Hollywood House Call

Oh, “American Idol,” why must you break our spirits and crush our souls?

Here are more questions I had after Tuesday’s lackluster “Idol” Final four program (which featured David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado, David Cook and Jason Castro, pictured at left):

1. what is wrong with Jason Castro? the most important performance of his life and he couldn’t bother to learn the lyrics? to one of the best-known songs of all time? why oh why oh why? How obvious was it that, as he told an interviewer last week, he was “ready to go home”?

2. who was mixing the show? Maybe this is a technical thing that only bothered me, but the mixing of the vocals was horrible and did the singers no favors. Whoever was doing the sound mix for the show put the vocals way out front, and you could barely hear the band on some tracks. why? this isn’t remotely the strongest “Idol” Final four — why showcase their voices in a way that seems designed to draw attention to their flaws?

3. though she gets points for effort, how much did Syesha’s first performance remind you of Tina Turner? (Correct answer: aside from the dancing, not much.)

4. Speaking of the teary Syesha, why is she still in the competition? I agreed with Randy — though the post-performance weepiness seemed genuine, her rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come” was screechy and lacking in … well, anything. the singing was unsubtle, the arrangement was weak and it was about 100 times less memorable than anything Sam Cooke ever sang.

5. why does it feel like we’re enduring the last few episodes of “Idol” rather than enjoying them? There’s a grim, death-march quality to this season, and David Archuleta (pictured at left) embodies it. He does have a lovely quality to his voice, and he is undoubtedly talented. I can’t deny that. But I don’t think there are any real experiences informing his performances. He’s aping emotions, not communicating them. And he does appear to be on the verge of collapsing with nerves by the end of each show. why can’t the poor kid relax?

6. why do I fear David Cook (pictured at right) will win “Idol”? He’s the only worthwhile thing about the show at this point, in my opinion. His performance of “Baba O’Riley” was typically offbeat and interesting (yet obviously too short to really work). yet, all things considered, a David-vs.-David finale does not excite me. It’s like warm milk vs. vintage wine. it doesn’t seem fair, yet I think the warm milk will win.

7. How much useless glop will we have to endure during the may 21 finale? all signs point to a likely a David-vs.-David season-ending contest, and all I can ask at this point is that Fox restrain its usual bombast and not overstuff the finale (as it did last year) to the point that the winner is named eight minutes past the show’s declared running time. Is that too much to ask?

Worst 'American Idol' Final four ever?