Tonight the top 4 American Idol contestants all chose from a list of 500 hundred songs that shaped rock and roll put out by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I had thought with a show featuring the Hall of Fame they would be choosing songs by the many inductees to the Hall, but instead it was the above mentioned list. The list, of course, contains many artists who are not a part of the Hall of Fame, and even some who probably never will be. MC Hammer is on the list after all. There are also some rather unusual song choices, such as "Legs" being the only representation of ZZ Top. I'm not sure how that song helped shape rock and roll, but I'm sure those who made the list had their reasons.

On to the performances - Round 1:

David Cook - "Hungry Like The Wolf": C+

David Cook led off the night with a selection from Duran Duran. I liked the arrangement of the song, which was done as hard rock. It actually worked pretty well that way. Cook sounded okay on the song, but he seemed to be lacking his usual pizzazz. He just did not seem to be that into his own performance. Even on an off night, Cook still sounds pretty good and comes across like a pro, but he was missing his usual spark.

Syesha Mercado - "Proud Mary": B+

Syesha chose to do Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" in the style of Ike and Tina Turner. Syesha sounded great, and she has really learned how to put on a good show. Her performance was very much like Tina Turner right down to her hip shakes and her dress, but her vocals were her own. That was good for her, even though Simon still unfavorably compared her to Tina. Syesha is showing that she is in it to win it.

Jason Castro - "I Shot The Sheriff": F

Earlier this week I predicted Jason would do this song, but I take no pride in that. This is probably the worst performance I've ever seen on American Idol. Jason was quoted earlier this week as saying he was "ready to go home," and I almost have to wonder if he's just stopped trying. His vocals were sub-par, and his Bob Marley imitation did not work anyway. The judges actually seemed a little upset with him, especially Simon.

David Archuleta - "Stand By Me": B

David Archuleta chose the classic "Stand By Me" for his first performance. His beginning sounded about the way I thought it would, or basically the way he always sounds: good, but lacking real passion. Then he started throwing in some interesting changes to song at the end that were actually pretty good. I'm not familiar with the arrangement he ended up basing his performance on, but it was a nice mix of the original Ben E. King version, with some new elements thrown in.