American Idol Top 8 Recap: Songs From The Year The Contestants Were Born

Last night on American Idol the Top 8 contestants performed songs from the year they were born, and two things were clear: most of the contestants were born the same year as my daughter, which makes me feel really old, and I hate a lot of songs from the 80s.

Danny Gokey kicked off the show with a Mickey Gilley's rendition of "Stand By Me." It was great, great, great.

Kris Allen followed up with a funky version of "All She Wants To Do Is Dance," which I really liked. That's ironic, considering that I actually hate the song, but he version was so different that I didn't even realize it until the end, when the judges said they hated it.

Lil Rounds was disappointing. Again. She sang Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It," and it came off as total karaoke. Kara told her she needs to make the leap from singer to artist, and I agree. She's been doing cover songs instead of performing. She has so much potential but I think she's going to go soon.

Anoop Desai sang Cindi Lauper's "True Colors" and proved that he really can sing. The song is boring anyway, so it wasn't the most exciting performance, but he did really, really well.

Scott took a chance and came out from behind the piano, singing center stage with his electric guitar. Not a good idea. The whole performance of "The Search is Over" (another song I hate) was really bad. I'm afraid it might be the end of the line for him tonight.

Allison Iraheta sang Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" (a song I love) and sang it really well. She may be the last female contestant standing. I hope, anyway.

Matt Giraud sang Stevie Wonder's "Part Time Lover," and while I thought it was really good the judges acted like it was the second coming. I love Matt, even though that song is one of the most annoying songs ever written.

Adam Lambert closed out the show, which was running overtime, with Tears for Fears "Mad World," and as usual was brilliant. Simon gave him a standing ovation, which tells you how good it was.

So who goes home tonight? DialIdol.com, which tracks the busy signals to see which voting lines are getting the most traffic, has everyone but Adam as a possible bottom three contestant. I think the bottom three will be Anoop, Scott and either Lil or Allison - not because Anoop or Allison deserve to be there, but someone has to be at the bottom of the pile and they both have been there before.

Joanne Brokaw is the host of the Gospel Soundcheck blog at Beliefnet.com. She's blogging about American Idol at NewChristianVoices.com. Check back every week for new posts and Idol updates!