WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Let’s blow right by the obvious fact that Syesha absolutely  needs to get the heave-ho this week so we can get to the main  event: David vs. David. Instead, let’s touch on more meaningless but curious fare.

I’m friends with a radio disc jockey down in Richmond, Va., who  astounded me this season by opposing my No. 1 “American Idol” pet peeve. Examiner friends, maybe you can back me against this wrongheaded she-devil.

During many performances, you may have noticed the camera swing around singers in a panoramic view, offering a sweeping, unusual perspective on the action. Meanwhile, the performers will follow the camera as it circles, mugging intently and nearly executing a 360-degree pirouette to flash their pearly whites to the “Idol” masses. It has always bugged me.

As I was watching a performance with my friend, she remarked that one of the contestants had lost points in her book because he failed to maintain eye contact with the camera for an extended period of time. I was too stunned to recall the rest of her argument, but it had something to do with engaging the TV audience, showing that you are a responsive, interactive performer, and that eye contact is immeasurably important. Whatever.

I was shocked that a person who seemingly had sway over the public could be so foolish.

When contestants follow the camera like a trained puppy, it reeks of  desperation. It makes the singer look needy, unnatural and untrained. It’s pathetic, really. If you watch the superstars of music they rarely heed the camera;  they are either too into themselves or their music to care otherwise. It’s the arrogance, the self-importance (or at least the authentic commitment to the music) that’s the secret sauce. An unconfident superstar is like a black-and-white flower garden.

Keep this in mind as this week’s musical menage a trois performs the contestants’ choice, the judges’ choice and the producers’ choice. (C’mon, you know I’m right.)

DAVID ARCHULETA, 17

» Murray, Utah

David blew the competition out of the water last week. It was like Kobe Bryant playing H-O-R-S-E with third-graders. I’ll have plenty more to say on this diaper dandy next week during the preview of the season finale (such as how producers have banned his overbearing father from all “Idol” rehearsals).

Fuller Power Rank: 1

Vegas odds: 6/5

Turn up or tune out: David’s superior talent in this competition is blinding. He has all the edge of a tennis ball, though, which will leave the door open for his rockin’-and-rollin’ David doppelganger, Mr. Cook. Turn up.

DAVID COOK, 25

» Blue Springs, Mo.

Oddsmakers had Cook and Archuleta at even-steven last week — but you never would have known it considering Cook’s far inferior performances. This week should prove better for the self-professed “word nerd,” who will be advised by Those in the Know what’s good for him. (Bonus points: Cook made early steps toward the career of a self-absorbed rock star last week by completely blowing off an on-air request for a date Wednesday from one of his fawning “Idol” fans. Cold, dude, cold.)

Fuller Power Rank: 2

Vegas odds: 10/13

Turn up or tune out: A serious misstep — or the prevailing history of a guy vs. gal finale — could send Cook packing, but this is a long shot at best. Mark it down, folks: We’re going to have a Duel of the Davids. Turn up.

SYESHA MERCADO, 21

» Sarasota, Fla.

Syesha has had every effort to prove her punch here, but she simply lacks the horsepower. Her ballads lack magic; her high notes fly low; her sugar lacks sweet; her step needs some pep. I’ve been patiently riding the Syesha bus for a while now — never really enjoying the trip — waiting for a wilder ride that has never arrived. Now the bus is chugging to a halt. I have no reservations getting off.

Fuller Power Rank: 3

Vegas odds: 18/1

Turn up or tune out: We’ve yearned for some personality, some raw emotion from Syesha all season. It finally came last week in a bizarre breakdown, the tears pouring down Syesha’s face as she cited the stress of the week and the deep significance of her song. (She was more likable as a fake.) What to do besides hand her some tissues ... and her walking papers? Tune out.

sfuller@dcexaminer.com