Totally '80s!

It was a "totally '80s" night on Wednesday as American Idol's Top 8 brought us back to the era of stone-washed jeans and neon tube tops with songs from Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Genesis, Foreigner, and more. No Doubt's Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal served as guest mentors, and Randy wanted to know: "Who's gotta have it?"

DeAndre Brackensick kicked off the night with DeBarge's "I Like It," and Gwen coached him to "be more confident" as opposed to looking "really worried the whole time." He took the advice, and the judges loved it.

"It was totally captivating, I forgot where I was," Steven said. "You took your voice and you've owned it. That was exceptional." Jennifer said, "I like it . . . I like it a lot! That was really great, baby, I felt like you were super-comfortable up there; you took what they told you to heart, even the way you moved your hair this time." And Randy added that lead singer El DeBarge would be proud: "He's somewhere saying, 'Oh my God, this kid has arrived!' You used more of your natural voice, not just all falsetto; continue to do that, it was perfect. You could be a newer 2012 version of DeBarge."

Next up, Elise Testone tried to follow up her success last week with Foreigner's #1 smash "I Want to Know What Love Is."

"Your voice is sick," Gwen said. Tony added, "We both had goosebumps." Gwen went on to predict that song "could be a magic moment" for Elise. Well, not quite.

"I love your style, I love your voice . . . [but] I'm not sure if that song was the right song for you tonight," Steven said. Jennifer agreed. "You have a powerhouse voice; it wasn't totally right every single moment, but you still sounded beautiful to me, and I felt your emotion," she said. Randy wasn't as generous, saying, "For me, you never quite hit the pitch right. It was pitchy the whole song until the very end. It was not your greatest performance. It was just out of tune everywhere for me."

Colton Dixon and Skylar Laine then paired up for the first duet of the night: Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' 1983 country smash, "Islands in the Stream." The judges were impressed. "I enjoyed that!" Randy exclaimed. Ryan even noted the "chemistry" between Colton and Skylar, but Skylar denied the Twitter speculation that they are dating!

After that, Phillip Phillips jammed to Genesis' "That's All" — with his brother-in-law from back home on guitar. Tony suggested that Phillip drop the guitar on the bridge in order to have a "more intimate moment with the song." Gwen predicted that he'd be "in the top of the tops" with the "sexy" performance.

After Phillip performed for the judges, Steven told him how he's a huge fan. "I love your individuality," he said. "You love being who you are, and that's making you great every time I hear you." Jennifer didn't think Phillip was in his "comfort zone" in the beginning, but she told him that "toward the end you picked it up and you were the Phillip we love," she said. Randy was also impressed, saying, "I thought it was a great song choice for you. Big props to Tony for the note about not playing guitar on bridge — brilliant."

Next, Hollie Cavanagh and DeAndre paired up for the Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited." Steven said he loved seeing Hollie "let go" and "get so excited!"

Joshua Ledet followed with Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me By Now," just as Randy said he was waiting for a "powerhouse" performance. "Who's gotta have it?" he wondered.

"Obviously he has incredible vocal gymnastics — sometimes I think it can be too much," Gwen said. Resident mentor Jimmy Iovine agreed. "It needs to be simpler when it comes back into the hook."

In the end, Joshua earned a standing ovation. "We asked for a powerhouse performance, and that's what we got. It was spectacular," Jennifer said. "How can someone sing like you at your age?" Steven asked. "What a perfect, beautiful song. It wasn't too much over-the-top, and it was over the top," he added. "It's very rare that I want to stand up from beginning to end — that's how good that was," Randy chimed in. "I think we found someone tonight who's gotta have it!"

Jessica Sanchez, who admitted that not long ago she was singing to boxes in her bedroom, chose to perform Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know." (Or perhaps it was her alter ego BB Chez singing the song.)

"Your voice is ridiculous, but the way you move your body . . . try to do things more unique than typical lounge-singer moves," Gwen advised, adding, "She's gonna nail it." The judges agreed that she did.

"That's two powerhouse vocals in a row!" Jennifer said. "Your choices are so natural to you, your vocals just make everything go away for me. I'm listening to you, I can't even believe it's coming out of that little body!" Randy agreed that 16-year-old Jessica did an "amazing job" filling Whitney's shoes. "I can't believe that maturity in you. Ryan, she's gotta have it, too!"

Next up, Phillip and Elise performed Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and the judges really enjoyed it. "Elise, welcome back!" Randy said. "That was hot!"

Hollie chose to sing the classic '80s hit "What a Feeling" from the movie "Flashdance," and Gwen advised her to sing it "tough" rather than "sad." Jimmy urged her to bring "nothing but feeling" to the song. The judges, however, didn't think that she quite pulled it off.

"You always arrive, your songs are always great at the end . . . [you were] a little slow getting there this time, and your pitch was all over the place," Steven said. Jennifer agreed. "Some of the notes were a little musical-like, it didn't feel like the pop song that it is. With the movement, it felt like you don't let go. Stop thinking, get up there, and feel it," she suggested. "Your voice is amazing, couple of pitchy kinda moments . . . I think it happens when you're thinking, not just living it," Randy said.

Next, Jessica and Joshua paired up for the final duet of the night, George Michael and Aretha Franklin's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," and received a standing ovation.

"Two of the greatest singers to ever hit this competition!" Randy raved. "This is one of the greatest performances I've seen on this show — they definitely gotta have it." Jennifer also was impressed, saying, "It's a dream pairing. I'm looking there thinking, 'Final, maybe?'"

Colton chose to sing Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," and Steven said that his voice was so good, "you could do a record right now." Jennifer said it was "amazing," and Randy said Colton, Phillip, and Joshua all managed to make their songs their own. "That breakdown with the drums was sick — you're so current. Steven's right, you're ready to go."

Skylar planned to climb her way out of the bottom three with "Wind Beneath My Wings," and Gwen said her voice was "like ice cream . . . it could be a really 'wow' moment for her this week." She was right: Skylar earned a standing ovation from the judges.

"Wow, Skylar, wow, wow!" Randy said. "The song started, it was beautiful, and I was like, 'OK, she needs a performance this week.' I think this is your best performance on the show to date. Congrats. I think this girl wants it, too!" Jennifer added: "You said to America — I don't know if they knew you could sing that way — 'Do not count me out!' You just told them you can sing with the best of everybody who's here." Steven agreed, saying, "It was the best song you could have picked for your voice and the end of the night — and the beginning of a great career."

So who's going to be safe this week? Randy advised America to vote for the contestant who "could really win this," noting that it was a great night for Skylar, DeAndre, Phillip, Joshua, Jessica, and Colton. Did your favorite have an "awesome" enough '80s night? You'll find out on Thursday, when the results are revealed!