Syesha's parents, fiance in audience

Being one of the bottom three contestants on last week's "American Idol" gave Sarasota's Syesha Mercado the "kick in the butt" she's been needing to make herself into an Idol stand-out, she said last night on the show.

I was glad to hear that and her great performance of The Beatles hit "Yesterday," which the judges gave rave reviews on. I agree with Simon Cowell when he told her afterwards that the song was her best performance so far on the show. The transformation was like night and day between Tuesday night and past performances. Let's hope she can keep it up.

Another reason for Syesha's new-found inspiration could have been her parents sitting in the audience for the first time, along with her fiance, Hess Wesley, who I believe has been supporting Syesha from the Hollywood sidelines for the past two weeks.

Overall, I found last night's show boring, even Simon said it was a weird night. I love The Beatles, but to have semi-amateurs sing these tunes for two weeks in a row just isn't cutting it. Hopefully next week, they will be singing tunes they are more generationally familiar with.

Who may go home this week:
Kristy Lee Cook, let's put an end to the misery. Her performance of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was lackluster and emotionless.

Michael Johns, he's been hit and miss with me. I don't think he's a great stage performer. His "A Day in the Life" was so off key in parts, I couldn't believe my ears. Poor Paula Abdul was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, saying that he was not accustomed to wearing an ear piece as he sings, but moments later, he admitted there was no ear piece!

Ramiele Malubay might be saying good-bye to "Idol" too with another lackluster performance of "I Should Have Known Better" that didn't show any spunk whatsoever. But at least she tried to do something different. Maybe a bottom three vote will wake her up too, if she survives another week.

Surprise performances for the night:
Syesha's "Yesterday," it was like a breath of fresh air for someone who seemed to be barely getting by on the show.

Brooke White's "Here Comes the Sun" did look a little forced, especially the "dance" moves, but the vocals were great. She's likely to make top three.

David Cook wowed me again with another one of my favorite Beatles' hits "Day Tripper" — during the song, he also let loose on a voice box. It was excellent.
— January Holmes