reality television

Talk about a mixed bag of songs tonight. Finally we got to hear a few contemporary tunes, but we couldn't completely escape the oldies we have clung to so strongly this year.

Paula, Simon and Randy win for best overall song choices (I guess they can keep harping on contestants about song choice, song choice, song choice now).

Then the contestants gave us a glimpse of what kind of recording artists they might be (except for David A. who I cannot see recording R&B tunes when there is so little competition in the Clay Aiken/Josh Groban genre).

Some theme nights seem to have too few songs to choose from, while others seem so vast that the contestants' minds are blown to bits. I think that was the case tonight. Where else would you expect to hear Duran Duran, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley? Talk about hitting random on your iPod.

It didn't seem to do anyone much good to have so many songs to choose from. No one blew me away tonight - a bit disappointing considering we are getting down to the wire.

Wouldn't it have been fun to be watching this episode of American Idol with Neil Diamond tonight? If I were him, I would have had a good chuckle over how safe my catalog was. "Ha ha, nice try Archie. Love the flag!" "Oh yeah, that's gold Brooke - you could have been one of the Monkees." "Why don't you change forever in blue jeans to forever in polyester Castro?"

If you are a fan of musical theater, this was an exciting night for you. Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the kings of Broadway and has created some of the most memorable, and longest running, musicals of all time, so it was nice to hear some of those tonight.

Big voices reigned supreme and danced all over the singer-songwriter-style competition. If you could read and comprehend a lyric, you excelled tonight- even moreso, if you actually saw the production the song came from.  

What I would have given to have been a fly on the wall when producers told the contestants they would be tackling songs from the Mariah Carey catalog. Did they have to get out the smelling salts? Bring in a fainting couch? Oxygen? Talk about a daunting task - especially for the guys.

I didn't turn off the show tonight feeling inspired to go out and change the world, but I have to say that this year's Idol Gives Back tunes were vastly better choices than last year's schlock.

Rather than drill us with the likes of 'Hero,' 'Wind Beneath My Wings' and 'Because You Loved Me,' the contestants looked for songs that had inspirational lyrics in their respective genres without falling victim to the requisite lite channel sounds. And for that I thank them.

Still, I'm looking forward to a more lively week next week. What about you?

The delightful Dolly Parton brought out the best in the contestants this week as there were no real stinker performances in the bunch. Who would have guessed? 

It will be real interesting to see who ends up in the bottom three this week. I think Ramiele is the only guarantee (though if viewers could vote against instead of for contestants, I have to believe that Syesha would also be in there for merely believing that she could take on Whitney Houston).

What did you think? Who did you love? Who did you hate? Who surprised you the most?

The good old "birth year" theme night. This year, that means a second chance at 80s night -which you'll remember was a pleasant surprise the first time around.

Well tonight (like Beatles redux night) was not as good as the original, but it did afford one interestingly cheap song choice and one tantalizingly delicious song choice. (Read on to see who did which ones.)

Ok, time to close the Beatles book now and "get back" to business. Two nights was WAY too much of the Fab Four (when the Fab Four aren't present to deliver the music).

Beatles part II, produced uninspired performances across the board and did a disservice to the vast depth of the great catalog.

Advice to producers: the next time you get clearance to a cabinet of hundreds of songs (many of them timeless) let the contestants do what they will with it. Don't handicap performances by limiting choices to songs "people will know."

Beatles night is now in the books and it was interesting to say the least. Some contestants had a hard days night while others really came together with their songs.

No one went too far out on a limb with their song choice and tackled "I Am the Walrus" or "Yellow Submarine" (where is Danny Noriega when you need him?) but I'm sure at least Sir Paul and Ringo can rest assured that they retain the definitive versions of most of their songs.