'IDOL' WATCH: The Top 9

Tonight, the "Idol" contestants were given the task of taking on the rather extensive Lennon/McCartney songbook. Given the sheer number of tunes to select from and the vast differences in types of songs, it would seem each contestant should have been able to find a song that would suit both their voice and personality. Many of the contestants, thankfully, did so, giving one of the best shows so far this year. As the competition heats up, it's interesting to see the bar set to a new level each week , although, each week it also becomes all the more clear who doesn't belong.

Aaron Kelly fell somewhere in between those two extremes tonight. His performance of The Long and Winding Road wasn't good, but it wasn't terribly bad, either. The arrangement he chose was a bit boring for a competition like this, where the objective is to come out and wow the audiences each and every week. However, he did sound quite good, despite suffering some vocal troubles earlier in the week. Kara made an excellent point in saying that the audiences needs to see something new from Kelly; each weekly performance seems to be a replica of the last. Kelly promised that, if he's around next week, he has some big changes in mind. Kelly is quite talented, so I hope he stays around to show us what he has in store.

Katie Stevens wowed the judges with her performance of Let It Be. It's tough to take a Beatles' song and perform it in a way that stays true to the original, while still updating it to make it current. Stevens had the perfect balance tonight, not trying to overdo it and generating the right feel for the song. Each of the judges agreed that her performance was miles better than what she had done in recent weeks, although I'm not sure how Simon interpreted her version as having country leanings. This was quite the showing from a contestant who has been in the bottom three the past two weeks and Ellen proclaimed there is "no way" she will be in the bottom three this week.

Keeping with his singer/songwriter style, Andrew Garcia performed a revamped, bluesy version of Can't Buy Me Love. The songs was rather dull until Garcia mixed it up and headed into the breakdown of the song, dropping the guitar, backup vocals, etc. and allowing it to be just him, the percussion, and the bass. This was a performance that could and should have been great, but just never reached the full potential that Garcia showed he had in Hollywood and reaffirmed last week. He should again be safe for this week, as Simon's main criticism (Garcia's lack of personality) was shown to be quite inaccurate in his set up video and his performance will likely have many gushing.

Many risks were taken tonight, but none as big as the display from Michael Lynche, singing Eleanor Rigby. The song is a classic and I was expecting the same love song-y feel we get from Lynche each week. Tonight, however, Lynche flipped his persona, adding a heavy percussive feel to the song and propelling it into a more modern era. Randy, Ellen, and Kara each agreed the vocals were spot-on, but Simon felt it was much too "musical-esque." As Randy pointed out, it's those musical-esque qualities that are popular right now (see: GLEE), so he believed Lynche's performance was just where it should have been. Personally, I felt it was one of the best performances we've seen from Lynche so far.

Crystal Bowersox went for more of an upbeat, fun song than we are typically used to from her and, overall, it worked. She performed Come Together, joined by a didgeridoo in the accompaniment, and showed much of her vocal range. Bowersox was clearly suffering from some bug, as her voice was shot for the interviews. But, she pulled through and was able to tough out the last upper notes that really brought the song together. Kara felt it was a much different side of Bowersox that we hadn't yet seen and Simon agreed that it was an excellent, quirky, and contemporary take on the song. Bowersox seems liekly to remain atop the other "Idol" contestants.

Tim Urban was surprisingly good tonight, going with the hit All My Lovin'. The arrangement he chose was rather genius, working in a modern sense and allowing the music to do what it needed to do so as to not destroy a classic. Urban took the judges criticism, changing up the melody (in a way that benefitted the song, I might add) and taking himself more seriously as an artist. Randy said Tim is in his own category and that it was a "good Tim performance," a rather tough blow on an otherwise successful night, but Simon said he thought Urban did "really well tonight" and Ellen called the arrangement beautiful and soulful. With his already prominent fan base, Urban looks like he may stick around another week.

The best performance of the night came in the form of an intimate, acoustic rendition of Jealous Guy by Casey James. James clearly had his thoughts on something very specific, as the emotion just poured out of him. It was nice to see the more delicate side of the otherwise cool, rock performer. The build James made in the song only added to the emotional thrust it conveyed. All in all, a standout performance.

Siobhan Magnus also chose a completely different direction than we have seen from her in the past, opting for an intimate performance with simply the singer and a chair. I'm not sure how happy I was with the actual performance, as it felt that, without the vocal tricks Magnus so heavily relies on, her singing just wasn't great. Her voice felt wobbly and inconsistent as she sang Across the Universe and her outfit just didn't seem to match the style of the performance at all. We may see Magnus slip into the bottom three this week as a bit of a holdover from last week.

Lee Dewyze ended the night with an interactive performance of Hey, Jude, complete with bagpipes. Right from the outset, we were given something DeWyze has been unable to give us in the past: the feeling that he was just enjoying the moment instead of over-thinking and overanalyzing the song. Although the performance was a bit pitchy and even a bit cliché, he did sound quite good. Kara gave him the supreme compliment, saying she could hear DeWyze's voice on the radio right away. DeWyze is fast growing into himself as an artist and it's great to follow his development every week.

In general, each of the performers came out strong. None of the singers seemed to be completely off base and a number of the performances were really excellent. We may see a number of new faces in the bottom three this week, as audiences begin to have to lend more weight to each week's performance and the number of singers dwindles. Don't be surprised if "Teflon" Tim reclaims his spot in the bottom three. The other two contestants are a bit of a tossup, but I would guess Urban will be joined by Aaron Kelly (but, nothing to worry about...he will sit down first) and Katie Stevens, despite her excellent performance this week. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if Magnus takes one of those spots instead. Even with all the things she is doing right, don't be shocked if Stevens is the one to head home tomorrow night.

Performances on the results show are jam packed: one of pop music's resident queens, Rihanna will take the stage and will be joined by up-and-comer Jason Derulo and "Idol" season seven runner up David Archuletta. The results show will air tomorrow night, April 7th, 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), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), and Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages).

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

Photo Credit: AmericanIdol.com