I may not love American Idol - but one thing is for sure, I love love love Phantom of the Opera. So I definitely had some mixed feelings when I found out that those American Idol kids would be performing songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber on the show. And while they’re no Michael Crawford, I have to admit that the idea of getting to hear some of my favorite songs again made me pretty happy.

I used to play the Phantom songs on the piano and listen to the CD non-stop as a kid. I also dressed as the Phantom for the costume contest at my 7th grade dance - I won 3rd place (woo hoo) but soon learned that winning costume contests was not cool in junior high (boo!)

Also, if you’ve seen The Visitor, there’s a great scene concerning the Phantom and how exciting it is to be able to see the musical itself (I saw it in Toronto in 8th grade)! Watch the Idol performances of “Music of the Night” and “Think of Me” below (with the original Phantom of the Opera recordings below them).

And be sure to and see what charities Andrew Lloyd Webber supports!