David Cook's Performance of Innocent by Our Lady Peace on American Idol, April 8

I almost leapt out of my skin when I heard that David Cook would be performing Innocent by Our Lady Peace on tonight's show. Our Lady Peace is one of my absolute favorite bands of all time, and hearing that my favorite season seven American Idol contestant would be performing it was really quite exciting.

Unfortunately, I think David Cook really fell short this week. Everyone is bound to have a bad performance at some point, and this week was David's turn.

The start was awkward for me. He began with the second verse of the song, which, for me, was a not-so-pleasant surprise. Also, it seems that this particular song is out of David Cook's vocal range. He started off sounding way off pitch, and then came in and out of pitch throughout the song. He ended really strong, but I don't think that the song was salvageable at that point. He took a risk and it didn't work out.

What I think will really help David Cook this week is the ending of the song, when he shows off the "Give Back" written on his hand. Given that this is airing before tomorrow's Idol Gives Back special, I think this was a really appropriate move and will only help him get votes.

The judges echoed my sentiment. Randy didn't quite "get it", even though he's a huge fan of David Cook. Simon thought the performance was pompous, and nowhere near as good as the past few weeks. After the judges gave their critiques, you could see on David's face that he didn't feel it was his best performance, either.

In spite of this being a weak performance, I don't think David Cook's going to be hurt by his performance this week. Innocent may not have been his best song choice, but he still stayed true to his niche, and I think the audience will appreciate how genuine he is.