'IDOL' WATCH: The Top 7

The top seven contestants of "American Idol" kicked off the week with a set of inspirational songs led by the incomparable Alicia Keys. Keys was brought in due to her talent as well as her charity involvement, specifically working with families suffering from HIV and AIDS, as the show celebrates "Idol Gives Back" this week. Some of the performances were perfect for the theme, while other lacked inspiration and felt as though they could have been performed any other week. As the competition heats up, the contestants will have to give standout performances weekly, and some of them failed to grow this week, while others had fantastic showings.

Casey James began the night, singing the Fleetwood Mack hit, Don't Stop. The song is a classic and James' voice fit it well. However, the judges hit the nail on the head, telling James he did nothing to make his performance stand out tonight. It's the same rock/blues song we hear from James every week, with the standard smile plastered on his face. As Kara put it, "[You're] not showing us how you're different." James needs to come out with something new if he wants to have a chance at winning and, right now, he simply isn't doing that.

The always talented Lee Dewyze gave a fantastic performance of Simon and Garfunkel's The Boxer. It was clear from the outset that DeWyze was really feeling the song; he specifically said before his performance that he, himself, was inspired by the song, and that translated to the stage. I thought the arrangement was very well done because it was very different from his typical rock feel. The judges thought DeWyze gave an excellent performance, with Simon calling it "sincere, emotional, and inspirational," as well as saying the song sounded current and "as if it was written a week ago." That's a huge compliment from the characteristically caustic judge, as it accomplishes everything the show is about. A great performance from DeWyze.

Tim Urban, beginning to understand the type of song he should be singing, sang Better Days by the Goo Goo Dolls. Urban is finally taking the judges criticism seriously and picking songs that are right for him. Tonight, however, his choice may have been a bit too lofty. It seemed out of his range at times and his voice was just unable to fill the big song. Ellen, clever as always, put it this way: "You're like the soup of the day. Sometimes I like the soup and sometimes I don't like the soup. Today, I didn't like the soup." Urban has really pulled himself together from where he was at the start of the competition, but he just can't match the quality of the other performers. However, Urban's fans have pulled him through week after week, so it will definitely not be unexpected if he makes it to the top six.

Aaron Kelly performed the 1996 hit I Believe I Can Fly by R&B star R. Kelly. Kelly (Aaronstarted out a bit rocky, but was able to pull it together for the end. By the time he got to the key change, he seemed to hit his groove and was able to get the song to the level it should have been at throughout. Randy, Ellen, and Kara all seemed impressed by the performance, but Simon said, "If I heard that on the radio I would have turned it off within 10 seconds." At this point in the competition, the performances have to be great and I just don't think Kelly's performance was that great. It was nice that he was able end it well, but it took him much too long to get there. Don't be surprised if Kelly heads home after tonight.

Attempting the toughest song of the night, Siobhan Magnus took on the Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston single, When You Believe, from the Disney film, The Prince of Egypt. It was nice to see Magnus try to do something other than the screaming belt, but the song just never hit home. As always, Magnus displayed her individuality, going with a rather odd (and, as Simon said, "distracting") outfit, complete with butterfly armbands, which, for me, took away from the performance. Kara said that her performance was "starting to feel very dramatic" and that it could have come from a musical. (Interesting, since the song is written by musical composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz.) However, I wouldn't be surprised if many in the audience really liked the performance, so don't expect Magnus to head home tomorrow night.

Before auditioning for "Idol," Michael Lynche compiled a book of 200 plus songs he could perform if he were to make it on the show. He sang one of those songs tonight, going with Nickelback's Hero. The song just never really worked for me, as it is exactly the opposite of what I would have expected from Lynche on a night like tonight. He has done extremely well with a number of emotional songs throughout the competition, but he chose to stray from that on a night that really called for it. Randy and Ellen enjoyed his performance, while Simon and Kara thought it was the wrong song choice, both due to its theme (Simon said it felt artificial because the night was supposed to be inspirational songs and Hero comes from the film Spiderman, so it didn't really fit the bill...an interesting point), and the overall tone of the song. Lynche was great last week, so I don't think this will hurt him much, but it was not his best performance.

Crystal Bowersox really hit it out of the park tonight with Eva Cassidy's People Get Ready. Bowersox is just so superior to the other contestants in the competition, as she gives a near-perfect performance every week. Tonight, it was nice to see her without the guitar, giving a raw, emotional performance. I was very impressed with her vocals, as she began the song a cappella and gave her voice a chance to shine. The judges loved her performance calling it "unbelievable," "beautiful," and "in a completely different class from everything else we heard tonight." Bowersox is able to excel at every theme and performs well week after week, and tonight was no different.

It's getting tougher and tougher to predict who will go home, since every contestant is rather good. This week, however, I think luck may have run out for young Aaron Kelly. Kelly is good, but is too young to compete with some of the more seasoned performances like Bowersox. He misses The Edge that a performer like DeWyze has, and his voice isn't strong enough to carry him through the competition. Joining Kelly in the bottom three will likely be Casey James, who didn't give a great performance this week, and Tim Urban, who will stick it out due to his devoted fans.

Tomorrow night, "American Idol" celebrates "Idol Gives Back" in a two hour event featuring performances by a number of high profile guests, including tonight's mentor, Alicia Keys. The "Idol Gives Back" performances are always stellar, so be sure to tune in. Tomorrow night will also feature the weekly results show, where one contestants will head home, leaving "Idol" with its top six. "Idol" will air tomorrow night, April 14th, beginning at 9:00pm EST.

"American Idol" is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of "Idol" includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.

Several "Idol" contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray, Hair), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages), and Ace Young (Hair).

"American Idol" airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

Photo Credit: AmericanIdol.com