About last night: How did this batch get so good?

Last night was shockingly...good. Something happened between last week and last night to make what should have been a horrible, awful train wreck of a night actually sound pretty good. Not sure what they put in their coke cups, but it must have been something pretty good.

Before I get to critiquing the performances (and the critiques themselves), I would like to address the impending "twist" that will ultimately transform Season 8 into the U.S. version of The X-Factor. The judges' new found ability to give one of the bottom three dwellers immunity each week will be the downfall of this show. Even though it's not like America really decides everything in the current system, this further judge manipulation will ensure the perfect Top 2 according to the producers, taking away one of the last remaining excitement factors this show has to offer.

Predictability has also been this show's Achilles' heel, but the problem will just be multiplied tenfold with this practice put in place. So congrats judges on killing what little shred of originality this show had left.

Now, on to the night's better than expected performances. Lil kicked things off with a safe choice of "The Way You Make Me Feel." Even though her frilly pink top and chalk-white pants were a bit distracting, her vocals were pretty much on target. Simon did get it right when he called her song choice "lazy," and Lil's lack of performing skills last night didn't do her any favors. Still, she'll be safe for sure.

Scott did the opposite of Lil, sounding much improved over his Top 36 performance because he was much more comfortable in front of his piano. It was easy to see he was in much higher spirits this time around and his comfort level was up. That resulted in his vocals sounding much better.

Other finalists that benefited from their ability to play instruments were Kris and Matt. Kris' vocals actually took a back seat to his guitar skills on "Remember the Time" but that didn't matter much in the long run. Matt's "Human Nature" performance was nothing special, but his piano playing spiced things up. Basically, if you play an instrument there's a good likelihood you will come off sounding better than you are.

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Michael, whose "You Are Not Alone" was actually really listenable aside from the Matt Rogers-esque stage presence. Simon's comments about him being passionate and giving 110% were a little bit overstated, but he definitely understood that Michael was really trying tonight. Jasmine was another contestant that surpassed (very low) expectations, doing her best to combine Michael Jackson's version of "I'll Be There" with Mariah Carey's version (as Randy so astutely pointed out). Jasmine looked more the part last night than ever before, so it will be interesting to see if she could stick it out after tonight.

Among the best vocalists last night were Danny and Allison, as Danny was able to show some personality by attempting to dance and move around while singing an uptempo song very well. Even though Paula's premature declaration that he would be in the finale cheapened the performance, Simon was wise enough to give him props. Allison was able to control her unique vocals fairly well all things considering, but the "zomg sHe's ONlY 16!!??!!?111!?!!" stuff has got to stop now before it continues for the rest of the season.

Adam, while clearly the most seasoned performer of the bunch, received a great deal too much praise because he just does not have the right voice. There were all sorts of screeches and sharp notes that went unchallenged just because the guy has stage presence. But vocals have never really counted for all that much on this show in the first place. As Paula said tonight, expect him in (more likely just outside) the Top 2.

There were two train wrecks tonight and another underwhelming performance. Megan's "Rockin' Robin" was something out of a Disney nightmare, and is it just me or does her tattoo keep growing each week? She looked hot in that red dress but that's about all that can be said about her. Another wild card contestant, Anoop, was a big disappointment considering he was a fan favorite at one point. He probably will not go home, but that is without a doubt the last time he should sing "Beat It." Jorge was the absolute worst last night, though, as his take on a Jackson 5 song earned him five reasons not to stay on the show. Even Paula had to say something not so nice, which is always good to see.

Alexis closed out the show with an under-praised performance of "Dirty Diana" in which she really showed off her rocky side. Although the judges weren't huge supporters of the spectacle, Alexis showed she did belong in the Top 13 to begin with.

One thing that might affect Alexis is the whole #13 phone number, as fans had to remember to dial 1-866-43657-36 to vote for her. The way they went about informing audiences of this change could have been much better, but what should we expect from this show by now?

So there we have it. Looks like the judges' meddling will cause one of the two departing finalists to be more deserving of another shot than a finalist that will escape elimination, but we'll just have to wait and see.