats was my first musical and nothing has ever eclipsed it for me. By the time that old cat comes out and sings "Memory", you feel swept away with emotion. I didn't get that here. Jason got the aching down in his voice, but not the haunting feel that the song should have. He needed a crash course in Cats to make this work. Too bad. Oddly enough though, he kind of looked like one of the scraggly cats while he sang. Must be the dreads.

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Brooke White

You Must Love Me

Brooke had one do-over already. Should we give her another? I'm not so sure - especially because as Simon said, it did nothing to calm her nerves. I'd like to think that Brooke rented Evita before she sang so she could understand how the song fit into the story, but I don't think that happened. She had some good notes, showed some nice vulnerability, but overall, it wasn't up to par. This could spell disaster for her.

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David Archuleta

Think of Me

David A. turns Phantom of the Opera into a boyband concert and it works! Tweens all over the country must have had to be resuscitated after that performance. It was a pretty brilliant thing to do on ALW night.

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Carly Smithson

Jesus Christ Superstar

Is that a smile on Carly's face? Is she having fun? I gotta say, I like this. She rocked it out and it was a great fit for her. Everything worked from her strut to her dress. I think it was one of her best performances and the "Simon Loves Me" t-shirt was hilarious. Where can I get one of those?

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David Cook

Music of the Night

Oh what a difference a gradual makeover makes. David C. is starting to look hot and when he's singing from Phantom - one of the sexiest Broadway musicals ever - whoa. This was a stunning performance. He sounded amazing and best of all, he got it. He's great at interpretation and this was no exception. Plus, he still sounded like a rocker at times. Bravo!

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Top performances: David Cook, Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado

Most likely to go home: Brooke White

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TELL US: Do you have a favorite performance from last night? Who's going home?

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