American Idol 8.5 - The Top 8 sing songs from the year they were born

Well, the adorable but odd Megan finally flew the coop last week. It wasn't much of a surprise, but I'm sorry to see her go. I hope she gets some real vocal training and tries again to break into this business. She's interesting and quirky and I think has more star potential by far than someone like Anoop or even Lil.

Tonight the hopefuls will each be singing songs from the year they were born. That means I should be a happy camper with a bunch of '80s music coming down the line. Yay.

Danny Gokey
Stand By Me (Mickey Gilley, 1980)
Personally, I prefer the be-bop/do-wop version of this song. But for being a weird disco-y version of a classic song Danny did a good job of it. This boy will definitely sell records, whether or not he is the ultimate winner of this competition.

Kris Allen
All She Wants To Do Is Dance (Don Henley, 1985)
He's in the mosh pit again. Whatever. I guess this is an OK version of the song; but honestly, I didn't love it. I thought it was kinda boring. I think the judges are right on.

Lil Rounds
What's Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner, 1984)
This is probably Lil's best performance in a few weeks. That said, I feel like she's dragging the tempo. Her pitch is suffering somewhat because she's oversinging/shouting in places where she is trying to pump up the energy. I'm not thrilled with her performance. She did look really great tonight though - I love the eye makeup.

Anoop Desai
True Colors (Cindy Lauper, 1986)
I'm sure the Anoop Troop will love this. I think he just wrecked one of the great songs of the '80s. *shrug* I liked the last note. That's about it. I don't know why I don't like Anoop, but I just don't. This is not a recording I would ever spend money on.

Scott MacIntyre
The Search Is Over (Survivor, 1985)
OK - so we just found out that Scott is a train dude. The train spotters I've known have been bizarre individuals, so that explains a lot. And, hey, something new from Scott tonight. He is playing electric guitar instead of hiding behind the baby grand. It's all bar chords, but it broke it up some and that's cool. This was not the best song for Scott - he definitely oversang in parts. I'm not sure how much longer the likability/pity factor can carry him when vocally he is clearly out of his league.

Allison Iraheta
I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt, 1992)
She's wearing a bizarre dress again. But once again it's made up for by the quality of her performance. She is probably the second-best vocalist in this competition (behind Adam), and definitely deserves to be in the top three (with Adam and Danny). But she also seems to be having trouble finding her audience so who knows.

Matt Giraud
Part Time Lovers (Stevie Wonder, 1985)
Here's the thing - I still don't love Matt. There's something about him that I just find vaguely creepy. Maybe it's the hat. But I recognize the talent he has and can understand why he is doing so well in this competition. He is "in it to win it" and he's did a great job tonight.

That was a near disaster - my Tivo cut off the end of the show because they are seriously over time tonight. However, since I also recorded Fringe, I still have the final performance of the evening. *Phew* I wonder how many viewers were not as lucky as me.

Adam Lambert
Mad World (Tears for Fears, 1982)
Great song. This is one that I don't hear often enough. And Adam did a great job with it. I like the funky staging too - sitting in the middle of the stage in a chair with dark lighting. For some reason the look reminds me of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody video. And I think Simon's reaction says everything that needs saying about this performance - he gave his first standing ovation I think in the history of this show.

So, the best and the worst for the evening? Top honors go to Adam. He was closely followed by Allison, Danny, Creepy Matt, and Kris.

At the bottom of the heap tonight are Scott, Lil, and Anoop. Scott should be the one to head home, but it could just as easily be Lil. What scares me is that it may even be a better singer who goes home - Allison has had some trouble getting votes despite her mad skillz. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow night.