You might think the Lennon/McCartney songbook is untouchable, but American Idol has done it before. Many times, in fact. Remember, in the first week of the semifinals this year we had three Beatles songs in a row from the since-eliminated (and for the most part, still much missed) Katelyn Epperly, Haeley Vaughn and Lilly Scott.

Thus, my hopes for this week's performances are needlessly elevated. Last week's performances have seen several contestants finally step up to the plate: Casey James and Lee Dewyze turned in pretty strong performances, Andrew Garcia got close to reclaiming the spark of "that song", and Crystal Bowersox was still being, well, Crystal Bowersox. Sure, most of this year's contestants are still dead weight, but I have enough reason to believe that we're going to see an upward trajectory of some sorts this week. Somehow.

But should I have such high hopes? Will tonight be a massive train wreck, a two-hour blah moment, or a mesmerizing new take on the classic Beatles discography? Say hello to my watchlist, then.

Katie Stevens. I can't believe I'm saying this, but my eyes are actually peeled towards Katie this week. Sure, I'm not a fan (and I never was) but it took her forever and a day to break out of that shell and show us her surprisingly mature vocals. She still has a lot to get right, but at least she's getting it right.

Andrew Garcia. Will he give a Beatles song "the acoustic experience" and do well, or will he just butcher his song with a massive cleaver? Or will he just stick to his guns and sing the song in as no-frills a manner as possible? I'm going for the former. I hope he gets it right.

Somebody giving a really refreshing spin to these classics. The judges are probably disappointed that this week's theme is old-fashioned again, especially with them asking the contestants to sound more modern. (Hello, Katie Stevens.) With Lilly Scott's "Fixing A Hole" still doing rounds in my head, there's a lot of things the Top 9 has to think about.

Somebody performing a song off Lennon/McCartney that wasn't performed by the Beatles. Sure, there are a lot of Beatles songs to deal with--I think my Beatles MP3s amount to half a gigabyte or so on my iPod--but I'd like to see the contestants broaden their horizons and tackle songs that were written by John and Paul but not performed by the Beatles. And no, you cannot take "Imagine" because David Archuleta is performing that tomorrow. Imagine this: Lee Dewyze doing "Live and Let Die". Crystal Bowersox doing "Instant Karma!" Then again, it's quite a far shot...

David Archuleta. Because he's done pretty well with these Beatles songs--he performed three in season 7!--and if all else fails tonight, he can give them a lesson tomorrow night. But no, I'm not assuming it will be a train wreck.

My fingers are crossed that things will turn out to be good tonight. After last night's relative success, I don't want to come crashing down again. (Relative, because the biggest success would be Tim Urban leaving. But, to paraphrase Simon Cowell, there's no chance it'll happen. Unless, of course...)

(Image courtesy of Fox)