Now that President Bush has sung the praises of our military troops in Iraq, the Fox Network's #1 Show, American Idol, was free to air its movie-themed episode, tonight. Bush's third prime-time news conference of his presidency took precedence over listening to the performances of Idol finalists, Diana, Fantasia, George, Jasmine, Jennifer, John, Jon Peter and La Toya.

Fortunately, the remaining eight contestants did not have the same wardrobe malfunction as the president. Whomever chose his tie did not take into consideration the strobing effect of his polka dots. Fortunately, he did not have Simon Cowell judging him, publicly.

The White House did get an 'A' for effort, however, in attempting to capture our attention, as American Idol is currently the top-rated show in the country, averaging nearly 27 million viewers in its 11 airings this season.

Shifting gears to a lighter subject, one of the reasons the show is so highly rated is because of its host, Ryan Seacrest. He started out tonight's episode by calling us our "date" for the night. He then introduced the judges:

First up, Simon Cowell "wearing a Hannibal Lector smile and William Shatner's corset." Ryan referred to Paula Abdul "as graceful as Garbo and as beautiful and fragile as Audrey Hepburn, and about the same size as Stuart Little." He then introduced Randy "The Dawg" Jackson's favorite films as: Old Yeller Two: The Revenge, The Dogfather, Cheaper by the Dachsund and anything with Ellen "Barkin."

Special guest judge, Hollywood filmmaker and American Idol fan, Quentin Tarantino was in the house to "give his two cents" as colorful as his rainbow-colored shirt.

Of all the guest judges we have seen, Tarantino was the best, giving honest, spirited and well thought-out critiques. In fact, he did a good job giving Simon a run for his money.

The Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs creator was also given a moment to promote Kill Bill 2, which comes out this Friday.

Tonight's line-up:

Finalist, Their Favorite Movie, Their Song Choice

#1 - George Huff, The Wiz, "Against All Odds"

#2 - Jennifer Hudson, Sister Act 2, The Bodyguard's "I Have Nothing"

#3 - Jon Peter Lewis, Dead Poets' Society, Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock"

#4 - Diana DeGarmo, Steve Martin's Bowfinger, "My Heart Will Go On"

#5 - Fantasia Barrino, Finding Nemo, "Summertime" from Porgie and Bess

#6 - Jasmine Trias, Lilo and Stitch, "When I Fall in Love" from Sleepless in Seattle

#7 - John Stevens, Aladdin, "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca

#8 - LaToya London, Finding Nemo, "Somewhere" from West Side Story

George Huff"

We grabbed our popcorn and started out the night listening to George Huff sing Phil Collins' "Against All Adds" from The Wiz. The subdued Huff did no deep knee bends tonight. Against all odds, he did "ah-ight."

Jackson addressed George as "Mr. Huff."

George said he chose the song because it touched on his Idol experiences. The result of his performance had a few in front of this tv swooning tonight.

Quentin believes George is the one contestant who gets better every week. Quentin said, "You made me forget that I hate this song."

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer's rendition of "I Have Nothing" would make Whitney Houston proud in our opinion.

Randy said, "You worked it." He called it "a good performance." Paula's only criticism was that we didn't get to hear more of her. Quentin couldn't have said it more perfectly, "Hudson takes on Houston and wins!"

Simon praised her for her "exceptional performance" last week. Then, without naming La Toya and Fantasia, he used the analogy that the two girls must be sticking pins in their voodoo dolls right now.

Jon Peter Lewis

Randy said it best: "JPL is back." Paula affirmed that this is who you are and this is what America loves. Quentin celebrated his "geeky" style. He referred to him as "geekiest rock singer since Freddie & The Dreamers."

Simon didn't see it. He said, "I'm confused." Fortunately, Paula put Simon in his place by saying "You're always confused."

Diana DeGarmo

Whitney maybe. Elvis o.k. But Celine Dion? Don't even try it. Especially not such a difficult song. Luckily, for her, both Randy and Paula were affirming towards Diana's performance.

Fantasia Barrino

19 year-old, Fantasia Barrino knelt in humility as she sang Porgie and Bess' "Summertime." Her humility and phenomenal voice brought us to our knees. It worked so much so that Randy and Paula's praise moved her to tears. Simon's comments gave us goose bumps when he called her performance magical. Randy not only gave her a standing ovation, he called her performance the best of any from any season past and present. Paula called Fantasia "Oscar-winning."

Jasmine Trias

Hawaii's Jasmine Trias sang "When I Fall in Love." We all wish we could have fallen in love with her more, but it just didn't happen tonight.

John Stevens

As a kid, John Stevens made movie sound tracks. While Alladin is his favorite animated movie, John counted on Casablanca's "As Time Goes By" to take him to the next round.

Sporting a white tux jacket, Randy raved about his get-up, song choice and his performance. Paula dittoed Randy's praise.

Quentin admitted he wasn't a fan of John's but gave him kudos because it was "the right genre." Simon said he sang the song very well.

Neil Sedaka was in the house to give John a standing ovation.

La Toya London

La Toya London sang "Somewhere" from West Side Story. Randy said "I'm happy that you were playing for keeps tonight." Paula loved it.

Quentin had two words for her: "Power House."

Simon agreed it was one of her best peformances to date.

One American Family's Perspective

So, we got a taste of how the judges would vote.

One American family along with three Swedes, ages 6 - 46, add to the mix here tonight. Our "top" favorite and our "bottom" choice were as follows:

Kindergarten Girl (Age 6): "Diana is my #1 favorite tonight; everyone else seemed like they were shouting."

Third Grade Girl (Age 8) - "Jennifer and JPL are tied for Number One in my book. In 8th Place, I can not say."

Swedish Girl (Age 19) - "I'm in love with George Huff. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't do it for me tonight."

American Woman (Age 43): "My Top Three: Fantasia, George and La Toya. Last place: Diana DeGarmo."

American Dad (44): "Fantasia's performance was the best tonight. However, George has been my favorite from the beginning. Sadly, I think Diana will be gone."

Swedish Mama (Age 45): "La Toya and Jon Peter are my Top Two Picks. Fantasia seems like a professional, already. #8 in my book was John."

Swedish Papa (Age 46): "No question: Fantasia #1, Diana #8."

After much discussion, the 1.866.436567 numbers we were dialing put Fantasia, George and La Toya in the Top Three. Jasmine and Diana were in our "Bottom Three" with no consensus on a third.

Don't miss Thursday's results show which will be expanded to an hour beginning at 8 pm.

Inspire & Be Inspired

~Jennifer King

P.S. Bumm, Bump. Bumm, Bump. Bumm, Bump.

Fellow dedicated followers of 24 will get their Kiefer Sutherland aka "Jack Bauer" fix on Sunday at 9pm.

To purchase any of the soundtracks from the contestant's favorite movies, click on "Buy Products Related To This Story" from Amazon.