Former American Idol contestants Scott MacIntyre and Matt Giraud reunited last night on American Idol’s live eliminations broadcast, facing each other on the piano and belting out Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About It.” The dueling piano act was reminiscent of their competitive edge during season eight. The only benefit of the performance was that neither of them was in danger of being judge or eliminated at the end of the show. Talk about relief.

The buzz on the net this morning is that they trashed a classic Billy Joel tune, and MacIntyre’s hair is actually the only 80s Billy Joel thing about him, but in truth they weren’t that bad. It was a nice break between tense letdowns for the contestants who got sent home. Everyone loves Billy Joel, so i can understand why so many people are complaining, but isn’t that what Idol’s all about? Taking great, classic songs and turning them into something the masses can complain about?

The appearance was a great promotional tool for MacIntyre’s first post-Idol album, “Heartstrings,” which is on sale in stores as of March 11. Giraud used the appearance to promote his new duet with Ann Wilson of Heart called “You Don’t Know Me.”