IDOL UPDATE: TOP 8 GRADES....& WHO SHOULD GO HOME?

The 'Songs of the 80's' from the TOP 8 were a bit of a disappointment for me last night, with just a few really great performances, and some that were just very forgettable. In an effort to save time here, I'm not going to go into great detail on a per song basis, but will give out my grades and predict who's in trouble tonight! Dim the lights, here we go.......

BEST OF THE NIGHT:  Jessica Sanchez.....once again she took on another BIG Whitney Houston song in  "How Will I Know" and just nailed it! This girl has stage presence, is polished, and vocally, is just way ahead of anyone else in the competition. GRADE-A+                          

ALMOST AS GOOD:

Joshua Ledet.......spectacular rendition of Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (original from Marvin & the Blue Notes) and sang the hell out of it, but did over-sing on a few spots.....GRADE: A

Colton Dixon........took a classic hit with Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and made it his own, very well done, maybe his best yet, other than "Piano Man" on Billy Joel night....GRADE: A-

GOOD ENOUGH TO BE 'SAFE':

Phillip Phillips......a solid, consistent performance, but a rather simple version of Genesis' "That's All", but good enough to be in the TOP 7 after tonight....GRADE: B+

Skylar Laine.......the only country-bumpkin left, and a pretty good performance for her with Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings".....she's safe tonight....GRADE: B

IN TROUBLE & BOTTOM 3:

Elise Testone........although I don't think she was nearly as 'off' as the judges said she was with Foreigner's "I Wanna Know What Love Is"....and if she's the bottom vote getter tonight, I say the judges save could come into play, and I think they'd vote to keep her! I really liked her performance last night more than the judges did, maybe because I like the song so much......GRADE: B-

Hollie Cavanaugh........performed "What a Feeling" from the Flashdance soundtrack, and although she was 'more young and fun' like I thought she should be, it still wasn't good enough, and the judges were hard on her yet again.....if she's the one voted by America to be going home, the judges will NOT execute their save on her....GRADE: C+

Deandre Brakensick......one guy certainly has to be in the bottom 3 tonight, so it might as well be Deandre again. He could be going home tonight, and if it comes down to a judges save, J-Lo will be the only one voting for him to stay on, as she's in love with hair boy...GRADE: C

WHO GOES HOME?:

I say the bottom two tonight are HOLLIE and DEANDRE.......and HOLLIE gets sent home!

So….who do you think goes home tonight? Who’s your favorite guy and gal left? Who's 'in it to win it'? More from Eddie Idol after the TOP 7 are announced after tonight's one-hour results show on FOX. As always, stay tuned for more ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter…….after the show!