Rewind: Live blog for 'American Idol' Top 7 performances

The "American Idol" Top 7 tackled "inspirational songs" Tuesday night, with Alicia Keys serving as the mentor. We live blogged the show. Here's how the evening unfolded:

5:00 - "This ... is 'American Idol!'"

5:01 - Who will liven things up tonight and give us a true "Idol Moment"? And will Ryan Seacrest act bizarre again tonight? We shall see ...

5:02 - Ryan introduces the "Princess of Soul," Alicia Keys, the mentor for the Top 7 tonight.

5:04 - The first singer tonight is Casey James. He'll take on "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. He's wailing on the electric guitar this week, with a goofy smile plastered on his face. Hey a guitar solo! The rumor was that he's suffering from a cold and at times his vocal sounds raspier than usual. Good, but not great tonight.
Randy: "It was a good performance, but not your best. Give me a little something else."
Ellen: "Great guitar playing. I think you have to be great right now, and it wasn't great."
Kara: "[You're] not showng us what makes you different."
Simon: "That wasn't particularly inspiring - zero emotion. I thought it was a lazy song choice."

5:12 - Lee DeWyze gets the No. 2 slot tonight. He's singing "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel. Wow, what a classic. Tough song to sing because so many people remember the original, incredible version. Boy, this one is tough for me: at times it seemed to alternate between boring and truly inspirational.
Randy: "I think you're going to have a big career. Very nice."
Ellen: "We're seeing better and better from you."
Kara: "I think you had your moment tonight with that performance. Keep picking things you feel connected to."
Simon: "The difference between you and the first performance is staggering. Sincere. Absolutely brilliant."

5:22 - Tim Urban is up next. Will he continue his improbable run to the title? He's singing "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls. And it's fine. Not spectacular, but pretty decent.
Randy: "It just sounded OK."
Ellen: "You're like the soup of the day. Today I didn't like the soup."
Kara: "It wasn't best execution."
Simon: "But it was a little bit of a letdown."

5:28 - Aaron Kelly has been singing "I Believe I Can Fly" since he was 5 years old. How can he make this sound different? After the first few notes, it's pretty much a carbon copy of the original. Here's the thing about Aaron: I still say he's got a really great voice, but he has a lot to do as far as being a real *performer*. His vocals were technically great tonight, but there's more to it than that.
Randy: "You definitely have pure vocal talent. Good job."
Ellen: "That was a tough song but you handled it."
Aaron: "By the end it was like, all right, he got there."
Simon: "It wasn't very good, but you kind of made it quite good."

5:38 - Siobhan Magnus is singing "When You Believe" my Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston, last performed in Season 7 by David Archuleta. I like her take on this song - her big voice is tailor-made for such a big song. Might be my favorite performance by her.
Randy: "It was just OK for me."
Ellen: "I disagree."
Kara: "It started to feel very dramatic. I still don't know who you are."
Simon: "I agree with Randy. I found the whole thing to be a bit all over the place."
[I gotta disagree with the judges on this one. What did you think?]

5:46 - OK we've got two singers left tonight. First up is Michael Lynche. He is singing "Hero" by Chad Kroeger. This just sounds pretty unspiring for me. It's like he wasn't really into it tonight. I think he could be in trouble tomorrow ...
Randy: "You held your own with it - It worked out."
Ellen: "I thought you did a great job."
Kara: "It was all over and the song became unrecognizable."
Simon: "It felt a little bit artificial for me." [Thanks for having my back, Simon!]

5:53 - The closer role tonight goes to Crystal Bowersox. She's going without an instrument tonight, Ryan says, for the first time. She's singing "People Get Ready" by The Impressions. She could nail this ... She's a cappella for the first couple lines, and she sounds great! Here vocals are great, but we've come to expect that from Crystal. She broke down at the end of the song.
Randy: "Unbelievable. [Gives standing O]"
Ellen: "You've never looked more beautiful."
Kara: "You just schooled all those contestants."
Simon: "That was inspirational. You sang it fantastically. To me it was in completely different class than anything else we've heard tonight."

What did you think of tonight's performances?

Here's my ranking, from best to worst:

Climb Any Mountain

- Crystal Bowersox
- Lee DeWyze

I Will Survive

- Siobhan Magnus
- Aaron Kelly
- Casey James

Livin' on a Prayer

- Michael Lynche
- Tim Urban