Thankfully, tonight some of the contestants who we haven’t really seen got a chance for us to get to know them a little better, including seeing some early audition footage of them. It may not be much, but it does give us a chance to head them sing a few different kinds of songs, and gives us the impression that they actually have a chance to be in this competition.

American Idol also started theme nights right off the bat this season, with tonight’s theme being “the 60’s”.

Tonight’s performances included:

David Hernandez (24, Glendale, AZ) – “In the Midnight Hour,” Wilson Pickett

Chikezie (22, Englewood, CA) – “More Today Than Yesterday,” Spiral Starecase

David Cook (25, Blue Springs, MO) – “Happy Together,” The Turtles

Jason Yeager (28, Grand Prairie, TX) – “Moon River,” Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

Robbie Carrico (26, Melbourne, FL) – “One,” Harry Nilsson

David Archuleta (17, Murray, UT) – “Shop Around,” Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Danny Noriega (18, Azusa, CA) – “Jailhouse Rock,” Elvis Presley

Luke Menard (29, Crawfordsville, IN) – “Everybody’s Talkin’,” Harry Nilsson

Colton Berry (18, Staunton, VA) – “Suspicious Minds,” Elvis Presley

Garrett Haley (17. Elida, OH) – “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” Neil Sedaka

Jason Castro (20, Rockwall, TX) – “What a Day for a Daydream,” Lovin’ Spoonful

Michael Johns (29, Buckhead, GA) – “Light My Fire,” The Doors

For my money Michael Johns was the strongest performer of the night, but there were a lot of really great performances here.