I’d like to think that this week’s “most embarrassing moments” montage idea came before news spread of some of the Top 16’s most scandalous pre-”American Idol” behavior. But I just don’t think it’s a coincidence.

If it’s not a mere fluke, it just seems downright evil on the producers’ part.

So feel free to forgive contestants David Hernandez and Danny Noriega if they appeared a bit disingenuous with their answers on tonight’s live telecast—and a bit crestfallen during its introduction.

As I noted earlier today, Us Weekly reported Hernandez worked as a stripper for three years. So with that in mind, perhaps you can understand why I cannot remember what his supposed revelation was on tonight’s show.

I understand the use of initials in text and instant messaging, but for someone who subscribes to the young’n trend of talking in initials, Noriega’s pre-”Idol” YouTube video—in which he describes a NSFW (Not Suitable For Work) Christmas image—is most definitely TM (“Too Much,” to borrow the phrase he used tonight). Find the video yourself, if you must. I’m not linking to it. That said, I’m not sure he’s even embarrassed by that. He’s all about attitude, after all.

But it can’t be sheer coincidence that news of their past behavior and that of at least two of the Top 24 girls—Amanda Overmyer’s 2006 DUI charge and Ramiele Malubay’s quasi-racy photos—has proliferated in the last week alone. After all, this phase of the competition was about the time last year that the public learned about Antonella Barba’s controversial pics.

Assuming the producers were neither leaking the latest sordid news nor supporting it, the classy thing for them to have done would be to abandon the “most embarrassing” segments altogether. Big surprise, they didn’t.

Oh, right. People sang ‘80s songs tonight, too. Sad that it took me eight paragraphs to get to that point. Guess you’ll have to click the next link to see how I ranked the guys in the Top 16, because I fell into the producers’ trap of talking about the contestants’ back-stories.

Sigh. Or as Noriega might say, “S.” And, for him, that letter could stand for either sigh or an expletive. Moving on….

1. David Archuleta—After a brilliant take on John Lennon’s “Imagine,” there was nowhere to go but down (I told you!), especially since this is the second straight week he followed his ballad with what seemed like a public service announcement. Still, a subpar version of Phil Collins’ “Another Day In Paradise” still proves to be better than all the other guys for the third consecutive week.

2. David Cook (right)—Showing improvement for the second straight week, Cook went all Blake Lewis on his audience and ripped out a rockin’, modernized arrangement of Lionel Richie’s “Hello.” Huge risk, equal payoff. Despite some serious pitch issues at the start of the song, he rallied to make it his own, Dawg.

3. Chikezie—Not as strong as last week’s Donny Hathaway number, but still showed off some of the purest vocals remaining in the competition.

4. David Hernandez—I completely agreed with Simon Cowell’s hope for more soul after his dull take on a tired Celine Dion track. I’m hoping Hernandez can overcome some of the background backlash and continue to thrive in the competition. That perseverance, plus his genuine talent, would make for an amazing story.

5. Jason Castro—I actually rather enjoyed his mellow take on “Halleluia.” That is, until he hit that clunker of a note at the very end of the song. Plus, savvy music fans know it’s not smart to sing anything by Jeff Buckley, because he’s up there with the Stevie Wonders and Whitney Houstons of the world as far as artists you just don’t cover if you don’t compare.

6. Michael Johns—“Don’t You Forget About Me” seemed more like an uninspired plea than a song. He’s a shoo-in for the Top 12, though. And would someone please inform Randy Jackson that neither Michael Hutchence nor the late singer’s band, INXS, performed that song?

7. Danny Noriega—I didn’t mind Rickey Minor’s modern arrangement of “Tainted Love.” And while I agree with Cowell (who was pretty much dead-on for the entire evening) that the vocal didn’t work, I don’t think that—or the recent YouTube scandal—will hurt Noriega’s chances of making the Top 12. His supporters already like his sass, so the video will probably only help him.

8. Luke Menard—“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was by far his best performance to date. Wow, doesn’t say much in context, does it?

(Photos: Top 12 guys by Michael Becker/FOX; David Cook by Frank Micelotta/FOX)