The Top 10 sing their beginnings

Tonight the top 10 finalists had to select a song that was a hit the year they were born.

Ramiele Malubay was born in 1987 when Heart spent three weeks at #1 with Alone. This song has become an American Idol favorite clearly because it allows the finalist to show off their entire range. Ramiele probably gave us her best vocal so far, but she doesn't have much of a gimmick to make her extra memorable.

Jason Castro was born in 1990 when Sting released Fragile. Rather than pursuing the haunting introspection of the original, Jason stuck with his limited abilities and made this song into a laid back spanish bilingual salsa. Because of his immaturity it was the same old gimmick with the guitar and the weak vocals.

Syesha Mercado was born in 1987 and for some reason she selected a song that Gladys Knight took to the top 10 in 1971, If I Were Your Woman. It's a great song but this arrangement wasn't as interesting as the original. Syesha still found a way to let her voice take center stage and sound as good as we always thought she could.

Chikezie was born in 1985 when Luther Vandross released If Only For One Night. For the past couple of weeks Chikezie has strutted his stuff showing a full range of performance versatility, but tonight he fell back into a rut. This was a very bland imitation of the original.

Brooke White was born in 1983 when the Police spent eight weeks at #1 with Every Breath You Take. Those were eight long boring weeks back then so it wasn't much for Brooke to work with, but it was actually a good fit for her performance limitations. She sat behind the piano and played in her comfort zone, even after a shaky start.

Michael Johns was born in 1978 when Queen hit the top 5 with We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions. It was a very good choice that Michael decided to sing a medley of both songs because he had the chance to truly entertain the crowd with rocking energy. He knows what he does best and this song allowed him to do it.

Carly Smithson was born in 1983 when Bonnie Tyler spent four weeks at #1 with Total Eclipse Of The Heart. This is a dramatic power ballad that allowed Carly to exhibit everything she can do better than the other finalists. It was passionate, intense and completely entertaining.

David Archuleta was born in 1990 and for some reason he picked an obscure song called You're The Voice by John Farnham. This was not a good song choice at all so he had to completely depend on that adorable cute face and sincere personality to make it work. It goes without saying that he has enough cuteness and sincerity to make anything work.

Kristy Lee Cook was born in 1984 when Lee Greenwood first served the world his patriotic anthem God Bless The USA. Kristy is a sweet talented young woman, but if she wants to have a chance in this competition she's going to need a much bigger gimmick to keep her alive. This was a blatant attempt to appeal to the audience that no one else is playing to and it will most likely work.

David Cook was born in 1982 when Michael Jackson took the world by storm and dominated the top of the charts for seven weeks with Billie Jean. David truly has the gimmick that is gonna take him to the finals. He has once again reinvented an oldie by turning it into an electrifying rock jam. David could easily be topping the charts very soon.

This season has proven itself to be very unpredictable. It doesn't matter if your the best vocalist in the competition, like Carly, you can still end up in the bottom three. Syesha found herself there as well, but I'm still gonna predict who I think SHOULD be in the bottom three. Brooke made up for her stammering start, but I don't think well enough. Chikezie should be joining Brooke because he settled back into bland. Ramiele's lack of a distinctive identity will not only have her in the bottom three with Brooke and Chikezie, but it should be sending her home.