'Idol' Syesha Mercado's ouster leaves two

During Tuesday's performance segment, "American Idol [ tickets ]" judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul accurately predicted which contestant was packing up and going home Wednesday (5/14): Syesha Mercado. Now it's down to David Cook versus David Archuleta.This week, the contestants performed three songs: one they chose themselves, one chosen by one of the judges (Cowell, Abdul and Randy Jackson), and one chosen by the show's producers. Mercado selected Peggy Lee's "Fever.""I think you will probably regret that decision tomorrow," Cowell said after Mercado sang the cut. "It was quite a lame cabaret performance."Abdul said Mercado's second performance, "Hit Me Up," from the film "Happy Feet," was not good enough to warrant a spot in the finals.Rounding out Mercado's performance was a rendition of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You." Jackson, who selected the song for Mercado, summed up her performance by saying that she was peaking. But it wasn't enough.Archuleta kicked off Tuesday's show with a rendition of Billy Joel's "And So It Goes," a song chosen by Abdul. "Paula chose a dope song for you," Jackson said. "The Billy Joel thing works well for you. You are in the zone. You are in it to win it, baby." The judges weren't as complimentary when Archuleta sang Chris Brown's "With You." Cowell compared his performance to a "Chihuahua trying to be a tiger." Jackson wasn't too kind either. "I applaud the fact that you're trying something new and young," Jackson explained. "But I'm not sure that's the right song. Hearing you sing [the phrase] 'my boo'--I couldn't believe it."For his last song, Archuleta performed "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg, a tune that Cowell called "gooey." Jackson said Archuleta could sing the phone book and be successful, and Abdul dubbed his performance "lovely." Cowell chose Roberta Flack's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for Cook, and Jackson said he wished his cohort would have chosen a different song. Cowell, who said he was not biased, called it Cook's best performance to date. Cook laid into Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move," a performance Jackson described as "pitchy." Abdul softened the blow by acknowledging that it was challenging to condense a three-minute song into a one-minute performance. Cowell agreed. The producers chose Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" for Cook, who garnered great reviews for his take on the song. Abdul predicted she would see Cook "in the finals."Jackson called it one of the greatest songs of all time and said, "I have to tell you: David Cook wins the night."