Previously on American Idol, the remaining 20 finalists performed songs from the 70s. The first to be eliminated last week was Jason, the guy with the weird blond streak in the front of his hair. The first girl to be sent home was Alexandrea, which seemed to be a surprise to the judges and also to Alexandrea. The second girl to go was Alaina (young, blonde and forgettable). The last to be eliminated was Robbie, the defensive wannabe rocker who I was completely tired of.

This week, the sixteen singers performed songs from the 80s, and the guys went first. Luke Menard started things off with “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” Randy called it “corny and a surprising choice.” Simon said it was “weak and a bit girly.”

My favorite, David Archuleta, was up next. He played the piano and sang “Another Day for You and Me in Paradise.” Randy wasn’t as enthusiastic as last week, but said it was nice. Simon encouraged David to “show his fun side and stop picking depressing songs.”

Danny Noriega was next, singing “Tainted Love.” Randy liked the arrangement, but Simon thought it was “horrible, absolutely useless, hated the arrangement, hated the performance, hated the vocal.”

David Hernandez was up next, and his song was “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” Randy said that sometimes David “overshoots things with his big old voice.” Simon says he liked last week better, but he “100 percent secured a place in next week’s show.”

I should mention that I haven’t talked about anything that Paula has said yet. She said a lot of nothing, and used a lot of words to do it. Even Simon got more fed up with her than usual. She looked sleepier and more out of it than usual, and it was really hard to follow the things she said a lot of the time.

Michael Johns was next, singing “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Randy loved it, Paula babbled, and Simon said he really likes Michael, but liked him singing soul more than rock.

David Cook, his guitar, and the song “Hello” were next. Simon said it was “a brave thing to do, and I loved it, it was unpredictable, it worked, and Lionel Richie would have liked it.”