SYESHA MERCADO
Don't let that Mary Sunshine smile fool you: Syesha Mercado means business. The 21-year-old actress from Sarasota, Fla., seriously intends to win this competition, as evidenced by her goose-bump-inducing covers of ''Saving All My Love for You'' and ''Me and Mr. Jones.'' Even when her voice gave out during Hollywood Week, she plowed through ''Chain of Fools'' with a vocal fury Aretha herself would have to applaud. The judges' praise made the perky Syesha tear up, one of the few moments she hasn't been seen grinning from ear to ear. But her true star-making moment came during the Feb. 20 performance of ''Tobacco Road,'' in which she brought down the house and even coaxed a smile out of Simon. Raved the normally cranky Brit, ''She's just got it.'' —Tim Stack