The Top 6 sing the music of the Rt Hon. Lord Lloyd-Webber of Sydmonton

Considering that "that was very Broadway" is considered an insult on Idol, it will be interesting to see what happens when our top six sing Andrew Lloyd Webber. (There's no hyphen in the surname, says Wikipedia, but there is a hyphen in the title. It's one of those English things.)

His lordship is attempting to impress upon them the idea that words have meaning, which is always a stretch for the Idol contestants.

Syesha is in the sacrificial first spot, singing "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many." I'd put good money on Simon's using the word 'cabaret' in his critique. I'd describe this as boringly competent, but M thinks she's found her genre. Randy and Paula agree with M; Simon says it was very sexy. So I guess I'm the only one who wasn't wowed.

They warn us that after the break Jason will sing "Memory." Oh no! M: "We'll see what happens when a frog turns into a cat."

Boy, he really doesn't have the range for this. In the parts that he can sing, he goes for the disconnected, whiny, twangy, grunting approach to expressing emotion. The low bits were absolutely wretched. The less said, the better, really. So Paula goes on and on . . .

Brooke is singing "You Must Love Me." I can't believe she made another false start. They're not going to coo this time about how that shows her professionalism. You have to admit, though, that Lloyd Webber has done wonders getting her to connect with the words. Considering the limitations of her voice, she does very well with this. The judges are unenthusiastic. Paula is more than usually incoherent. Were the quaveriness and constriction in her voice the result of nerves from her false start, as Simon thinks, or just her somewhat limited voice trying to express emotion, as I think? But M puts his finger on a real problem. Lloyd Webber thinks of all of these songs as having the exact meaning that they have in the context of the musical, but insisting on that meaning is only going to make them unintelligible as stand-alone performances.

David Archuleta gets hugged by various girls and is sternly warned by his lordship to keep his eyes open during "Think of Me." This is an absolutely brilliant song choice for him, and he sells the crap out of it. Coming after all the raggedness and off-kilter-ness, that was wonderfully assured and lyrical. Simon dismisses it as merely "pleasant." But David's eyes were open the whole time!

Carly had picked the wrong song and Lloyd Webber cuts her off and makes her change to "Jesus Christ, Superstar." Good for him! And good for her -- this is a great song for her. If Syesha was in her element tonight, how much more is Carly in her element. And it's a better element, to my taste. M: "But it's not an exportable song." I suspect a lot of people may have warmed to Carly tonight for the first time.

David Cook quite sensibly chooses "The Music of the Night." Lloyd Webber wants raw passion but sophisticated passion. Yeah, good luck with that. Have we ever heard these timbres out of his voice before? I'm quite impressed with the changes of color and tone. And he hits the glory note. Hits it. I didn't know he had all that in him. It reminds me of the time Chris Daughtry sang "What a Wonderful World." Simon doesn't seem to have cared for it much. M, indignant, makes an obscene comment about what David just did with that song.

Recaps: Syesha has fun, Jason whines tremulously and gasps for air, Brooke sings from her throat, David A. sings oh-so-sweetly, Carly finds her diva zone, and David baffles Simon with his incomprehensible awesomeness.

They'll probably just do bottom two this week. I'd say Brooke and Jason are in danger, and Brooke will go home. M is just sure that Brooke is going home. Very sure.