With only seven Rockers left, the line dividing those who are vulnerable and those who are safe is razor thin. A bad song selection (or this week, writing a bad song), a less than stellar stage move, a missed note -- any one of these things could send a Rocker home.

Before this week's performances begin, Dave wants to clear up some questions about this week's songs. Why did Suzie suggest that the two Rockers who get to sing original tunes this week should be picked out of a hat, then change her mind when she wasn't picked? Why did MiG remain steadfast in singing his tune? Why didn't J.D. fight to sing his original song? And what is it with Marty and modern rock?

Suzie says she thinks her song is really good and that INXS would be impressed. For MiG it wouldn't really have done anyone any favors (or at least it wouldn't have done MiG any favors) to switch songs, and he says he also wants this chance to impress INXS with an original song. Marty responds that the best way for him to show how he can help make the dance rock INXS created (which has influenced current hit-makers such as The Killers and Franz Ferdinand) sound modern is by singing these types of songs. J.D. is a little less political; he passed on the chance to sing his own tune because there were epic rock songs to choose from and "if this is a rock show and (the House Band) is a rock band, you'd better have a rock song" to sing.

With that, it's time to hear some rock songs, and Suzie kicks things off with "Start Me Up." The Rolling Stones' last top-five single also kicks off the legendary British band's current tour, and Suzie hopes it will stop her reign as "queen of the bottom three." She delivers the song with great enthusiasm, but there's something a little too puppyish about her vocal. It feels light and without an edge. As an added touch, she moves to the Rockers' box, having the others contribute their vocals to the last chorus, and then dives into the crowd. Dave calls her performance simply awesome; he's "shocked" that she ever ended up in the bottom three. Jon calls it "exceptional," and Tim lauds the fact that she looked and sounded like she "meant business."

J.D. approaches his performance with a great deal of confidence. He's sure his performance of Foreigner's top-10 hit "Cold as Ice" will be one of the best of the night. However, his version lays the guitar riff from Queens of the Stone Age's "Little Sister" over the original's insistent piano chords. It's a powerful performance, one Dave thinks makes him already seem a Rock Star. Andrew considers it an exciting reworking, making a classic rock song modern, while Tim thinks that J.D. understands what he's doing in this competition and admires his risk taking.

Deanna is the first of the two Rockers singing an original song, and she's psyched. She says that she deserved to be in the bottom three last week, but with this song she will "kick ass." Her song, "My Truth" (co-written with Ty), is a ballsy rock song, with a thrashy guitar riff and a chorus that soars like Rise Against. Deanna really pours her soul into her performance -- this song clearly means something to her (and to Ty as well, as he sings along with her from the Rockers' box, with a look Dave compares with a "proud papa"). Dave thinks the song suits her voice, but Jon worries that it's too much in her safety zone. Tim asks her about the song's lyrics. They're about a boyfriend who cheated on her when she was 22, with a singer, an event that inspired her to become a singer.

Ty is up next. He feels like the golden child this week, getting two chances to show INXS his talents: as co-writer and arranger of Deanna's song and with his own performance of "Proud Mary." Taking inspiration from Ike and Tina Turner's hit version instead of Creedence Clearwater Revival's original, Ty recruited the three remaining female Rockers to sing backup. It not only shows his soul; the easy-then-rough arrangement shows off Ty's emotional range. In his version, the riverboat has docked in Memphis and he takes the easy, slow opening like Otis Redding. He then drives the second half like a possessed Wilson Pickett, racing around the stage, leading the backing vocals and pumping up the band. Jon speaks for everyone when he exclaims, "That was a show!"

MiG takes the stage next singing his own song, "Do or Die," and MiG is confident, even if the choice "could blow up in his face." A moody midtempo tune about his time on the show, the song shows off MiG's rock side, with dark, grinding verses that turn into a soaring chorus. Dave likes both his look and the song and is glad to have the chance to see MiG rock. If MiG makes him cry again, he's "going to have to reconsider certain things about his personal life." Tim tells him he should "thank God he fought for the song."

After performing a Britney Spears' song, Marty was glad to get back to what he's all about: the modern rock of Live's "I Alone." He needs to make it his own, and he does, getting, if anything, even more worked up than the original. Dave calls him "totally relevant to today's rock music," even if he occasionally misses a note. Jon would like to hear less screaming. Tim agrees -- when Marty screams, his pitch is off, but it really doesn't matter; he pulls it off. Kirk says Marty's really good, he just has to "work out how it relates to INXS," a remark that the crowd meets with a chorus of boos.

Jordis closes the night with Aerosmith's "Dream On." It was a song she was excited about singing when the tunes were divvied up, but she's been having problems with it. One note, the high "G" above "C" scream toward the end of the song, has been giving her trouble. It's completely out of her range. That note hovers over her entire performance. She starts with a nice touch, draping a scarf over the mic stand like Steven Tyler, but she's tentative, as if every note she sings brings her one note closer to the one she can't sing. And when she gets to it, it's really not there for her -- and Dave looks even more pained than she does. It was not spectacular enough, he tells her, and wants to know why she didn't try to finesse the note, as she does with other songs. "I'm trying to stretch myself," she tells him. Tim remains a fan, although he says it's "nice to see that even you can mess up."

Will Jordis continue her streak of not being in the bottom three? Will MiG and Deanna's songs connect with listeners? Will J.D.'s rearrangement succeed with the home audience? For the answers to these and other questions, tune in to the special one-hour elimination show Wednesday at 9PM ET/PT on CBS. And point your browser back here for the recap.