On Tuesday's Latin-themed American Idol, The Miami Sound Machine had the beat. Simon Cowell had the lines. The red dresses had the moves. Of those who tried to turn up the heat tonight, La Toya London, dressed in red, had the hottest performance.

We wish the contestants could hold a candle to Gloria Estefan when it comes to Latin pop. From Elton John to Barry Manilow to Estefan, these legendary musicians are great at what they do. But do their songs bring out the best in the American Idol finalists?

In order for American Idol contestants to shine, the producers of the show, plain and simple, need a better format.

Each week, America lives vicariously through these brave aspiring artists.

However, this season we have not seen one of the contestants "come into their own." And how can they?

The most inspirational part of each show is watching AI's awe-struck finalists interact with and learn from Elton John, Manilow and the reigning queen of Latin Pop. Gloria Estefan encouraged the last six contestants to find "you're you" while performing.

We keep looking...

Fabulous Fantasia Falters

Fantasia Barrino sang Gloria's 1989 hit "Get On Your Feet." She made it happen. She got on her feet, especially that last dance move. It wasn't her best night, however. But there were a lot worse. The most touching moment was when she kicked off the show by dedicating her song to Jennifer Hudson.

Randy said, "Vocally, I don't know if I even heard you."

Gloria said, "With all due respect, you haven't hit one bad note in the entire competition."

Paula said, "It's not about hitting every right note; it's about performing. You take on whatever the task is. You gave it your all, and you look great up there."

Simon agreed with Randy. He told her he thought she sounded like a cartoon character -- kind of like "Donald Duck on helium."

Perhaps Fantasia's confidence was shaken by being in the Bottom Two last week.

Can't Get Enough of George Huff

George Huff was ready to give us his Latin moves along with his rendition of "Here For Loving You."

Randy, Gloria and Paula seemed to dig it.

Simon started with the good news. "Gloria," he said, "you have a good band." However, Cowell called George's performance amateurish.

Lovely La Toya Turns Up The Heat

La Toya London sang "The Rhythm is Going To Get You" with style, personality, and pizazz.

Wearing a red hot dress, Randy affirmed how beautiful she looked.

Gloria said, "I'm not sure I was going to be here tonight, but I knew you were."

Paula said, "I wish there was more than a minute and thirty seconds. We need more of you."

Simon said, "You needed to do what you did tonight. It worked. It proved you can do a lot more."

One thing is for sure...

The folks at Everett & Jones Barbeque in Oakland's Jack London Square -- where London has previously performed -- turned up the heat to get out the vote tonight for their favorite finalist. Hope it helped!

John Stevens & Latin "Music" - Like Chocolate Ice Cream & Onion

Gloria originally sang "Music of My Heart" with In Sync. Tonight, John sang the song solo for his grandmother. Gloria encouraged him to connect with his audience. Stevens is proving to be a marketing genius, as well as invincible.

According to FOX, of the roughly 17 million Americans who watch the show each week, more than 4 million are 55 and older. Good on Stevens to work it and work it good. Too bad his performance didn't work tonight.

Randy focused on the good things first. He loved his shoes. The rest simply didn't work for him.

Gloria said, "I think you made your Grandma proud, regardless."

Paula agreed. She expressed how proud she was of John.

Simon started out with a stellar compliment: "You have taken every bullet thrown at you like a man. No complaints. I wish every ex-contestant could behave in your way. However, now the bad news," he said. "You and Latin music go together like chocolate ice cream and an onion. You have absolutely nothing to be guilty about." Cowell then wished him luck.

Just to prove that John Stevens is o.k., his fan club around America will probably be eating chocolate ice cream topped with onions.

Jasmine Trias 'Looked' Like Our New Diva

Jasmine Trias looked especially stunning this evening. Singing "Here We Are" she had it ALL together, and then...

What happened?

Randy called it a "7 out of 10."

Gloria told her she did a beautiful job.

Simon called her performance "pleasant."

Or Perhaps Diana DeGarmo Is The New Diva

Singing Vicki Sue Robinson's 1976 disco hit Turn The Beat Around Estefan made it hum again in 1994. Ten years later, Diana DeGarmo gave it her best shot and wowed a few of those in the room tonight.

Randy said, "You're 16, but you got bad talent. That was really good!"

Gloria said, "You turned the beat around, upside down. Thanks for giving props to my band."

Simon gave her a "7" for her performance and a "0" for her red dress.

Gloria affirmed Diana's choice of song given her age and personality.

Hopefully, Simon will take her shopping and improve on next week's outfit.

No matter the style of dress, the women wearing red tonight took it to the top.

One American Family's Votes

Tundra Tim's Top Three: Diana, La Toya, Jasmine
Jennifire's Jazzed with: La Toya, Diana, Jasmine
Lisa Loves: Diana, La Toya, George
Jessie Jumped for Joy over: Diana, La Toya, Jasmine
Niki's Nuts about: Diana, Fantasia, John

With that you can infer who we believe will be in the Bottom Three.

Elton John chalks up last week's voter results to "racism." Based on this family's votes, we would chalk it up to "ageism."

Probably the biggest hit of the day is learning that The American Idol Season 3 Greatest Soul Classics CD hit stores today. The CD's feature songs include:

Fantasia Barrino’s "Chain Of Fools,"
George Huff's "Me and Mrs. Jones"
Diana Degarmo’s "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
La Toya London's "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
Jennifer Hudson's "Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye)
Amy Adams' "You Make Me Feel Brand New"
Matt Rogers' (Sittin' On) "The Dock of the Bay"
Jasmine Trias' "Midnight Train to Georgia"
Jon Peter Lewis' "My Girl"
Camile Velasco's "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"
Leah Labelle's "Betcha By Golly, Wow"
John Stevens' "You Are Everything"
The Ensemble's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King