Tonight’s them for American Idol is birth year. Contestant’s can sing any song from the year they were born, which basically means it will be songs of the early 80′s.  Of the eight contestants remaining only two are females, Allison Iraheta and Lil Rounds.

Danny Gokey – ‘Stand By Me’ – A unique arrangement by Danny on this classic from 1980.  Danny is the oldest contestant in the contest and that is kind of sad to an old man like myself. Gokey was very solid and finished very strong. He has yet to have a bad week and is heading towards a finale against Lambert.  Grade: A-

Kris Allen – ‘All She Wants To Do is Dance’ – I am not sure about this song selection.  In fairness there was not much to choose from 1985.  I am not a fan of Kris tonight. The arrangement and band are horrible!  Kris hasn’t been horrible, he has done all he can with this weak song.  Grade: C+

Lil Rounds – ‘What’s Love Gotta Do With It’ – Great song selection for Lil tonight.  She has had one of the best makeovers in ‘Idol’ history to date.  A great song selection, but Tina Turner really rocked this song back in 1984.  It is hard not to compare Lil to Tina’s original.  She could have really rocked this out tonight, but it is a very mediocre performance for the girl from Memphis.  Turner was born in Nutbush, Tennessee, which is about 45 minutes outside of Memphis. Grade: C

Anoop Desai – ‘True Colors’ – I caught a quick glimpse of Anoop before the break, and with Ryan’s lead in that he will be singing ‘True Colors,’ I think it might be safe to say that Anoop will be singing his next to last song tonight, with a repeat performance tomorrow night.  Now let’s see how he actually does in his lime green and white striped sweater.  Not a bad performance by Anoop, but he should probably still be forced to give up his man card.  One of his better performances of recent weeks.  He did his own version of ‘True Colors’ which is (almost) always a good thing.  Grade: B

Scott MacIntyre – ‘The Search Is Over’ – The ballad boy went behind the mic with a guitar of all things with a song that he probably would have been best behind the piano.  This classic Journey song was not so classic by Scott.  I think Lil and maybe even Kris were worse tonight so far, but more of the same ole’ bore from Scott.  On second and third thoughts I didn’t like it at all.  Props (no pun) for Scottie coming out with a guitar.  And Paula has pink lipstick all over her teeth.  Grade: D+

Allison Iraheta – ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ – One of my favorite songs of all-time by Bonnie Rait. She looks 100x better and more mature tonight on appearance alone.  She is amazing for a 16-year old. At some point, likely soon, she will be the only remaining female in the contest.  She is diverse from doing No Doubt to Bonnie Rait.  The best performance of the night so far.  A very heart filled performance.  Grade: A

Matt Giraud – ‘Part Time Lover’ – Mr. Soul is back tonight after a horrific performance last week.  He brought more funk than E.Brown during Rush week.  Matt totally rocked this song and made it his own. Matt was brave to tackle a Stevie Wonder song but he pulled it off.  His vocals were on fire and the best performance of the night…so far!  Grade: A+

Adam Lambert – ‘Mad World’ – It must be nice that the producers let Lambert go last every night.  So Adam didn’t like sports but preferred playing dress up? Shocker!  I am not liking this song at all so far. Surely he will pick it up and rock it at some point.  Sadly there was not much rocking going on. The judges seem to fall all over this guy though like he is the Barack Messiah!  Even Simon gave this cat a standing ovation.  I am glad they liked it, because I didn’t.  The song is from 1982 and was originally by the band Tears for Fears.  Regardless of what I think, Adam is going to be in the finals.  Grade: B+

Winners: Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey

In the Middle: Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds

Losers: Anoop Desai, Scott MacIntyre

Matt Giraud improved his standing the most this week.  Anoop and Scott were again near the bottom, with Scott likely to be given a ticket home tomorrow night.  I believe the bottom three tomorrow night will be Anoop, Scott, and Lil.  The favorites to win it all at this point are Matt Giraud, Adam Lambert, and Danny Gokey, with Allison Iraheta as a dark horse.

VIEW WHO GOT ELIMINATED HERE