MUSIC: American Idol 09: songs from movies

Quentin Tarantino is our mentor tonight, and the results are a wildly mixed bag, with performances tending to the extremes.

The rundown:

Allison, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" -- Not her best performance, though I'm still impressed with how smoothly she gets from her lower register (heck, she's a female Idol contestant; I'm impressed that she has a lower register) to her upper. There's nothing terribly wrong here; there's just nothing terribly interesting, either (to be sure, that's partly the fault of the song). It's a forgettable piece of work.

Anoop, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" -- Well, damn if Tarantino hasn't managed to push Anoop at least part of the way from Cute Little Boy to Romantic Lead. If he could sing like this every week, he'd be a threat to win this thing. It's a passionate, intense performance; the only thing I'd change is the cheesy pointing to the audience on the final "you."

Adam, "Born to Be Wild" -- Even I must grant that Adam is a showman, and if all I had to do was watch this performance, I'd be dazzled by it. Unfortunately, I also have to listen to it, which means being assaulted by that ugly high-pitched shriek. And the gasping for breath is getting worse every week; the first verse is particularly bad.

Matt, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" -- PItch is iffy throughout, with one especially nasty falsetto note in the bridge. Ultimately, Matt falls to the same pitfall that took down Allison -- there's nothing of interest in the song, and all the effort in the world can't make it seem that there is.

Danny, "Endless Love" -- The harp makes for an effective arrangement, and it's a fine performance. The belting doesn't come across quite so much as shouting as it often can with Danny, and whether it's because of Tarantino's advice or not, he does seem to be more emotionally connected with the material and the audience. (Losing the glasses? Big mistake; it's the one thing we remember about him.)

Kris, "Falling Slowly" -- Oh, that hurt to watch -- the most plodding, uninvolved, lifeless performance of this song I can imagine. The beginning was pitched too low for Kris, and even when he got into a more comfortable register, there was never any energy or spark to it. It was just a limp series of notes.

Lil, "The Rose" -- Lovely voice, and not the slightest idea what she ought to do with it. None of those runs and riffs and melodic alterations worked at all; they were just plugged in because they might sound impressive. It was a taste-free performance.

For the night: Anoop, Danny, Allison, Adam, Matt, Lil, Kris.

For the season: Anoop, Allison, Danny, Kris, Lil, Matt, Adam.

Should go home: Should be Adam, but won't be; either Lil or Matt would be the next best choice.