DaveChung.com - Blogging Entertainment | American Idol Results - Top 4 Named: April 30, 2008

As has been the case for nearly all of Season 7, the right person was eliminated tonight as American Idol named its Top 4 on Wednesday night by sending Brooke White home. After tonight’s show, Season 7’s Top 4 have officially been named and they are Syesha Mercado, David Cook, David Archuleta, and Jason Castro.

It wasn’t a shock and really, it was what I thought should happen. I previously thought that Brooke was one of, if not the top female of Season 7, but her recent performances made this departure feel like it’s coming at the right time.

Brooke’s best performance by far was “Love is a Battlefield,” which is the Brooke that I’ll remember, though she had some other great moments along the way. Brooke seemed to get along well with the other girls, but got a little weepy near the end, and ultimately seemed to appreciate her time on the show, which was nice to see.

With Brooke White leaving the show, Syesha is left as the last girl standing this season, which I don’t think anyone expected. Many of us tabbed Kady Malloy, Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, and even Brooke White, as the competition’s top girl at some point in the process, but it’s Syesha Mercado who stands as the top girl in the competition and it’s well deserved.

Ryan also took a minute to address rumors about Paula’s blunder last night, where she thought Jason Castro had performed twice, when he only had performed once. He said she was part of the American Idol family and that the rumors were not true. It was a classy and nice gesture by Ryan and the show’s producers considering that it seemed to be an honest mistake on live TV.

Now that we’ve named our Top 4, I thought it would be good time to review each of the top performances of this year’s Top 4 as we’re now in the home stretch of what has been a very fast Season 7.

Syesha Mercado - “Vanishing,” “Thank the Lord for the Night Time,” “I Will Always Love You,” or “One Rock n’ Roll Too Many”

Many have called Syesha the most technically gifted female singer in the competition. She often feels like she’s a half step away from being incredible. She’ll go for the big note, even at the risk of having it be flat. She’s always bursting with energy that makes her performances not only watchable, but some of the best on the night.

Jason Castro - “Hallelujah,” or “Over the Rainbow”

Vocally, Jason is at the biggest disadvantage in the Top 4. However, Jason has shown the ability to really take songs over, make them his own, and infuse his own laid back style to overcome his vocal limitations through unique arrangements. These two performances show that there is a place for his acoustic style in the competition and while he’s not going to win if paired up with one of the Davids, he’s more than deserving of making the Top 4.

David Archuleta - “Imagine,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Smoky Mountain Memories,” “Angels,” or “When You Believe.”

With at least two or three performances that will forever be regarded as “All Time” Idol performances that will be talked about for as long as American Idol exists, David Archuleta has been consistently great all season. His smooth vocals and pitch perfect tone won us over way back in Top 20 week with “Imagine” and he’s carried that momentum ever since. He’s long been the favorite to win Season 7, but his competition will ultimately come from the other David in the competition.

David Cook - “Hello,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Day Tripper,” “Billie Jean,” “Always Be My Baby,” or “Music of the Night”

Mixing the arrangement talents of Blake Lewis with the stage presence Chris Daughtry is David Cook, who came on a few weeks later than front runner Archuleta. David has proven that he can turn any song into not only a listenable rock song, but an incredible song. With the toughest themes that a rocker has ever faced up until this point in the competition, this season’s last standing rocker has the chance to prove that a rocker can win American Idol, something that has yet to be accomplished.