In case anyone is wondering why ratings for Idol are down, Neil Diamond night should answer your question. Are this years Idols ever going to perform a song written after the 1970's? Didn't they sing current songs once upon a time? Anyway the whole thing was rushed as each contestant sang (if that's what you want to call it) two songs.

Paula nearly threw the proceedings into total chaos as she started commenting on one of the contestant's second songs after the first round of songs, even though Ryan announced repeatedly that they weren't going to comment until both songs had been sung. Evidentially producers rightly noticed that the first five performances were so bad they required some quick comments.

How did Paula have notes on the second performance on a live show? Is she on drugs again? It's sure to be the talk of the entertainment blogs tomorrow. There's probably a easy answer that doesn't involve drugs, but does involve the portions of the night not shown on TV. Paula was reading from her notes; notes she probably took during dress rehearsal where the performances are taped for release on iTunes and the end of show recaps. She really had already seen the second performance even though it had not been performed on the live show. That doesn't mean she's not on booze or pills, just that those probably aren't the reason for the live screwup...

Here are my notes on all ten songs in order, but since I'm not much of a Neil Diamond fan I didn't bother to note the songs because after tomorrow it will all be just a bad memory...

Jason - sounded nice, but fairly boring
David Cook - good execution, so-so song
Brooke - as mess at the beginning, better at the end.
David Archuletta - do not want, ruining Sweet Caroline
Syesha - Dull

Jason - train wreck
David Cook - Best of the night
Brooke - Much, much better than first. Right behind David Cook for best of the night
David Archuletta - feh, I didn't love it, but the judges and teenyboppers will...
Syesha - Better than her first, but that's not saying much.

That leads to this breakdown*** of the top five performers.

The Top Three
1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. David Archuleta

The Bottom Two


4. Syesha Mercado


5. Jason Castro

Jason won't get voted off, Syesha probably will be the one to go...

Here's our running tally of where the Idols stand for the entire season. The ratings are weighted toward the most recent performances (using the "what have you done for me lately" principle) but reflect the entire season of song choices and connection with the voting public.

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke White
4. Syesha Mercado
5. Jason Castro

This week's embarrassing Idol picture of the week.