'Idol' contender from LI stumbles a bit

Merrick's Robbie Rosen stumbled a bit in his semifinal performance Tuesday night on "American Idol," dividing the judges and marking the first misstep so far this season for the Sanford H. Calhoun High School junior.

Rosen defended himself, saying, "I had a lot of fun with it and, like Jennifer [Lopez] said, I did my own thing."

America will decide who is right, picking the Top 5 vote-getters among the guys and gals. The judges will each pick a wild card to create the season's Top 13 finalists Thursday.

Here's a closer look at Rosen's night:

SONG: "Angel" by Sarah McLachlanPERFORMANCE: A slow ballad that Robbie filled with falsetto runs and more R&B-leaning phrasing.

JUDGES SAY: "All the notes weren't perfectly perfect," said Lopez, before adding that she liked some of his vocal choices better than McLachlan's original. "You're just a very, very special singer."

Steven Tyler gave Rosen strong praise, but Randy Jackson disagreed, saying, "You've been one of my favorites for a long time, I just don't think this was a great performance. It didn't all quite work. The notes were really pitchy. . . . You never really quite settled in for me."

MY SAY: He seemed nervous early in the song with his initial vocal run going awry, but pulled it together to close strongly.

THE COMPETITION: Jacob Lusk, Casey Abrams and Paul McDonald received wild, unanimous praise from the judges.