It was "choose a song from the year you were born" night, and we got to learn more about the Idols and their childhood. Everybody came off pretty well in the clip packages - it really is a likable bunch - and the actual singing was generally decent, with a couple people doing better than I figured, and a few doing worse.

Danny Gokey is the oldest contestant, born in 1980. He picked "Stand By Me" -- or at least some version of it I've never heard. Lame; why not just pick an actual song from 1980? I think he sounded terrible, very thin and weak at the beginning especially. And then it went into this really bizarre soft R&B beat, which then transitioned into this awkward breakdown portion - why would anyone pick this? It is a terrible arrangement of a great song, and it loses any connection with the lyrics, which are plaintive and lovely. I hated this, and I thought Gokey's voice was the weakest it has been yet. He gets worse every week, it's true.

Kris Allen was born in 1985. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley. Now THIS is a good song. But I couldn't understand a word he said, and I know this song. It was all marble-mouthed and probably his worst performance to date too. To his credit it was funky with some nice horn back-up, and a decidedly different twist on the song. It didn't sound 80's at all, which I suspect was his main goal. I agree with what Kara said: his jazzy take lost some of the youth, and he didn't command the stage at all. And as Simon pointed out, kind of forgettable.

Lil Rounds was born in 1984. "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Tina Turner. She was working that stage. She had swagger. Her vocals were good. She was finally PRESENT, because I seriously felt like she had checked out for the past three weeks. It was a really solid performance, and by god, she needed it. She connected fully with the song, and even though the last note was a little off (and what was up with that aggressive keyboard wash that came in halfway through?), I think she did really well. But I will say this: it was essentially just Tina drag. She didn't add a lot to it. And the judges called her out on it, even if they were harsh. I mean, she was about to cry. That was hard to watch. I disagree that Tina is not who she is - how can you say she's a Mary J. Blige type of artist one week, but not a Tina Turner type of artist? They're the same woman a generation or two apart.

Anoop Desai was born in 1986. "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper. My initial reaction was, "Oh, shit!" But honestly, it wasn't terrible. Again, when Anoop actually focuses on singing he does just fine. He has a really nice voice. This was stripped down, very intimate. He put a bit of an R&B spin on it in parts. But mostly he just sang the song, which is beautiful (love Cyndi). And he did it really well. A few pitchy notes but overall I was impressed, especially since I was ready for him to get the hook this week.

Scott McIntyre was born in 1985. "The Search is Over" by Survivor. Oh, we're back to this shit again. More cheesy-ass adult-contempo crap from Scott, and the vocals were pretty much terrible. It sounded like a vaguely tuneful yawn for most of the song. He broke it down in one place, and I appreciated the injection of energy, but then he launched into this truly ghastly falsetto. Egads. Like last week, I think it showed how weak his voice is, and the judges largely let him off the hook for it.

Allison Iraheta was born in 1992. "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. Another smart song choice for Allison. Fits right in her smoky-vocals pocket. She sang it well, especially when she dragged it up into her higher register. But I will say it's a little unsettling for a 16 year old to sing such an adult-sounding song. It made her seem a lot older than she is. But weirdly, she pulled it off. Simon critiqued her personality, and my friend and I agree that while we like her, she is slightly off-putting.

Matt Giraud was born in 1985. "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder. How has that zit in the middle of his forehead not gone away after like three weeks? Weird. I thought the vocals were terrible in the beginning, and then he launched into his typical Timberfake melismatic bullshit. The song was much better in his higher register, but he blew it with his falsetto. Randy called it vocally one of the best of the night. Kara said it was incredible on every level. Paula gave it a standing ovation. The judges were on crack, and even more useless than ever. I realize they were under the gun time-wise, but way to critique the living shit out of Lil and pick on Allison for her attitude but then allow Matt to just slip by completely unscathed.

Adam Lambert was born in 1982. "Mad World" by Tears for Fears. Love this song. Adam interpreted it in a fairly predictable way: he slowed it down, lots of dramatic lighting, very little instrumentation. But his voice sounded fantastic. He's been a lot less screechy over the past few weeks, and I'd like to thank him for that. I feel like he's tamed the falsetto considerably. It was totally dramatic, but hey, that's Adam. Did you know he didn't like sports? Shocking. And I bet the judges all feel like crap that they gave Matt Giraud all that BS smoke-ass-blowing, since only Simon basically got to tell him that he was, once again, best of the night.

In danger: Lil, Scott, and either Allison, Anoop, or Matt. Hard to pick from those last three. But I think it's pretty much got to be Scott going home, no?