Australian Native Michael Johns Performs "Across the Universe" on American Idol

I have never claimed to be a fan of the Beatles, so when I heard that on Tuesday night's episode of American Idol the contestants would be singing from the Beatles classics, I had to cringe just a bit. Sure, there are a few Beatles songs that I enjoy, but for the most part their music makes me want to run the other direction.

With that being said, I found myself impressed by the performances of some of top 12 finalists, including Australian native Michael Johns. In his rendition of Across the Universe, Johns took this 1970s Beatles song that I would generally find boring and actually made me like the song. Instead of running around the stage and drawing attention away from his music ability, Johns stood in the middle of the stage with the spotlight shining on him and performed the song flawlessly. Johns, who has been one of my favorites since the first audition, secured his place as my top pick with this performance that blew me away. I liked the fact that he didn't feel he needed to change the speed or the cords of the song to make it his own. He simply let his voice do the work.

Judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell were not overly impressed by the performance and noted the Michael could have done a lot more with the song to make it better and more his style. Judge Paula Abdul disagreed with Jackson and Cowell noting that he looked confident and connected with the audience in a way that other contestants have not been able to.

While there is some stiff competition among the Idol contestants, Johns has a great chance of making through the competition and becoming the winner of Season 7 of American Idol. Watch the results show on Wednesday night to see who goes home this week and who stays around for another week.

Sources: Fox Television Network American Idol Top 12 perform.