The theme on American Idol Tuesday was songs from the year each contestant was born, which (considering the age restrictions on the show) really doesn’t create the biggest range in songwriting history. But it does mean baby photos, always a nice development.

Photos of the judges in their younger days were also shown, but for this night (the first hour-long performance broadcast this season) there was very little time for chitchatting. The pics of the judges were shown; even a Ryan Seacrest baby photo was slipped into the slide show. But with little delay, it was time for the singing to begin.

Danny Gokey, the oldest contestant, quickly took to the stage after a brief glimpse of his baby pic and clip were shown. Gokey also made the clever but still somewhat lazy decision to sing “Stand By Me,” a tune which was originally recorded in the 60s but evidently covered again in 1980 - only one of many covers of this tune. The highly popular song won’t do him any harm with voters, though his position as first of the night could. His soft vocals impressed the ladies of the audience right away, but I didn’t much care for the somewhat bluesy/jazzy rendition. It felt a little dated, but there wasn’t anything wrong with Danny’s vocals. Paula Abdul was on her feet and enjoying the performance even before Gokey hit his stride and did a little dancing near the front of the stage. Randy Jackson “did not love the arrangement,” but thinks Gokey is “an amazing singer.” Kara DioGuardi thought he “killed it” and couldn’t seem to praise him enough. “Wow, Danny,” Paula Abdul praised. Simon Cowell found it to be “overall, great.”

Kris Allen was born in 1985, and when he was younger wanted to drive a taxi. He picked “All She Wants to Do is Dance” and put the swagger on right away as he stood in a sea of fans. His performance also had something of a blues/jazz element, with horns and electric guitar. I didn’t much care for the song or the arrangement or the weird sea-of-ladies crowd shots, but Allen can sing. He’s also getting much more confident in his showmanship, making him quite a serious contender indeed. Kara DioGuardi liked his “jazz funk” sound, Paula Abdul said something about the melody, and Simon Cowell told it straight. He called the performance “indulgent, boring, forgettable,” which pretty well sums it up from my end.

Lil Rounds chose “What’s Love Got to Do With It” from the year 1984. Her clip cleared up any lingering confusion regarding Lil’s name. She was named for her grandmother, Lilly. This Lil looked and sounded fantastic - and in a pair of fierce heels - for her rendition. Her rich voice lent itself well to the tune, but she might in fact sound a little too much like Tina Turner. Lil’s vocals certainly don’t leave anything to be desired even when the comparison is made, however. She hit huge notes, danced around on stage and absolutely killed the song. Paula Abdul immediately commented on Lil’s appearance, saying she looked “very hot,” but didn’t find much originality in the performance. Simon Cowell thought it was a “ghastly copycat performance,” and doesn’t think Lil is making enough impact. Randy Jackson again praised Lil’s talent, but lamented her bad choices.

Anoop Desai is very happy the Tarhelels won the NCAA basketball men’s national championship. I am not - I’m a fan of a different team who’s something of a rival to UNC. But when I say I profoundly hated his green and white cardigan-pink tie combination, it has nothing to do with his sports leanings. He then offered up an apology to Kara DioGuardi, saying he “overreacted” last week. Born in 1986, Desai chose “True Colors.” This was a bold choice, and I love this song. Sounding very sincere, Anoop softly sang Cyndi Lauper with tons of feeling. As far as I’m concerned, he can smart-mouth the judges all he likes - even if he did somewhat lose a note or two in the chorus. He’s brave, and I respect that in a singer Randy Jackson complemented UNC, almost as if Desai were somehow responsible. But he did think Anoop’s was “a very nice vocal.” Kara DioGuardi liked the “soul” he put into the performance. Paula Abdul loved his “flawless” choice of song and quoted some of the lyrics to him. “You’re like a singing yo-yo,” SImon Cowell remarked. “You don’t have to apologize for reacting to what we have to say,” Simon told him, and I respect that, too.

Scott MacIntyre was also born in 1985, and had a love of trains as a child. He sang “The Search Is Over,” this time with a guitar instead of a piano. He sang impressively well, rocked out on his instrument and pretty well thoroughly impressed me, but then I’ve been a fan of his from the beginning. He did lose control a bit near the end, going somewhat wildly off-key before he got back into it for the last few bars. “You took on a very difficult song,” Kara DioGuardi observed. “You had some good moments, but you also had some off moments,” she said, adding that it might have been a little “over-ambitious.” Paula Abdul gave him credit for playing the guitar and standing away from the piano, but thought “it came off, at times, a little bit screechy.” Simon Cowell thinks Scott should “go back to the piano next week,” and also that “the song was horrible.” “Dude, it was just all okay,” Randy Jackson told him. “I want you to leap off the stage vocally.” MacIntyre has taken Megan Joy’s vacated throne as the Vote for the Worst pick this week.

Allison Iraheta, the youngest contender on the season, chose “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” circa 1992. This has been done so many times on Idol, and I can’t help but say again I wish one of them would be brave enough to do something truly punk rock - quips from Scott MacIntyre notwithstanding. That said, there was nothing wrong with Allison’s vocals. It was her overall performance that was somehow lacking. I really like her, and I still found the performance almost intolerably boring. Maybe it was just the song. Paula Abdul took a long time to say Iraheta has her own unique sound. Simon Cowell “thought that was very good,” and wants to make her more “likable.” Randy Jackson likened Iraheta to Kelly Clarkson: “she can sing her face off, and so can you!” Kara DioGuardi praised Iraheta’s talent, saying “let’s go make a record.” Wait until these Idol restrictions expire, and she will.

Matt Giraud is another who was born in 1985. For his performance, he chose “Part Time Lover.” He also chose to wear a very bizarre leather jacket and titled hat with jeans that were far too light in color. I think he was actually trying to achieve more of a Justin Timberlake feel with the weird hat and dance moves and even the inflections in his vocals, but I didn’t much get into it. Then again, I don’t get into Timberlake’s music so maybe that fits. I will say Giraud tried to sound much more interesting vocally this week, and the crowd seemed to really appreciate his effort. Randy Jackson called it “vocally, one of the best of the night.” Kara DioGuardi found it “incredible on every level.” “Two words: standing O!” Paula Abdul jumped to her feet. Simon Cowell found it to be a “million times better than last week. Well done.” Honestly, it wasn’t all that good.

Adam Lambert again scored the last position of the evening for this performance round. Born in 1982, he sang “Mad World” from Tears for Fears. Adam sat on the stage to croon, and again I can’t help but be amazed by his vocals. I do feel, however, that some of his characteristic showmanship was somewhat missing. He might have sung the tune a bit too high, also. Out of all of them, I was really hoping Lambert would do something punk rock. If you’re picking from the 80s, people, pick punk. I can’t say it enough. But the judges can’t say enough good things about Lambert, and with his standing voter popularity there isn’t much that needs to be added by the panel. Simon Cowell actually stood up and gave Adam an ovation to show his appreciation - something I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before from the hard-to-please judge (who was, as it happens, the only one who critiqued Lambert due to time constraints).

And with that, Idol departed for the next twenty-four broadcasting hours. Wednesday will see one of these singers whittled away to leave a lucky seven remaining.

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)