I have not been incredibly tuned into this season of "American Idol" - even though the talent is pretty cool - and that might have to do with the songs. Ten years ago, when they had Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder week, many of the young singers had no context for either the specific lyrics, styles or emotions of the things they'd had to choose from. And now, those songs are 10 years older, and the young singers are 10 more years removed from them. They're still young and may or may not have heard of them or experienced the very real, personal emotions that they're being asked to evoke -- and penalized if they can't.

So I can't get too mad at teenagers from a specific time not being able to completely relate to songs written maybe even before their parents were born, that were written from a very specific experience by a very specific guy. Then again, the most impressive singers have the ability and maturity to connect and to sing something they just learned and blow it out like they wrote it. The insistence on young singers, unfortunately, means that some of them haven't had the time to develop the chops and maturity to let it swing like that.

Having said that, I enjoyed this week, for the most part, because it's my favorite part of the season -- you're seeing some of the most promising singers rise to the occasion, or, in some cases, not quite hit the bar, not because they aren't good, but because this just wasn't their week. Or because someone else was better. And I loved that Diddy, who I usually have no use for, tried with Jimmy Iovine to explain the context of the songs to the kids that didn't get them. My favorite is when he tried to explain to Deandre what a beast Billy Joel was, and the swagger he had, which included hot women like Christie Brinkley.

"You don't even know who that is, do you?" he asked, remembering that he was talking to a very young kid. I liked that self-awareness, because Diddy does not seem like the most self-aware man on Earth. Anyhoo:

Deandre, "Only the Good Die Young": I appreciated that Jimmy was real about the repression and sexual yearning referenced in this song, because it could be tempting to just sing the notes rather than feel the words. And he did a good job - still not the most connected singer. But I like it.

Erika, "New York State of Mind": Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. I could listen to her sing ANYTHING. And her hair looks amazing. She's a grownup, and I dig her.

Skylar, "Shameless": Country critic Janis Fontaine reminded me that unlike what Randy said, Brad Paisley never did this song. Garth Brooks did, which brings up one of my issues with this show. I guess you get to do whatever arrangement of a song you want, but so many of these kids do remakes that it doesn't even count for the theme. I didn't recap last week's show, but in the "Year You Were Born" theme, more than half of them sang remakes, songs that were released the year they were born that were remakes of older songs. And that bothered me, because those songs aren't about what was happening musically at that time, other than a lack of imagination. Nobody said to any of them "Somebody wrote an original song the year you were born? Find one?" I call foul.

Anyway, I like her so much. I want to see her stretch a little bit. Then again, sticking to her wheelhouse is a strategy that worked for Scottie last year, so... What do I know?

Joshua, "She's Got A Way": I felt sorry for the kid that he clearly had never heard this song, and that he might not have the romantic experience to channel it. (My sister says they should have coached him to target it toward other people he feels strongly about, like his mom, or God). Interesting - Fantasia famously listened to "Summertime," a much older song that she had never heard before, and immediately connected it to how she felt about her own daughter, and her own rough life. Joshua might not have had the experiences that connect him on any level to these songs, which is why I hate when 16-year-old girls come on and sing about never loving this way again and stuff. Because maybe they connect, and maybe it's just pretty notes on a page that the nice people said to sing.

Having said that, he has an amazing voice, and Jlo was right that once the choir kicked in he settled into his comfort zone. He gets props from me for not trying to gospel-fy every inch of the thing, unlike a certain winner last year who would barely even sing a song that didn't have the word "country" in it. He's trying.

Phil, "Moving Out": Phil is a bad, bad dude. I felt this. I mean, I really felt it. And he's an iconoclast who listened to advice and did his own thing, regardless. He gets that kind of conviction, and that song, remember, is from the perspective of a young man looking at the adults who seem to have sold out or not achieved their dreams, and vows not to ever become that. Of course, that's before adulthood sets in, but it fits. I loved it.

Hollie, "Honesty": Oh, little Hollie, who I love. A technically beautiful, proficient singer. I think she picked one of Joel's least-dynamic ballads, like with "And So It Goes," which sort of stays in the same family of notes and doesn't go anywhere. She has a gorgeous voice, and also the technical ability and ear to try to correct herself, and I appreciate that so much. I think she started too high, and didn't have the opportunity to bring it down the way she wanted. And you knew she knew. I like her so much.

Heejun, "My Life": He's reached the Sanjaya portion of his journey, where he's peaked vocally and seems more about proving a point than advancing musically. I liked Diddy's comments that Heejun's whole thing seems so calculated, that he might be a singer, or not, or an actor, or not, or so good at fooling that maybe he's not anything he claims to be, including Asian. I like his spirit. But I think it's time for him to go. He's fun to watch. But time to go.

Elise, "Vienna": Brilliant. I've always loved this song, even though I never really knew what it meant. Elise's voice is an effortless, mature instrument and I feel giddy being able to listen to her. Yeah, I'm a fan.

Jessica, "Everybody Has A Dream": Just like the folks who will also root out the one country song in an artist's canon, there are singers who will always ferret out the songs about dreams and rainbows and believing that dreams end in rainbows. I like her voice, but I have never been engaged by her performances, including her overpraised "I Will Always Love You," except for her kick-butt "Turn The Beat Around," which she was clearly having fun with. And it annoys me that the judges took her to task for trying something new. I don't feel a connection between her and the songs, or myself. She'll hang around for a while and have a nice career singing somewhere. I've been wrong -- I never connected to Carrie Underwood either, and she of course became a big ol' star.She grew into it. Katharine McPhee, on the other hand, is still being forced down our throats as a superstar when she's a very pretty girl, with a very pretty voice, who still doesn't have the ability to sell a song. I hope she turns out to be a Carrie. (I'm a Charlotte!)

Colton, "Piano Man": I mentally shut down when I hear this played by anyone who isn't Billy Joel, because it's overdone, easy to just sing without remotely connecting to it, and is so specific a story that if you don't get it, it sounds false and phony. Colton did just OK. He didn't elevate it, and his voice cracked at odd moments, but the arrangement was nicely hushed, and he seemed into it. I won't mind when he's gone either, honestly.