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Phil Gallo from the set list tell us
First week of the mixed-gender shows will be spent with the Lennon-McCartney catalog, a first for "Idol." This could be seriously dangerous territory.
Consider: Only one of these singers, Michael Johns, was alive when John Lennon was murdered. Wings had broken up before they were born. And it’s quite possible, even likely, that the younger kids’ parents were toddlers when "Help!" and "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" were changing the world.
While it seems obvious that Amanda Overmyer will go for "Come Together" or "I Should’ve Known Better," and White will find an acoustic number off "Rubber Soul," the rest of the lot might well be doing a cover of a cover. Stevie Wonder’s "We Can Work It Out"? Joe Cocker’s "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window"? The "I Am Sam" or "Across the Universe" soundtracks? It’s not likely any of them will make the world rethink "Hey Jude" the way Wilson Pickett did or tackle "Here, There and Everywhere" in a style similar to Emmylou Harris’ take.
His strongest point against it however stems from the above:
Likewise, these kids probably do not know which of these tunes have cultural weight and which are fair game for interpretation.
I agree that Non of the performers are going to make the world rethink Hey Jude - but then again - that is kind of a tall order from participants of a singing contest - even if it is American Idol
