American Idol - April 6

For the April 9 episode of American Idol, the final nine contestants all sang works of the legendary Sir Elton John, but many contestants put on disappointing performances of his songs.

Fantasia Barrino kicked off the show with her rendition of "Something About the Way You Look Tonight." As always, Barrino added her own spice to the song and mounted the stage with the spirit of a veteran performer.

Unfortunately, Jon Peter Lewis' performance of "Rocket Man" sounded more like it should have been featured on a show called Drunken Pop Idol instead of American Idol. He was extremely pitch challenged during his presentation, and his paltry attempt to dance during his performance was hardly anything to admire.

During the competition, many of the performances were very average. The performers didn't raise the bar, and their level of progress has stood still since the beginning of the competition. Jasmine Trias and her performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" fit that category, for it was utterly mediocre.

John Stevens had the performance to remember, but not for good reasons. The blazing redhead had a blazingly awful performance. His performance of "Crocodile Rock" rocked the audience into utter shock. Stevens gets minimal points for attempting to present a modicum of personality on stage, but his voice was not suited for the song. He had problems especially during the chorus, where he sounded like some kind of rodent singing with a helium tank.

Camille Velasco delivered a lackluster performance of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." Her low range was weak, and during the tension points of the song, she sounded like she was screaming the high notes. Everything considered, her performance was much better than in previous weeks, though.

George Huff brought the gift of rhythm to the audience with his performance of "Take Me to The Pilot." His voice sounded a bit exhausted, but it still had the power that it is known for.

Diana DiGarmo had the peak of her American Idol journey with her performance of "I'm Still Standing." She was powerful and sassy on stage. Due to her illness, she sounded flushed, but that should not play against her. She has a large fan base, and her last two performances were first rate.

La Toya London was not on fire tonight, and her performance of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" made that obvious. She sounded weak for 90 percent of the song. Next week, she needs to start off with a bang and not slide into her performances.

Jennifer Hudson delivered the performance of the night. Her version of "The Circle of Life" was heartfelt and powerful. She poured all of herself into the performance, and her deep expression made the song all the more exciting to listen to.

After tonight, John Stevens needs to go. Although he is a pleasant person, viewers have tolerated his song butchering for too long.