American Idol - Top 8

Tonight's theme is Inspirational Songs. To be honest, I'm needing a little inspiration this evening as my afternoon was hectic as all get out. I'm feeling quite frazzled and am not really ready to park it in front of the TV for a couple of hours. Please forgive me if my thoughts aren't organized...

THIS is American I-dol (totally stole this from Cindy's blog)

Michael Johns - "Dream On" - Okay, I'm a little thrown by the new ascot trend. I mean really, two weeks in a row? I liked it last week, this week not so much. Didn't recognize the song until he got to the chorus - shows how much I listened to Aerosmith in the formative years doesn't it? Now that I know it, I'm totally rockin' out. Didn't love the falsetto stuff at the end, but overall it was a good job by Michael.

Syesha Mercado - "I Believe" - To be totally honest, I wasn't in the room during the performance. I had to run downstairs with the hubby to get some dinner (yes, we eat in front of the TV during AI). But as soon as I walked back into the room and heard the judges talking about Fantasia performing this song, I was like "WHY?" Why does this girl pick the biggest songs she can find. You KNOW she's going to be compared to the originals. I don't know, I just don't get it.

Jason Castro - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song! A and I were in Maui this past summer and totally listened to this CD while hanging out in our condo, driving around the island, and most notably, driving the road to Hana. Jason rocked this performance and I loved it!!

Kristy Lee Cook - "Anyway" - I liked it! I'm proud of Kristy Lee for summoning all her ambition and bringing it tonight. I do feel like she has a little bit of an arrogant attitude though, which I really only see when she's talking back to the judges after their comments. Not so crazy about that, but overall I enjoy her as a performer.

David Cook - "Innocent" - Unfortunately I totally didn't get him tonight. Not only the white jacket, but the whole performance. I'm a little disappointed.

Carly Smithson - "The Show Must Go On" - Didn't Paris sing this song a couple of seasons ago? I really like this song, but it just didn't seem to work tonight. Carly came off as kind of angry and I didn't see the "inspirational" value of it. Bummer because I do like Carly. I guess this just wasn't her night.

David Archuleta - "Angels" - Nice to see him behind the piano, but for some reason I am kind of over David A. at this point. I think he's a good singer, but he's not my pick for the American Idol.

Brooke White - "You've Got A Friend" - Cute dress! Good song choice, although I would have liked to see her change it up a bit and add some of her own flair. She's a strong performer though and I do enjoy watching her.

Should go - Syesha

Will go - Syesha or Carly (so sad!)

Best of the night - Ummm, kind of a toughie this week. I suppose I'll say Michael Johns, although I didn't think this was his best performance. Last week was still the top for me.