“American Idol” Brings Back Quentin Tarantino as Singers Tackle Movie Tunes

American Idol tackled movie songs last night, and brought in bigtime Idol aficionado Quentin Tarantino — the man who changed the meaning of “Stuck In the Middle With You” forever — for the job (Quentin’s take on Ryan Seacrest’s traditional “This is American Idol” opener effectively made up for the abomination that was Kill Bill: Vol. 1). Little Steven Van Zandt and Katie Couric were in the crowd to witness the “historic evening” — a landmark because after eight seasons the show still can’t figure out how to end in 60 minutes, so only two judges commented on each singer. Maybe it would be wise to, you know, not have four judges. The singers weren’t bad, but the Tarantino moments were priceless, from flashback video of him admonishing Diana DeGarmo as a guest judge in Season Three to his scenes on the Alfred (E?!) Newman sound stage where he dispensed his advice to the current crop.

Ones to Watch:

• Adam Lambert scared us by announcing his “Born to Be Wild” would have an “electronic element” (visions of Blake Lewis!). Lambert got Robert Planty at moments, and inspired Paula Abdul to break out her little book of weird cliches: “dare to dance in the path of greatness,” “fortune rewards the brave.” Who rewards the American Idol blogger?

• Allison Iraheta got a nod from Couric for her version of Aerosmith’s “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” which featured a few big dramatic notes, and a few less dramatic off-key notes. Per Paula, Iraheta has the “same special sauce” as Lambert. Maybe it’s in their nail polish.

Meh:

• Danny Gokey clearly ditched his glasses so we could see the real emotion on his face as he undoubtedly conjured his deceased wife on Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love.” The feelings were real, but his performance was really dull, and Simon called him out on it.

• Kris Allen sang “Falling Slowly” from Once and solidified his role as Idol’s 2009 heartthrob. Randy didn’t love it, Kara did — case in point.

• Matt Giraud wanted to get emotional on Bryan Adams’ “To Love a Woman,” but gave us a little too much reality in the bridge. Sitting silently while the other judges commented, Simon Cowell repeatedly made a weird gagging motion. Interpret that how you will.

Ones to Remove From Your Memory With Bleach:

• Anoop Desai, where is the love. Covering Adams’ “Everything I Do I Do It For You” — a song everyone sings during Hollywood Week — and ignoring Quentin’s advice to “rough it up”? Poorly played.