'American Idol' top 8 performance recap: who is out next?

The other six? You could conceivably argue any of them taking home the prize with the possible exception of Joey, who is just a wee bit too quirky.

Watching Rayvon and Qaasim side by side and you wish you could merge Rayvon's vocals and Qaasim's stage skills. Together, you'd have a star! Qaasim's singing issues became more magnified over time. His voice just isn't there. Early on, he was able to hide it with high-energy grunts. But as he tried to sing mid-tempo and ballads ("Jet" anyone?), he proved to be a very ordinary, very pitchy vocalist. Too bad. He was always fun to watch, even when he scrunched his face up and made weird expressions.

You know that new Spike show 'Lip Sync Battle"? Give it up for... Qaasim!

The theme tonight Billboard hits, which is pretty much anything.  The singers opted for mostly recent songs. The oldest is a whopping 12 years old ("Hey Ya" by Outkast), the year Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard battled for the crown.

The mentors are Jason DeRulo and Florida Georgia Line. DeRulo seemed more helpful to me.

My favorite of the night was Jax, followed by Nick and Clark. Worst? Poor Joey, who slipped up when she tried to just do the song straight. (Think Jax a couple weeks back with Taylor Swift.).

My rankings: 1. Jax 2. Nick 3. Clark 4. Tyanna 5. Quentin 6. Rayvon 7. Joey

It might cost Joey votes. I predict she will be in the bottom two with Rayvon yet again. I think Rayvon will finally lose a Twitter save battle. Despite the fact Jax was up really early and the judges weren't sold on her re-arrangement, I loved it. I hope she isn't at the bottom.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

Jax ("Poker Face" Lady Gaga) - JLo didn't look happy but I was completely taken in by this reimagined version. It was jazzy and sweet and fun all the way around. Keith loves her artistry and "making it your own." JLo: "There's a line where it gets dangerous. You want to be an artist on the radio today." This was not radio friendly, she said. "I couldn't relate to that at all musically." HCJ: "You have magic in your voice... What you did on stage didn't match it. You should have inhabited the entire stage... You have to inhabit that vocal space."

Grade: A

Chance of going through: Good but those judges' comments were harsh!

Nick Fradiani ("Teenage Dream" Katy Perry) - He picks an odd song for himself. He manages to pull it off with a rock-i-fied arrangement that wasn't as crazy as Jax's. He shows the most confidence I've seen to date. I say this has been his best performance to date. Good time to do it. JLo: "Changing the song in the best way." HCJ: "I liked the energy... I personally like when you sing songs that have grittier lyrics." Keith: "I thought it was a killer song for you."

Grade: A-minus

Chance of going through: Excellent

Somehow, the other judges goad HCJ to sing "Teenage Dream" and he vamps it up, even though he clearly didn't know the lyrics.

Jason DeRulo (a judge on the upcoming "So You Think You Can Dance" with Paula Abdul and Nigel Lythgoe) sings his latest single "Want To Want Me" with pop aplomb and some great falsetto vocals and dance moves. He is a good mix of Qaasim and Rayvon.

Quentin Alexander  ("Latch" Disclosure with Sam Smith) - A sultry version. He's far better in the lower registers. His upper register during the chorus isn't as clean and in tune as Sam Smith's. Overall, it's probably a good enough performance. Maybe. HCJ: "You look unbelievable... I love this song. Your strong suit is how you fit into a pocket. This is a good thing for you. This was lighter and I dug it. Some technical issues but a really strong song choice for you." Keith: "You have such a laid back style... great performance tonight." JLo: "You're an artist with a capital A."

Grade: B-plus/A-minus

Chance of going through: Okay

Florida Georgia Line sing their latest single "Sippin' on Fire." Very signature harmonics, perfectly adequate song but doesn't add much new to their earlier singles.

Joey Cook ("Wrecking Ball" Miley Cyrus) - She overdoes the "crab hands," Jason DeRulo notes. She laughs. She decides to do this straight - or as close to straight as she's ever done. There were a few trouble notes and she doesn't really blow out the chorus the way Miley does. I'm not sure she can even do that. It's a good performance but might not generate votes for her. Keith: "During the chorus, you held back." JLo: "You did a good job." HCJ: "It was an okay vocal... Something needed to happen during the second chorus... I got a little bored toward the end."

Grade: B/B-plus

Chance of going through: Maybe, maybe not. Could be trouble.

Clark Beckham ("Make It Rain" Ed Sheeran) - Again, he finds a soulful song he can sink his teeth into and emote. He is getting better on stage week by week.

Grade: A/A-minus

Chance of going through: Of course

Iggy Azalea gets upstaged by Jennifer Hudson during her song "Trouble."

Tyanna Jones ("Stay" Rihanna) - She has been a bit subpar the past three weeks so it's good to hear her sing pure pop/R&B here. Very pretty. The song lacked a big note but she brought enough pathos to it for it to work thinking about her late grandmother.  HCJ: "It's more interesting to see someone not cry than lose it. Extremely touching. On a technical note. There's a trend with really fast vibrato. You have this slow vibrato that works on all the songs you do." Keith: "You have such a maturity in your voice." JLo: "I knew you had to dig deep. That's where you live and where you shine."

Grade: A-minus

Chance of going through: Excellent

The bottom two are Rayvon Owen and Qaasim Middleton.

Rayvon Owen ("Set Fire to the Rain" Adele) - I agree with JLo: not a good song pick. But he did a good job emoting this time and bringing some big notes. This was a surprisingly good performance. Keith: "You sang the heck out of it." JLo: "That thing that makes you you, whatever it is. Was it the best song for you? I'm not sure. But I love the way you sing." HCJ: "Don't slap me!"

Grade: B-plus

Qaasim Middleton ("Hey Ya" OutKast) His vocals are subpar. His performance was pretty good, not his best. So overall, he's a goner. The judges were a bit too kind. JLo: "You own that stage." HJC: "Your groove is incredibly strong in the pocket... I thought it was good. Will America save you? I don't know." Keith: "You're such a great performer."

Grade: B-minus

Twitter save? Rayvon again!

QUIP OF THE NIGHT

"I've made a living being boring!" - Ryan Seacrest responding to HCJ.

And surprise! Billboard says there will be an "American Idol" tour after all - just shrunken in half to the top five. That's not a bad thing. It means no "BoyChild" Daniel Seavey, Adanna Duru or Maddie Walker.

The tour hasn't done particularly well the past couple of seasons for obvious reasons. I guess a smaller tour is better than no tour at all. We'll see if Atlanta is part of the route.