TV

Shannon Elizabeth is young and attractive but without much of a fanbase -- maybe that's why she was eliminated on Tuesday night after scoring her best dance of the season with her Monday night tango. Then again, the same could be said of Cristian de la Fuente and he made it into the final five. One difference between the two is that he had his worst dance of the season the night before with a distastrous samba. Another is that he is a man, and as any DWTS fan knows, men have the inside track in this dance competition. We'll see how much farther viewer-voter sympathy can carry Cristian -- he was already the weakest dancer of the remaining field, before he ruptured a tendon in his left arm.

So here's how I'd rank 'em:
BEST
David Cook: He continues to prove his awesomeness every week. It's sad that he's going through some family health problems, though, because you can see the pain in his eyes.
Syesha Mercado: She's begun to deliver in a way that she should have been doing all along. But better late than never.

SO-SO
David Archuleta: I know everybody loves him, but all of his songs sound the same to me. I tend to lose interest halfway through or something. Harsh, I know!

WORST
Brooke White: Why do "I'm a Believer"? As Paula pointed out, the gang just performed that song in one of their silly little group videos. It was indeed a nightmare, as Simon put it.
Jason Castro (sob): I rather enjoyed his first song, but "September Morn" didn't work. On any level. Still, if I were a betting woman, I'd predict that he stays at least another week.

I take back what I'd said earlier about my favorite Neil Diamond tune: It's "I Am, I Said." Brooke didn't really do it justice, but it's a fun song to sing along with in the car.

OK, I agree with Paula's premonition: His "September Morn" was a mess. Sad to say.

After the gang finished their first round of songs, the judges were asked to quickly weigh in. Paula told Jason that with his SECOND song, "I felt like your usual charm was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty. The two songs made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four."
Finally, someone stopped her Twilight Zone moment. "He's just done the first song," Randy said, rather gently.
"Oh my God! I thought you sang twice," she said.
Yes, we get that. We just don't know why.

He picked my favorite Neil Diamond ditty, "Sweet Caroline." But was it just me, or did he stray a bit too much from the melody in an attempt to be "different"? We'll see if it was just me later, when the judges finally speak.

David took an unknown song, "I'm Alive," and made it quite catchy, while Brooke chose the very well-known "I'm a Believer" and made me a nonbeliever. In her, anyway.

Let me first say that I hate that the judges aren't weighing in until after each singer's second performance. That seems wrong. How are they supposed to remember everything about the first one? We're a short-attention-span society, after all.
I thought Jason did quite well with "Forever in Blue Jeans." Perfect song for him. And might I add that he looks teen-dreamy cute this evening.

He's looking quite rested and healthy. I'd like to pocket the name of his plastic surgeon should I someday opt to go that route.

At the start of the show, Ryan walked past the lineup of Top Fivers and gave his standard "What will happen tonight?" talk. Four of the five singers cracked smiles and generally looked happy to be there, while David Cook remained super-serious. But I guess that's his thing.

Darla will be on board around 7 to blog during tonight's episode. Stay tuned!

Read Miley Cyrus photo 'scandals' reveal phenom's growing pains and tell us what you think.

See "the most controversial shot by Annie Leibovitz."

More photos on VanityFair.com.

Miley Cyrus says Vanity Fair photo spread embarrasses her