American Idol Season 8 – Top 7 – Performance – VIDEO

Movie director Quentin Tarantino is this week’s mentor for the “Songs of the Cinema” theme, and he did the cold opening with Ryan! Hee.

They ditched the stupid Judges/Ryan intro.   Good.   Paula is wearing a big ass crazy rhinestone dog collar thingy.   Simon blames the girls for last week’s overrun, and says that the judges will only be able to talk two at a time for each contestant.

Cool video package on Quentin! Ha ha, they are replaying the classic Diana DeGramo dis from Season 3. He says they are a very good and promises to be as tough as he has to be.

Quentin Tarantino Intro – VIDEO

I was expecting Quentin to be a little, well, meaner. He pretty much loved everybody. And while he gave good advice, sadly, there was much suckage hitting the Idol stage tonight. Best performances were from Kris Allen, Anoop Desai and Adam Lambert. The rest were crappy pitch-fests.

Kris Allen picked the best song–the Academy Award winning “Falling Slowly”. The rest included two Bryan Adams songs (Meh), the putrid “Endless Love”, the schmaltzy “The Rose” and the horrifying “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Blech.

One of the soul boys is going home this week. I’m thinking it’s between Matt and Anoop. But since everyone thinks Kris will be oh-so-safe, he could be a surprise boot. I think the judges would save Allison and Kris–maybe Matt.

Oh, and how pathetic was it that the freaking judges are so freaking incapable of shutting the eff up that they had to resort to two person judging teams for each contestant…and they were STILL running short on time tonight. Gah.

More in my Idol wrap up tomorrow…

Live blog and VIDEOS after the JUMP…

Allison Iraheta – …Dont Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith – Armageddon – Allison says her session with Q felt like an audition. “It was awesome” she says. Gah, I hate this song, no matter who is singing it.   It’s a little low for her range.   She’s best on the real soft sweet parts and on the glory notes, but she’s pitchy and hoarse on the rest. Not my favorite Allison performance. Paula says, “You posses the same special sauce as Adam…you don’t compromise your authenticity.” Simon says, “You are the girls only hope left in this competition right now…you’re getting stronger, more confident…you’re believing you’ve got a chance now…we could see you all the way through to the end.” Finally, some love from Simon! Too bad he missed the boat on some of her better performances.   OMG, he was not kidding about the 2-judge thing.   This is NOT the answer. 1-866-436-5701

Anoop Desai – …Everything I Do by Bryan Adams – Robin Hood – Quentin tells him to “Rough it up” You have to KILL with a really big vocal. Go go Anoop!   Another really smooth vocal. Oooh.   He’s bringing the emotional heft on the chorus. He’s probably not “roughing it up” as much as Quentin would like, but I still think it’s good–nice phrasing. I think Anoop’s going to be ballad boy for the rest of the competition.   Randy says, “The last couple of weeks, you have definitely found your zone…you did a really good job.” Kara says, “You definitely found your place…pop songs adding your soul to it…I think this is your best…I felt connected to your singing.” I hope viewers don’t forget about Anoop this week. He deserves to stay another week. 1-866-436-5702

Adam Lambert – …Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf – Easy Rider – Q says Adam is the real deal. Crazy rock star Adam is back. Interesting arrangement with some minor chord/electronic elements thrown into the chorus. Weird harmonizing with the background singers. Man I really don’t like his rock wail, but he’s not overusing it. Except there. Heh.   Still, he’s totally entertaining on the Idol stage.   Last, big crazy rock wail note!   He really re-worked that chorus. The purists probably won’t like it. Paula is cheering and jumping out of her seat. “You dare to dance in the path of greatness…you’re one of the bravest contestants I ever witnessed” she said.   Simon says, “Vocally incredible…it was a little bit like watching the Rocky Horror Musical in parts.” He goes on to say that some will like it, some will hate it–it won’t be as popular as “Mad World” 1-866-436-5703

Matt Giraud – …Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman by Bryan Adams – Don Juan –   Matt gets some Ryan pimpage. About his confidence, Matt says his level is “kinda in the middle.”   Q likes his arrangement, but tells him to enunciate. I’m hearing some pitchy stuff. The song itself is kind of meh.   I don’t think Matt is doing much to bring the song alive like he did last week with “Part Time Lover”. Oh dear.  He’s reaching too hard for some of those high notes.   Not good.   Hm.   He did not kill it. Randy says, “When you hit the bridge it was off…you can’t do all that stuff with a simple melody…not one of your best.” Gah. I’m agreeing with Randy! Kara says, “It’s the struggle between Rock vs. Soul”   He’s getting nailed again for singing a rock song. That’s not the problem–the song itself is really lame and Matt did not sing it well, rock song or no. 1-866-436-5704

Danny Gokey – …Endless Love by Diana Ross – Endless Love –   Danny also gets Ryan pimpage.   Danny says he bought a guitar, but he won’t play it on the show.   He’s also not wearing glasses.   Q says he’s a fan of his vocals. He tells Danny not to use his hands, but his eyes instead. The harp player accompanying Danny is sitting right next to him. Eep He’s hitting some bad notes.   Danny’s running a bit roughshod over this tender love song. He needs more grace and finesse to pull this off.   Gah. Is he crying?   He never mentions his wife, but he’s still pimping her. Paula thinks the key should have been lowered.   Then she begins to prattle a bunch of hyperbole that sounds super rehearsed. Simon says, “We know you are a brilliant singer, but I’m disappointed that we had the harp on stage and a traditional version.”   He compares him unfavorably to David Cook, who changed up a Lionel Richie song last year. Simon says that he notices that song means a lot to him personally, and congratulates him for that. 1-866-436-5705

Kris Allen – …Falling Slowly Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – Once – Q says he captured the spirit of the competition the most by choosing a song from a movie that he loved.   They go back and forth about playing an instrument, but Kris decides to sing without. Ok, this is a very sweet vocal.   Oooh some really delicate, beautiful phrasing going on. I like the way he trails off his phrases.   Absolutely lovely falsetto.   This is a winner.   He’s hitting a perfect glory note.   I am getting chills as I type this.   THE BEST PERFORMANCE TONIGHT.   More chills. WOW.   Kris has got it going on.   Randy didn’t like it.   He’s a complete moron.   He says it was pitchy. No, it was not. Kara says, “It was one of your best moments ever.”   Paula yips in her seat, knowing she can’t say anything.   What is Randy smoking? 1-866-436-5706

Lil Rounds – …The Rose by Bette Midler – The Rose – Q says he’s a big fan of Lil. He likes the gospel switch, but tells her to commit to the first part.   She’s warbling uneasily through the first part. When she goes gospely, her attempts at runs are terrible. Pitchy. Pitchy. Pitchy.   Gah. This is the best TPTB could do for an R&B singer this year?   She’s just not very good. PERIOD.   Paula really likes it.   Simon says, “I think that you are getting this completely wrong…you had some nice moments, but you are not the artist we believe we met 7 or 8 weeks ago.”   Lil is popping off at Simon. She’s pissed.   Lil, reign it in. This is not helping you. 1-866-436-5707 Even with cutting the judges remarks, they are STILL tight on time. Ridiculous.