American Idol Weekly Rundown-Top 8

'Inspirational Week' had an eye-rolling sound to it but it turned out to be a surprisngly good one. THe group had to sing songs that were 'inspirational' in nature but thankfully, very few of them chose the spiritual route. Most of the song choices were simply 'uppers'.

The Best:

1.Jason Castro-His rendition of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' was perfect. Though I didnt see much room for him to make such a distinctive version his own, he did it brilliantly. THe vocals were better than they've been all season and yes, he even played the ukelele. It made me sigh.

The Good:

2. Kristy Lee Cook-Gasp! WHat a shocker! She did a great job with Martina McBride's 'Anyway'-a song that I find to be a guilty pleasure. I never would have thought the gal had it in her, based on past insipid performances (and knowing the strength of Mcbride's big ol' vocals). But Kristy held her own.

3. David Archuleta-'Angels' by RObbie Williams is a GREAT pop song. I am an unabashed fan of Williams and this song was on his 'The Ego Has Landed' cd, which I love. Robbie's version reminds me of Elton John and it is fantastic. I never thought of it as being actually ABOUT angels but per Jessica Simpson (who did a mediocre cover a few years ago) and David A. last night, it evidently is. Anyway, David did a pretty good job, though I wasnt as crazy about the 'runs' as Randy was. The r & b vibe to the song took away from its power, I felt.

4. Michael Johns'- I liked that he chose 'Dream On' as his song because it wasnt a predictable one for 'inspirational' week. However, my view is that if you can't sing this song BETTER than Steven Tyler-you should probably not try it. He did it well but comparably, it suffered.

5. Carly-'The Show Must Go On' by Queen was her choice. She sang it well-her huge voice was again impressive. However, I agree w/ Simon that it seemed almost 'angry' in parts.

The Bad:

6. Brooke White-'You've GOt a Friend'. Yawn. A nice song. She sang it nicely. But it was just downright wrong for a singing competition. Very bland....yet again.

7. Syesha Macado-When Fantasia Barrino sang 'I Believe' during the AI finale a few seasons back, it shook the rafters. Even I found myself in tears during her performance because she somehow managed to sob through almost the whole song without her vocals being affected. It was one of the highlights of AI's many seasons. Syesha was NOT able to sing it with the same passion or skill. It was a bad choice, no matter how much she loves the song.

The Ugly:

8. David Cook-The song choice was 'Innocent' by Our Lady Peace. And it was very very flat. I hated the whole thing, especially the redundant chorus. David did not have a good night last night. His vocals were on, I guess, but the song was definitely a poor selection.