If the public will donate large sums of money following the “Idol Gives Back” campaign, that will surely not happen due to the inspirational songs the Idol contestants performed on Tuesday.

As, this week, the show is all about giving and caring, the Idols were requested to sing inspirational songs, but none of them managed to rise to expectations.

Michael Johns chose to sing “Dream On” from Aerosmith, in a rocker wannabe attempt. An unsuccessful attempt, if I may say. To add a bit more corniness, Johns explained his choice of the song, after ending his performance. He said he had come to America with a dream and he wanted to prove that dreams can come true if you work hard and believe in them. And, of course, participating on “American Idol” was a dream come true.

Simon Cowell said the performance was a little too “wannabe-ish,” while Randy Jackson said Johns had nothing to do with Aerosmith. Paula Abdul was the only one to have an encouraging attitude, out of reasons that cannot be figured out.

Syesha Mercado made a big mistake by choosing a song that had also been performed by previous Idol winner Fantasia Barrino – Whitney Houston’s “I Believe.” It probably wouldn’t have been such a bad performance if it couldn’t have been compared to Fantasia’s, which was much better.

Brooke White picked Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” succeeding in turning it into a boring tune, which was, surprisingly, described by Cowell as “a pleasant walk in the park.”

David Cook announced he would sing “Innocent” by his favourite band, Our Lady Peace. Leaving aside the pitch changes that did not work for David’s voice, what was with the palm-flashing gesture? Luckily for him, with the charitable campaign on the run, none of the judges could disagree with the “give back” message written on his palm.

David Archuleta, for whom every show has “inspirational song” as theme, made a good choice this time with Robbie Williams’ “Angels,” which probably was the most appreciated song of the night.

Jason Castro was also inspired when choosing Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s version of “Over the Rainbow,” which he performed complete with ukulele. The song was a breath of fresh air among all the other cheesy choices.

Carly Smithson did not do a very good job with Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.” The choice could have been promising, if she hadn’t sung it so aggressively and angrily. So not inspirational.

Kristy Lee Cook felt very excited to finally be appreciated by the judges, after singing Martina McBride’s song “Anyway.”

“Tonight you look like a star,” Cowell told her.

Anyone who has heard McBride’s version of the song probably could not understand why.

All in all, a quite dull and “uninspired” evening, unfortunately…

But, regarding the fundraising, organizers are optimistic. They hope to gather around $100 million during this year’s campaign.

“We're going to make over $100 million this year. I can feel it,” “American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told the audience during the special show that was taped on Sunday.

Among the celebrities that showed up at the ceremony were Sarah Silverman, Billy Crystal, Reese Witherspoon, Robin Williams and Brad Pitt.

Performers at the show included Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan and fourth-season "Idol" winner Carrie Underwood.

Pre-taped segments encouraging viewers to make donations featured David and Victoria Beckham, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Carrey, and also presidency candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.