Weeks of grueling eliminations, group practice sessions, and Ford commercial shoots all boil down to the Top 10 on American Idol. Like it or not, this group will go on tour and join the pantheon of former Idols, forever to be interviewed, followed, and gossiped about for as long as the public finds them interesting. They were told to choose songs recorded in the year of their birth, given one of the world’s biggest stages, and set forth to either astound, or aggravate, all of us. So…how’d they do?

Ramiele Malubay, who closed the show last week, took center stage first. Picking an old Heart tune, she belted out “Alone” (1987). This was something of a bad decision for many reasons. One, Carly Smithson sang it earlier this season - that’s like wearing the same outfit two weeks running. Two, she again didn’t seem to have a lot of conviction in the song she chose. Three, and this is somewhat unrelated to song choice, she wore a weird outfit. Starting very soft at first, Ramiele got very big near the end of the song, showing off her powerful pipes. It was, even with her great vocals, a so-so performance. Randy Jackson thought it “wasn’t the right song choice,” and found some parts “a little pitchy.” Paula told her “you’re a very big talent.” Simon found it “a bit shrieky and shouty,” but said “I don’t think it was as bad as Randy said.” He still thinks she’ll go on another week in the competition. “I didn’t think last week was good, or this week was good,” Randy interjected during the on-stage interview.

Jason Castro appeared with his acoustic guitar to sing “Fragile” (1987), a somewhat sad little ditty I’d never heard before. He started out fairly rough, picked it up toward the middle, and again interjected foreign words into the lyrics. Castro wasn’t as captivating as usual, and his performance fell a little flat. Randy complimented him on a “good choice of song,” finding it all “very nice and pleasant,” but admitted he wasn’t wowed by the vocals. Paula Abdul thought he was “playing it a little safe.” Simon was straightforward as usual. “I think you’ve had a bad two weeks,” Cowell informed him, telling Jason to take the competition more seriously. He found Castro himself “too laid-back” and the guitar playing “clumsy.”

Back to her usual hairdo, Syesha Mercado sang “If I Were Your Woman” (1987) with beautiful vocals, delivering a very commanding performance. Randy told her, “I think this is the best I’ve heard you sing,” calling the performance “stellar,” “unbelievable,” and “blazin’ hot.” Paula, likewise, had high praise. “This is gonna be the moment everyone remembers,” she gushed, rating the whole thing as “brilliant.” Simon admitted it was “definitely the best so far,” but reminded her the show was only three singers in.

Chikeze chose the ballad “If Only for One Night” (1985), which I’d never heard before, either. The song helped Chikeze display his great vocal range, but it was all very slow-paced and seemed to go on for ever. Chikeze is shaping up, however, to be one of the most versatile performers in the entire competition - he’ll do anything, and usually do it well enough to impress. Randy wasn’t blown away. “I didn’t love this,” he admitted, calling it “very old school” and “kinda boring.” Paula enthused as usual, saying “I think you did a great job.” Simon Cowell told him, “I thought you sang it well,” but called the performance itself “cheesy.” “I didn’t see anything original,” Cowell claimed, “I miss your personality.”

Brooke White, who apparently is completely self-taught on the piano, decided to make “Every Breath You Take” (1983) incredibly depressing. She met a big stumble at the beginning of the song, recovered, and went on to somehow make me hate The Police. I hated the arrangement, hated it all. Ballad-only Brooke strikes again, trying to ruin my Tuesday night. But no matter what she does, Brooke really can’t seem to go wrong. Instead of reaming her for the hesitant way she started out, the judges applauded her smart thinking. Randy Jackson called the tune a “very interesting song choice,” said he “did not love the arrangement,” and found the whole thing “just okay.” Paula liked this performance better than Brooke’s last week, saying “I think you’re consistent.” Simon found it “very old-fashioned” but “better than last week.”

Michael Johns again honored Queen, performing “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” (1978). Though he wore a pretty terrible outfit, his soaring vocals and compelling stage presence helped him nail the songs. I think he has something of a knack for interesting song arrangements, too. Randy thought it was “the best performance” from Johns overall. Paula told him “this was your moment, you shining moment.” Simon Cowell told him “you just got it right,” and said “I saw star potential.”

Carly Smithson chose “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (1983), powering through the song with her usual strong vocals. She gave the tune something of a strange finish, however, even losing the key toward the end. Randy “didn’t love it,” and “didn’t like the note at the end.” Paula was of a different mind. “I love what you did at the end,” she told Carly, “you could do no wrong tonight.” Simon felt that “something didn’t quite work,” finding her “tense,” and “uptight.” He advised that she “lighten up a little bit.”

David Archuleta sang “You’re the Voice” (1990), a completely unrecognizable message song. The upbeat tune allowed Archuleta to give the performance big vocals, but there was something about it that felt lacking. I think it’s time for a little something new for David A. Randy called it a “strange song choice,” but said “if you can sing, you can sing whateva.” That’s true enough. Paula talked for a bit at random. Simon admitted, “I actually didn’t like the performance at all,” likening it to a “theme park” show and telling him “it’s not you.” Simon’s speech to David is, even now, making the rounds of the Internet via video embed codes. According the Idol gossip mill, the tone of his comments was a direct reference towards Jeff Archuleta, David’s dad. Rumor has it that Jeff is a stage father and a fairly unruly one, but this is all just speculation and the inevitable between-show reality gossip which may or may not have any basis in truth.

Kristy Lee Cook then appeared to do one of the most shrewd and cunning things I’ve seen on the Idol stage - she sang “God Bless the USA” (1984). Okay. So, I’m totally patriotic and I’ll go out and wave flags with the best of ‘em. But let’s really look at this for what it is. Kristy Lee was not singing about a love of country - she was out there screaming “please vote for me.” And who won’t? In one cunning choice, Cook has now made herself impossible to be voted off - fail to cast a vote for her and suddenly we’re not in favor of the country. This girl has a future in politics - honey, they need minds like yours on the Clinton campaign. She has pulled the cute girl card, the small town card, the country card, and now the patriotic card. Frankly, I’m impressed…just not with her singing. Randy thought it was a “very nice performance.” Paula said the song was a “good choice for you.” And Simon Cowell called it “your best performance by a mile.”

David Cook closed the show, singing the Chris Cornell version of “Billie Jean” (1982), a Michael Jackson classic I had no idea Cornell ever recorded. I don’t like Chris Cornell, I don’t like that version of the song, and I didn’t like the performance. I was impressed by seeing Cook do something at least a little different, however. He displayed pretty powerful vocals even as he did weird things with the mic stand again. Randy called Cook the “most original, most bold performer we’ve ever had,” that’s stretching it a little, and called the performance “molten hot.” Paula told him, “I think you’re brilliant.” Simon thought “that was brave,” and of the performance itself, said “it was amazing.”