About last night: Birth years make for poor song choices

In what was an overall off night, a few noteworthy performances were able to shine through when the Top 8 finalists took to the stage in the face of baby pictures clouding the big monitor. Birth years may be a favorite theme of the contestants according to Ryan, but it is almost never a favorite of the voting audience.

As usual, Top 8 night had the producers trying to fit way too many pigs in a blanket, as evidenced by the episode's 9:06 end time. Ryan did his best to rush through his speaking parts, but the judges' comments in the beginning slowed the whole thing down, most notably Paula's incoherent ramblings.

Kicking off the night was the eldest of the eight remaining finalists, Danny, whose rendition of "Stand By Me" used the arrangement set forth by Mickey Gilley. The arrangement was both Danny's best friend and his worst enemy, as it went from slow and forgettable to a little bit happenin' to all over the place. Simon actually liked the performance as a whole, though, while the other three salivated over the underwhelming offering Danny had following a spectacular performance last week.

Someone in the same boat is Matt, who did Stevie Wonder proud with "Part-Time Lover" despite having the odds stacked against him. The spectacle should have been a huge disaster based on song choice alone but Matt held it down while looking the part of and Idol. Since he went second to last, he had to endure snippets of critiques in comparison to his fellow finalists that went before him, which probably did more harm to him because although he received all positive comments, none were memorable.

A finalist that certainly did not benefit from her critiques was Lil, as her alright-but-not-good-enough take on Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It?" earned her a tongue lashing from the furious four, with Simon really laying it down by telling her "We've lost you. I have no idea who you are anymore." He did offer her constructive criticism, but it went on for far too long and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Despite the frigid reception from the judges, Lil's hollow plea that she would "try harder next week if America gives her a chance" should be enough to earn her a spot in the Top 7.

Someone who surprised last night was for sure Anoop, especially after last week's lazy, haphazard performance. Anoop sang "True Colors," which usually would be grounds for elimination on the spot thanks to its dreariness and the fact that it's been performed to death. But despite a muffled microphone, he delivered in the end. Anoop received a stern talking to from Simon, though, as he said apologies to the judges for "being rude" are unnecessary because they also say things to the contestants that probably shouldn't be said. To add to everything, Kara yelled over the audience's clapping that Anoop never was even rude to him, basically rejecting his sincere apologize he doled out prior to taking the stage. Regardless, Anoop is a good guy for issuing the apology.

The second-best performance of the night came from Allison, as her straight-up version of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" did more good for her than any rocked-out version could have done. Allison's vocals came off a little Broadway in places, but overall there was hardly anything negative to say about the performance. Randy's comparing Allison to Idol-era Kelly Clarkson was out of place and although it's nice and flattering to her, it is sort of a slight to Kelly. That's not to say Allison's bad, she's just not in Kelly's league.

Two finalists that should be worried for tonight's results are Scott and Kris. The logical choice to go home based on the performances would be Scott, as his rendition of Survivor's "The Search Is Over" showed that while he tried to change it up a little bit, he really does not sound as good when he's not behind the piano. He tried his best with the electric guitar, but it could not mask his creaking and croaking vocals (especially the high parts).

Even though it was kind of a tough critique, Paula was able to treat Scott kindly while leveling some serious sense of reality to him. Scott was able to let some humor out, telling Paula he was "letting his punk side out" with the electric guitar, but it might not be enough to save him.

Kris, on the other hand, did a pretty decent job on Don Henley's "All She Wants to Do Is Dance." But decent doesn't always translate to votes, and the judges' lukewarm comments coupled with the overall forgettableness of Kris and things are not looking too bright for him tonight. Definitely expect a showing in the Bottom 3.

And then there was Adam. While I have been pretty rough on him this season, I have to give credit where credit is due. Just the fact that he was able to get Simon on his feet deserves props in of itself. Adam was able to retain a sense of vulnerability and raw emotion on Gary Jules' "Mad World." The lighting combined with the eerie instrumentation definitely set him up to have a "moment," and by estimations he did just that. It is fair to say it's too early in the season for him to have his finest showing, but whether or not this is his peak, Top 8 week will be looked back as a pivotal moment for Adam.

Tonight will be a test to see which finalist has the stronger fan base, as Kris or Scott will have to say goodbye to their Idol dreams. Check back later to see my predictions for how tonight will play out.