American Idol: Inspire this

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?

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

Here are my thoughts:

Song: Dream On

Rants & Raves: Some flat, ugly notes at beginning followed by a lot of strained singing/yelling. Overall, a very uninspiring performance. Would have liked to see him do something epic this week. After last week's great performance, this was a downhill slide for him. He needs to give up on his dreams of being a 'rock' rock star and find a niche that works for him.  Last week he showed character and personality. Tonight, not so much.

I Believe

Second week in a row that Syesha has tackled a powerhouse singer. We get it - you can sing. The problem is that while she can sing, she doesn't have the performance skills or the emotional capacity to accompany those pipes and really deliver a blockbuster. Lots of good singers have come and gone on American Idol without winning and Syesha has little time left to connect with a song and convince the audience she's playing to win.

Jason Castro

Over the Rainbow

Love this version of 'Over the Rainbow.' Great choice for Jason. I'm pleased that he has stayed true to his singing style in this competition. There's still something so likable about him that I can't help but hope to see him back week after week.

Anyway

Lovely tone throughout the song. Martina McBride is a good fit for KLC. She kept the song simple and under control and delivered a performance that should be good enough to keep her out of the bottom three this week.

Innocent

It's amazing how much David C. has morphed since the beginning of this competition. Vocally and physically he's a different person. This song wasn't my favorite performance (hate to see him revert to that old doing-tunes-I-love song choice) but I'm also not a big OLP fan. He showed quite a bit of range in the song, but it was stylistically all over the place.

The Show Must Go On

Happy to see Carly go back to the rock songs, but this wasn't great. She's got a big voice, but I've yet to LOVE any of her performances. This could actually be one of those choices that provides a cruel irony - sending her home and forcing her to sing it as her goodbye song.

Angels

I got a vision of David A. becoming the next John Tesh tonight. Yes, he can still sing, but I fear he's destined for a life of mediocre elevator tunes - not superstardom. Inspirational songs should have been his strongest performance, but I didn't love this song for him. I don't think he "got" it. I love the song by Robbie Williams but I didn't love it for David A.

You've Got a Friend

Love that she chose Carole King - it seemed a natural fit for her. It wasn't crazy exciting but she sounded good. Nice delivery - should be enough to keep her around for another week.

Most likely to go home: Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson

TELL US: Do you have a favorite performance from last night? Who's going home?

JOIN UP: Chat about American Idol in our Idol Watch group.