Review of Kris Allen's Top 7 American Idol Performance

Season 8 of American Idol is down to its final 7 contestants. Tuesday night's theme was "Music from the Movies" and the guest mentor was Quentin Tarantino. Last week, Kris Allen's cover of Don Henley's "All She Wants to do is Dance" got mixed reviews from the judges. It seemed like an odd song choice and the performance was a little flat. With the exception of last week, Kris' performances had been gaining praise each week. So how did Kris' performance during movie week stack up? Read on to find out.

While the other contestants chose to sing well known, over-performed songs, Kris elected to perform something relatively unknown. He sang "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the motion picture "Once". Tarantino praised Kris saying, "...Kris probably lived up to the spirit of the competition the most. He actually went to a movie that obviously meant something to him and picked a song that was perfect for him..." During his mentoring session, Tarantino suggested that Kris consider playing an instrument to accompany his vocals. Kris replied that he had been thinking of that as well, though he was on the fence about what to do. Ultimately, Tarantino told Kris he couldn't go wrong, no matter what he chose to do.

Kris decided to leave all the instruments at home this week. Dressed casually in jeans, T-shirt and a grey blazer, Kris instead opted to perform from behind the mic stand. The arrangement was simple, starting off softly, working towards a string filled crescendo and ended as softly as it had begun. Kris' voice was layered beautifully with one of the background singers which gave a pleasant, interesting effect to the performance. It was clear from the first note that the song had special meaning to him, though we are left to wonder exactly what that meaning is. Though "Falling Slowly" is a slow melody and had the danger of being a boring performance, Kris was able to really connect with the audience and convey real emotion through the lyrics. He had the right look and the right sound to really hit home with his target audience and fans. Teenage girls will love his casual look and heartfelt performance.

Since American Idol ran over its time slot last week due to long judges commentary, the show's producers decided that they would judge in teams this week. After Kris' performance, it was Randy and Kara's turn to comment. Randy was unsure of how to rate the performance saying, "It never quite caught on for me." He felt the song was pitchy throughout. Kara had a completely different opinion stating, "For me, it was one of your best moments."

Overall, Kris was able to bounce back this week after last week's mediocre performance. He chose a song with personal meaning and was able to make a connection with the audience. The fact that "Falling Slowly" is a more obscure song, will most likely work in his favor and his fans will send lots of votes his way. This was one of the best performances of the night and Kris should be safely through to the next round.