I prefer people who try 'CAW-CAW!'

Is that Hayley I hear...

Nope just a Chick-fil-A cows ad. For a second I feared I'd passed out and missed a bunch.

I laughed at your comment, experiencing the same thing.

Funny thing is, she did moo in her performance.

The Most Beautiful Pottymouth in the World told Stefano that he was a Shiite muslim, maybe.

"That was the sh...."

Well, well, well, maybe Stefano Langone isn't Stefano Longgone quite yet. This was perhaps his best performance to date. Although he looked like he was in pain at times, he sang it fairly well, quick on the rhythm in the fast parts, good timing on the slow parts, and vocally sound. Thumbs up.

Although he looked like he was in pain at times

His eardrums are sharing a theater with Paul.

maybe Stefano Langone isn't Stefano Longgone quite yet

*sniggle*

There's a wedding out there somewhere that needs a singer.

IMO they praised him a lot because they know he is slated to get the axe tomorrow.

From "Pure Country" That's a shock!

"I Cross My Heart"

Um, don't you have to leave to go back to your roots?

Sitting on a stool. Is that the funky instrument that got spoiled?

Will he ever find vertical?

Walks around at the end.

S. Just love your voice, all of America too. Just right song. You are good.

J. Everyone wants us to be tough, but you all are so damn good. All I want to say is wow. Wasn't my favorite song choice but performed it beautifully.

R. If it ain't broke don't fix it, so happy about this year a star is born on this stage. Listen man, we saw it, but you have grown greatly, huge fan.

Sometimes I wonder how he would have done on Nashville Star.

This wasn't his strongest performance, but he's generally so far ahead of the pack for overall polish to stand out on any given night. As long as I keep my eyes closed, it's a performance I'd find on pretty much any current country station. If I open them -- well, his stage presence still needs work.

Still no real problems with Scotty here. Yes, he's in a rut, but the rest of them are still scratching at the dirt.

Don't you wonder when his voice changed so he could sing like that? I think he did a good job for what he does. He seemed to struggle a bit when the backup singers came in, but that is probably just inexperience.

He's not my cup of tea, but he's back to getting a spot of The Soup for sitting on a stool, smirking and singing out of the side of his mouth. Not really sure he needs to go to see Jimmy.

Exactly what we can expect from Scotty, certainly album-worthy. The only thing I didn't care much for was the chorus trio that was in on about half of his song, which I didn't think mixed very well with his voice. He's comfortable on stage and into the song. Of course, thumbs up. He makes Paul look like a pretender.

I thought that last long note needed work. Showed his weakness.

More interesting for me was how much the judges made sure we knew their (and producers') agenda.

Randy. We get it! You are paid to pimp Scotty.

Even Steven got in on the act, talking about votes.

J Lo, basking in her "most beautiful woman of the year" moment. She's the real winner from this season.

J Lo, basking in her "most beautiful woman of the year" moment. She's the real winner from this season.

I don't know if it's me, or her, or both, but she looks better every week. There was a time I didn't care for her at all. Now? she is appealing.

I think he should have sang "Everybody's Talking At Me". Did his usual good job, and I won't need the Ambien tonight.

Nat King Cole.

Casey also gets an interview.

Nature Boy to start with Phil Collins In the Air Tonight

Resurrected Nature Boy.

Excellent, quite a good departure.

Agreed. Let's hope, though, that this doesn't lead to his departure.

Especially after last week's results, I don't trust either American tastes in music, nor their votes.

The mandatory two-drink minimum is included in your club admission fee. (You will be charged that price even if you choose to have water.) Have a good evening, go outside if the smoke starts to overwhelm you, and don't forget to tip the waitstaff.

Meeting death on his own terms?

You know, back in the day, days almost forgotten, that wouldn't have been cigarette smoke either.

I think Casey has his own experience with that. Or he borrowed some of Paul's.

Paul brought enough for everybody.

I liked that he was different, but I don't think America is going to embrace it.

playing a white bass, white grand piano on stage, and drums as well.

I like this, but I don't think America will get it.

Randy and Steven standing. J. finally joins them.

J. I gotta say at the beginning I was nervous as it went on I started thinking what is beautiful about this season is we have all different genres, you don't have to be a Pop star you can be Norah Jones and sell a jazz album, the music crosses boundaries. I honestly feel that I hope America got that.

R. Crazy right, what I am so happy about is we have true artists on the show. Giving a Grammy kind of performance, I hope America gets this, about education and embarrassing who you are. Rambles on about Bubble.

S. Oh what the ramble? S.'s Momma sang to him. Truest sense of artist, Sting and beyond.

I think part of that inane pimping was the usual 'we have to justify the save' -- but they're not wrong. There's a place in America for that kind of performance. It just isn't this competition. He just put himself into the same category as Siobhan: every coffeehouse will take him, every mainstream station will put on another Miley release.

And in the background, I kept hearing Simon whisper 'This is no place to attempt art...'

Am I the only one who thought that was horrible? Will the judges cry again when someone goes home after they said everyone was brilliant?

The words I kept coming back to were 'Interesting, but doomed.' Not my style, but I could see why (and where) other people might like it -- and why most of the show's voter base won't. You're allowed to lift the lid of the box and peek out, but you cannot tear the cardboard without paying for it.

I liked it. I didn't like it. It was up and down. Cool jazz Casey.

I kept wondering how a duet of Casey and Haley would go.

SO far, Casey and Stefano for b3 of 8. I don't think "America" will get it.

But then again the judges let the applause go on and on.

And they tried to pimp it. They gave him the "you won't win but you have a lane" pimpage.

Artist. That was their word of the day.

Cool vibes. Oh, yeah, I dig it. At first I wondered where he was heading with this, but after the first few bars and the rhythm kicked in, it was classic. Casey looks kind of fragile out there, but he's on very solid musical ground. One of my favs he's done so far, one thumb up, one on the bass with the finishing note.

Thanks for these updates. It's a nice break from working on this damn final project.

But question - what's the Nat King Cole reference refer to?

That was the preview blurb, and isn't that where the original came from?

The '47 original is by eden ahbez (yes, that's not capitalized), Nat King Cole made a major hit of it in '48.

Oh, watching it now I realize Nature Boy was the song, not In the Air Tonight. I didn't get that from your post.

I really enjoyed Casey's performance. Unique. He's fun to listen to and watch.

Blondie. Was Call Me used in a movie? That's what came to mind from what Ryan said...we'll find out...after the break.

And it is Call Me!

I.Want.Those.Boots.

I liked it, and I thought I would hate it so good job.

R. I didn't love the beginning, getting into it at the end, and he revs up the bus that matches her dress.

S. I agree, when you sing choruses, this song is like a chorus love that thing you have on is gorgeous too.

J. I love it when you wail at the end, I'm so afraid to say anything about the girls all getting voted off. Girls, vote for the girls. It wasn't the best. You have to keep taking it higher, keep it at that level like last week.

And all I heard was 'Vote me! Vote me! (I'm the legal one!)'

Why is she wearing stained glass? And why is she wearing a dress so short that with the right HD set, I could tell you what color panties she isn't wearing?

'I can't sing this. So look at me! The girl viewers are voting for the ones they want to have sex with! Don't any of the boys (and a few of the girls) want me?'

Play the sexuality you think you have if that's what you're working with -- but you need a voice. And that performance just became the only thing the judges didn't pimp all night.

They have to save one female. Haley isn't she.

Hah, so you noticed the stained glass and colorless panties too, hmm? Yup, it was about her "see me" visuals.

It wasn't horrible. I kept trying to think which of the ladies had the vocal chops and the personality. I guess the fact that I couldn't think of one is telling...

More a visual performance than a vocal one, Hayley was sliding notes left and right, up and down. And that ooo-ooo almost did sound like a cow's moo-ooo. Not a pass in my books.

But why are the judges waiting until now to give a single shred of critique, with only two lasses still in the comp? Sure, Hayley doesn't really deserve to be in the top half dozen, but let's level the playing field, yeah?

This one did nothing for me.

So far I am not enjoying tonight.

There were parts that sounded good.

But just as many that were not so good.

They had to leave in mediocre females so their male would win.

OK so the judges finally critique someone and it's the girl.

Yawn.

I missed this performance, but it sounds like from the comments that I didn't really miss much. And in case they didn't actually say, and anyone really wants to know, Call Me was used in American Gigolo.

"Call Me" is my favorite Blondie song, and Haley's rendition wasn't nearly edgy enough to do justice to the song. If I didn't dislike Paul, Jacob, and Stefano more, I'd hope this performance would be the end of Haley. Yuck.

Didn't like it. Now they seem to just be trying to get the two women to stay. Unfortunately, I think she should go right after Stefano, or maybe even before.

The fact that she is one of only two women left is unfortunate, but that's how it is when TPTB set up the show. So either change the voting process or just accept how this kind of stuff happens.

Gets told not to preach to people.

Bridge Over Troubled Water.

I'm glad Jimmy told him not to preach. That probably got him into trouble.

That being said, I'm SO GLAD he didn't sing from the Jerry Lewis telethon repetoire.

I felt that Jacob nailed this song. It suited him to a T.

Jimmy helped him in several ways tonight. I'm sure these contestants don't realize how the things coming out of their mouths in an interview can be taken. I don't care for him, but when he said that last week, it kind of sealed the deal for how I react to him.

He did a good job on this song though. Thank goodness he didn't do the other two.

You can tell that he is probably a traditionally trained singer when you see the way he enunciates his words, compared to Paul's mumbling.

LAST EDITED ON 04-13-11 AT 09:15 PM (EST)

Jacob has an incredible instrument. Just perfection. But I didn't believe it the way I wanted to. And I don't think he did either.

my thoughts exactly. He sang it beautifully, but I didn't feel he connected with it. I think he just sang it beautifully. I still loved listening to it.

Isn't there a don't do a song that was someone else on Idol's shining moment. I mean didn't they put this as the B side of Clay's first single because he killed it?

And this is deadly, and not in a good way, IMO.

Bleeped after the song. Not sure why.

S. More bleeping, how much you put into a song, how angelic you sing blabbery blubbery, how well you fit in for the last 3 notes, God bless you.

J. Who does that, can't even heat that note, comes from the place it is supposed to come from.

R. What happens is I believe you. Every word comes out so special, took your time and let it marinate. Perfect perfect perfect harmony.

So having been told not to preach to people, he puts out the kind of gospel performance that's generally followed by a gentle smile, telling people they're going to burn forever if they don't call the number they see on the screen, and asking an assistant to run a collection plate into the studio audience.

I think he may have missed part of the message.

It wasn't a bad performance -- certainly not on the fail level Haley just blasted down to. But it's nothing we haven't seen from him before -- and unlike Scotty, he's not good enough at putting his stamp on each song to make each minor variation interesting.

My flash of insight this week is about Jacob.

My comparison for him is:

Lamarr Latrell from "Revenge of the Nerds".

A good, soulful rendition of this song. The downside is this performance is exactly what you'd expect from Jacob. While he has a gifted, characteristic voice of his own, it's predictable. He's superb at what he does, but he doesn't do much else. Still... thumbs up as I still like listening to him on stage this season, even if I wouldn't buy his albums.

Jacob was not thrilled to sing this song. So I wasn't thrilled to hear it.

But he still did it well overall. There was a long note early on that wasn't good but the rest was fine.

He gets favorable placement again.

AI wants Jacob and James to be safe this week, and they know Scotty is safe this week. Lauren likely skates through.

Haley, Stefano, and Paul or Casey for the b3 so far. I just wonder if Paul's fan base is too strong to let him back into the b3 for another week or so.

Hope James is worth it because I could have skipped this week and not missed much.

Jacob seems oddly subdued tonight. Actually, so do several of the contestants and the judges.

Steven is just kind of phoning it in and J.Lo seems like she took all of the criticism this week in a very personal way. Not sure she is used to being under a microscope that is somewhat out of her (or her husbands) control.

Heavy Metal

Give Metal a Chance, with arm bands and flyers.

And two years after Adam nearly snuck Idol's Last Untouched Genre onto the stage, James bit through the bullet and went for it.

For performance, he didn't have mastery of the screams and arguably needed more musicians behind him to boost this into full metal. But for sheer guts, he ties for Casey for this week's If I Die, It'll Be On My Own Blade award.

He broke it through. If he survives this week, then others will follow.

LAST EDITED ON 04-13-11 AT 09:27 PM (EST)

Couldn't take my eyes off the guitar ... didn't that guy play the bagpipes last season? Just sayin.

That Op Art Guitar is freaking me out. And why it is getting all the close ups and not James?

Am I the only one with bleeding ears?

J. That felt really real. I loved that. I don't know what these sound like at home, they are killing it dead. Who would have ever thought we would have heavy metal. It's America's Choice. {so don't ##### if we vote off your favorite, mkay?}

R. At a James Durbin Concert. Zach Wilde, unbelievable glad you stuck to your guns. Durbin Rocks x3 Oh and add Zach.

S. You just had to get it out. America asked for it.

I'd vote for the guitar player if I could. James did fly out on a blaze of glory. He sang on his own terms and did it well.

Was this more about James or the guitarist? He definitely belongs in a metal band, screaming away. He's actually good at it. The judges almost sent him over the top, though... I was actually half afraid James would start spiraling out of control non-stop, but fortunately he checked it, barely. Thumbs up. This guy isn't going anywhere tomorrow night.

I think James is the best perfomer of the final 8, but not the best singer. And I offer last night's performance as Exhibit A to back my conclusion.

What people this week are voting for aren't the Idol contestants. They're voting for the genre of music they like. Consider...

Country
Gospel
Pop
Metal
Jazz
Bovine (the Hayley moo-ooo!)
Whatever it was Paul was doing

LOL.

Your notes are always spot on!

And quick with the beat, too!

I missed Pia tonight.

Heavy metal isn't necessarily my cup of tea.

I miss Pia too! I wish they would bring her back. She went home way too soon. The girl should have made it to the end. I hope that Lauren wins now because she has an amazing voice and seems like such a sweet girl. She was my favorite Top 8 performance of the night. Unfortunately, Haley probably won't bring in the "girl" vote for this weeks performance. She has her ups and downs performing and tonight was a definite down. Jennifer sure doesn't want another girl to go home and made a big deal about it after Haley's performance...not a good sign for Haley. http://whosright.com/poll/american-idol-which-top-8-performance-was-your-favorite#