'Idol' Syesha has a bright future

I'm a little sad our hometown "American Idol," Syesha Mercado, was sent packing last night.

I'm convinced that whoever would have been in Mercado's top three spot, had it not been her, would have been voted off the show anyway. It seems no one can beat the two David's who are in the final two. Their pre-teen and teenage fans would make sure of that.

Yet Syesha came so close. But she's also come so far.

Who would of thought someone from our own backyard would become one of the top three contestants on one of the hottest shows around. She's inspired a crop of future Florida "Idol" contenders, that's for sure.

I'm sure Syesha will be scooped up by Broadway, though. I can't imagine her not being on a New York stage, following the path of other "Idol" contestants such as Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Fantasia. Mercado's sister, Xtavia Bailey, believes she'll will go far — whether it's on Broadway or with a record label, she said last night during a brief phone call I had with her after the results show. Bailey's hopeful we'll be hearing more on Syesha's budding and promising career in the future.

On another note, were you just as disappointed that "Idol" producers didn't show any of our scenic shores during the hometown visit segments? Just crowd scenes. They didn't even show her singing the national anthem at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg later on that day. But I did love the part where a woman practically threw her baby in Syesha's arms while trying to get a picture as the singer was being whisked away by her handlers. That's TV at its best.

So now it's down to a David and David showdown. I'm rooting for David Cook, the rocker, to win. He's got more of an edge to him than the "gee-golly" David Archuleta. But whoever wins, both will have a great career (let's hope David A.'s dad doesn't ruin the boy's career with his stage dad high jinks). From last night's hometown segments, both guys already have a good size teenage fan base. And that's what you need to sell hits these days. — January Holmes