On Tuesday, April 12th 2005 American Idol's fourth season gave us a taste of what the top eight contenders could do when they were asked to sing a song from the year they were born. Scott Savol, one of the Top Eight Contestants, sang Hall & Oates' "She's Gone."

"She's Gone" became the theme song for fellow contestant Nadia Turner this week. As Judge Simon Cowell predicted, Nadia received the fewest number of votes -- out of over 34 million votes cast.

Nadia was one of our favorites, so we are sad to see her go. We love her voice. We love her smile. We love her hair. And we loved her song choices - even though they were less well-known than others' choices.

Ironically, Nadia selected "When I Dream," a Crystal Gayle song released in 1977 - Nadia's birth year. Turner's dream of becoming this year's American Idol ended with this song.

Whether or not the 28 year-old will head home to Miami and return to waitressing and bartending remains to be seen.

Somehow I don't think we've seen the end of Nadia Turner on the big stage.

Tuesday, April 12th - American Idol Judges' Comments

Ryan Seacrest started out Tuesday's show by saying, "Tonight it's gonna get personal."

Ryan proceeded to show baby pictures of the contestants.

Nadia's Performance

The three judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell had this to say about Nadia's performance:

Randy: "I'm a little perplexed by the song choice. It was an OK performance, a little rough around the edges, a little pitchy. I didn't love it."

Paula: "You look absolutely and outrageously stunning. I come just to see what you wear and how you look and you just wow me each week. I'm not crazy about the song choice, I wanted to be there with the song and I didn’t get that."

Simon: "That was like musical wallpaper. In other words, you notice the wallpaper in someone's house but you don't remember it. That was the problem with that performance. The song choice was appalling."

Bo Bice

Bo sang Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird."

Randy said: "Yo, man. I love that song, excellent."
Paula said: "See you at the finals."
Simon said: "I disagree with Paula. If you come up, run all over the stage like that and sing a sacred song like that, people aren’t going to vote for you.

Anwar Robinson

Anwar Robinson sang, "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick.

Randy said: "I'm gonna give you props tonight. Technically, I think you're the best singer in the competition. I'm proud of you."

Paula said: "You are consistently great."

Simon said: "I think one of your best performances for a while."

Anthony Fedorov

Anthony Fedorov sang "Every Time You Go Away" which was originally sung By Paul Young and written by Darryl Hall.

Randy: "You did your thing."
Paula: "Much better from last week."
Simon: "Last week was a low point. But this week you were very good. Good choice of song."

Vonzell sang "Let’s Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams.

Randy: "You know what, Vonzell. This is crazy! Another great performance from you.:
Paula: "You’re just adorable up there. I think you sang it a octave higher than Deniece."
Simon: "Very good choice of song. If you or Nadia went, I would choose Nadia."

Scott Savol said before his performance: "Everybody talks about the rockers in this competition. I'm the real rocker."

He sang: "She's Gone" by Hall & Oates

Randy: "Scotty, one of the true dog pound members. You brought it home."
Paula: "I can't believe you took that on, but you did GREAT!"
Simon: "It wasn’t very good."

Carrie Underwood sang, "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar.

Randy: "Carrie rocks out! I think you messed up the words a little.”(Carrie said: "Carrie tries!")
Paula: "I think you ROCKED!"
Simon: "It was like watching a little kitten who wants to be a tiger."

Constantine Maroulis sang "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Randy: "Showmanship 10 singing 7."

One American Family's Votes

This is how our votes stacked up this week.

Nadia #1 - 3 votes
Bo #2 - 1 vote
Anwar #3 - 4 votes
Anthony #4 - 1 vote
Vonzell #5 - 4 votes
Scott #6 - 2 votes
Carrie #7 - 3 votes
Constantine #8 - 4 votes

Needless to say, we did not agree that Nadia should be gone.

Meanwhile, if you haven't gotten enough of American Idol this season the producers are creating a publication called American Idol, the Magazine - The Finals Edition.

The Finals Edition is hot off the press and available for purchase online. They are offering a special deal through May 5, 2005. When you order your own issue of The Finals Edition, you’ll receive 50% off newsstand prices, plus Free shipping and handling.

19 TV Ltd. and FremantleMedia North America, Inc. bring you "The Finals" for $2.99.

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Now it's down to Bo Bice, Scott Savol, Anwar Robinson, Anthony Fedorov, Carrie Underwood, Vonzell Solomon and Constantine Maroulis.

One of these seven people will be the next America Idol.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "delivering the dream" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC