With an entire decade of gloriously campy rock tunes, sugary sweet power ballads and undeniably catchy pop songs to choose from last night, Idol's remaining eight women instead chose to pull largely from the dregs of the '80s. As a result, no one really gained or lost any ground. Carly Smithson — still by far the best vocalist, male or female, in the competition — delivered a technically impressive version of "I Drove All Night," but failed to deliver the ever-elusive wow factor.

Nauseatingly earnest former nanny Brooke White stripped down "Love Is A Battlefield," performing a spare coffee-house version of the track that suited her voice but didn't elevate her past pretty-good-but-not-great standing. The only woman to surpass expectations last night was Rock Nurse Amanda Overmyer, who toned down the electrocuted super hero look and turned on the bluesy vocals with a confident, relaxed take on "I Hate Myself For Loving You." Overmyer's performance demonstrated the weird Idol magic that can happen when the right contestant gets with the right song.

Amanda Overmyer: "I Hate Myself For Loving You"

We’ve been waiting for one of the remaining twenty-four American Idol contestants to declare themselves the undeniable rock girl/boy in this year’s competition. On last night’s episode, David Cook finally did it. Cook strapped on his electric guitar, swapped his the greasy boy band hair for a less nauseatingly '90s look and turned Lionel Richie’s “Hello” into an instant radio-friendly emo hit.

American Idol's 70's themed nights should come with lines of cocaine. How else are we supposed to endure gorgeous Ramiele Malubay's appalling rendition of "I Will Survive"? When the boys took on the disco decade on Tuesday, little David Archuleta came away as the clear frontrunner. The girls' field is a little more even, as the most impressive singer in the bunch, Carly Smithson, has yet to really find her groove. She still routinely delivers the best vocals, but she's yet to get onstage and seem like the inevitable winner.

David Archuleta is increasingly looking like the one to beat on Idol this year. Last night, the 17-year-old took on John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and we sat back waiting for the inevitable ruination of a classic. Instead, Archuleta managed to deliver a soccer mom-friendly version that seemed earnest, emotive and alarmingly moving. It’s sort of comical how much better he is than the other nine guys left in the race. David Cook is still the most authentic rocker, Michael Johns the most promising hunky crooner, Chikezie the cheese ball soul singer with the best pipes, but little Archuleta made them all look like frat boys at a karaoke-themed mixer last night. We’re really hoping that Carly or Amanda – one of the girls with a little grit – will deliver a performance to rival Archuleta’s tomorrow night because otherwise we’re going to find ourselves grudgingly rooting for this kid who displays the oppressive cheerfulness of a pageant princess.

David Archuleta: "Imagine"

According to Simon, this stage of the American Idol competition is when we get to see what our contestants are made of. Turns out the girls are made of something simpering, tedious and totally mediocre. Compared to the boys, who rocked it out two nights ago, the entire female pool of contestants just seemed horrifying dull. From within this pack of over-glossed snore-inducing warblers did emerge a couple of singers who could give the guys some trouble. Here are our impressions of each of last night's 12 contestants:

<< Kritsy Lee Cook: Got herself to Hollywood by selling her pony and singing "Amazing Grace." Should try to get that horse back.

Joanne Borgella: This plus size model looks like she could unleash some major vocals but watching Danny Noreiga in the background pretending not to be bored while she sang was more entertaining than her performance.

Alaina Whitaker: The hot one with a modicum of personality, she'll stick around a little longer.

<< Amanda Overmyer: The punk nurse still has a special place in our heart but what's with the clichéd rock girl wear? The cross looks like it came from Hot Topic.

Amy Davis: Hot brunette better suited to modeling for Delia's than singing to America. (Randy: Connie Francis sang "Where The Boys Are," not Patsy Cline).

Brooke White: She has the eyes of a crazy woman, the smile of a possessed housewife and absolutely zero depth.

<< Alexandrea Lushington: This girl is half the size she was when she auditioned. In addition to crash dieting she seems to have spent her time in Hollywood shopping for suspenders and tacky peace sign earrings. Decent pipes, though.

Kady Malloy: Her Britney impression is rad, but onstage she disappears into a living breathing incarnation of elevator music. Bleh.

Asia'h Epperson: Adorable. It's unfortunate her name is so obnoxiously spelled because we're going to be writing about her a lot in the coming weeks.

<< Ramiele Malubay: The first potential winner we've seen all night. This girl has depth, soul, oodles of personality and star presence. Plus her shoes are cute.

Syesha Mercado: This girl's consummate professionalism makes her seem a little soulless but there is no doubt she's one of the best female singers in the competition.

<< David Hernandez: Blocked out his snore-inducing take on "In the Midnight Hour" by playing the Jam's cover in our head. Enjoyed that! [watch]

Chikezie: Goes by one name. Wore an orange suit. Should be ousted in the first cut. [watch]

David Cook: Managed to almost pull off complexly arranged almost-rocking version of "So Happy Together." Is clearly a rock star. [watch]

<< Jason Yeager: Is a 28-year-old father. Has a troubling blonde forelock. Sings like he's romancing a cocktail waitress at a Ramada Inn lounge. [watch]

Robbie Carrico: Claims to be one with his newly acquired rock personality but looks and sounds like he bought his entire bandanna-and-faded-jeans ensemble on sale at Hot Topic on the way to the Kodak. [watch]

David Archuleta: Preternaturally cheerful, freakishly charismatic, singer who makes you want to pack him a lunch or take him out for ice cream. This kid could win. [watch]

<< Danny Noreiga: So pretty it's distracting. His take on "Jailhouse Rock" (not a '60s song, incidentally, Elvis' version came out in '57) basically blew but he looked fantastic in his skinny jeans/tie combination. [watch]

Luke Menard: Did this guy even perform? [watch]

Colton Berry: Has seen way to many Broadway shows. Is fluorescent blonde. Needs to go away soon. [watch]

<< Garrett Haley: It takes serious talent to make Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" sound this spineless and dull. We're impressed. [watch]

Jason Castro: Dreadlock-sporting white guy who plays guitar, can totally sing, and looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch model. He's a keeper. [watch]

On last night's episode of American Idol the judges whittled down the group of hopefuls from 50 to 24. With 12 boys and 12 girls now remaining in the competition, the episode marked the final judging stage in which Simon, Paula, and Randy have total control over who moves on and who gets sent home. Next week America will start voting to keep its favorites in the competition, so this episode focused on introducing the Top 24 to the viewers.

If you watched American Idol last night then you know that this year the talent is stronger than ever. You were told this piece of information approximately 539 times by the judges, who kept threatening the contestants with this notion, and by Ryan Seacrest, who repeated it like an epithet in a Homeric poem. The 160 or so contestants who made it through to Hollywood were so good, Seacrest kept explaining, that Idol had to adopt a new system of accepting/rejecting them to accommodate this wealth of earth-shattering, mind-blowing, life-affirming talent. This translated to an extra long and sorta confusing first day in Hollywood in which contestants were allowed to play instruments (generally not such a great idea) and judges awarded them either a pass (which meant they were safe for a while) or not (which meant that they were allowed one last sudden death a cappella audition). This second chance situation is new: In previous years, a single rejection in Hollywood meant you were going home. Apparently, when your talented contestants are Stronger Than Ever, you give them extra chances to prove it!