A Pack Of Rats

American Idol continues its trend of choosing ancient themes to ferret out the most relevant and current undiscovered artist. Tonight we get the oldest theme we’ve had in several years, but why not go back even further next time with a Bach or Mozart night.

Last season each person in the Top 5 performed two songs, but tonight they only get one thanks to Kara’s presence. So not only do we have to put up with her pathetic math skills and missed pop culture references, now we lose 5 performances. There are several big questions facing the remaining five contestants. Following his now predictable pattern, Adam is due another full speed adrenaline filled performance tonight, but will he be able to ‘spice’ up something from Sinatra and the boys? Which ‘I miss my dead wife but still love her dearly’ or ‘God is my savior and I can do all things through him’ song will Danny select tonight? How will Kris add an acoustic guitar part to a song from the 1940s? Will Matt sit behind the piano or run around the stage? If he can play the piano well enough to justify him sitting behind the instrument he could give a really ‘cool’ performance. Has Allison ever heard of the Rat Pack or any songs from its era? Heck has she ever even heard of the Brat Pack? Her ability to sing a song from the past could establish her as a legitimate contender for the finals. Kelly Clarkson, Allison’s near doppelganger, found success with a song from a similar time period. But, does Allison possess that much versatility? Will all the guys wear a suit and tie? Will Allison wear a proper dress with a tame hairstyle?

Ryan says the intensity of the competition is a constant evolution. Tonight they take on some of America’s most classic song, but who will set the standard? Get it everyone? They are singing standards so Ryan just made a wonderful Paula like play on words. The finale is only three weeks away and tonight we have the benefit of two phone lines for our voting ease. The band goes into a full musical number during and after the introduction of the judges. Is that a first? The remaining Idol hopefuls enter the stage all dressed era appropriately. This is the most lady-like Allison has looked all season. This week they got a mystery mentor. Could it be the ghost of Joey Bishop? Matt guesses Tony Bennett, Michael Bubble, or Rod Stewart. Little do they know, it’s actually In Living Color star Jamie Foxx! Idol then runs a video that tries to justify having Jamie Foxx on during the Rat Pack week, which fails miserably in its attempt. Sure he is a good singer and an even better actor, but come on folks, couldn’t you have picked someone that sings in this genre? How about someone old enough to have seen the Rat Pack in their prime on the Vegas Strip? Really, Jamie’s only qualification for his mentoring assignment comes from the fact he stared in a movie about a guy who was as old as the guys in the Rat Pack.

Kris Allen – The Way You Look Tonight

Kris Allen, wearing his first suit this season, is up first. Ryan, in a rare stand up interview asks him what he needs to do to stay in the competition. Kris says since there are only 5 of them left and they are all amazing all they can do is what they know how to do and hope it works. Ryan thanks us for making Idol a part of our evening and then sells itunes, but this week when you purchase the song you also get an autographed photograph of a Top 5 contestant. Ryan says Kris continues to win over America and wonders if he can do the same with Jamie. Gee, I’m going to guess yes Ryan. Jamie says Kris isn’t trying to win the throat Olympics; instead he is performing the song. Jamie says he would make a record with Kris, which shocks the southerner. Kris admits he cannot sing as well as the other Top 5, and he is shocked Jamie showered him with so many compliments. Kris is singing the song without his guitar, but he still has his creepy little facial hair. Right now he looks like a 15 year old that is desperately trying to grow a manstache. I’m a little surprised Kris didn’t rework the song to fit his style. He has been thriving in this competition more for his arrangements than his vocals. His voice is pleasant, but on this slowed down standard he sounds a little like a teenager trying to sound all grown up at his high school talent show. The pathetic attempt to become Magnum PI is not helping his cause. He is hitting the right notes, yet I expect more from Kris to mitigate his vocals deficiencies. He transition into his falsetto and then back down to his normal voice, and has a few issues. He finishes up the song going back into his falsetto, at first it sounds like he missed the right now and is flat, then he holds out the note for an extended period, which means he actually intended to hit that pitch and not scoop it up to another note. The unexpected note gives the song an interesting ending. Despite Kris singing the song rather well, there is just something missing from his performance (as Randy would say) for me tonight. I’m sure the teenager girls are all giddy over their ‘hottie’ all dressed up like it’s prom night. Randy says he is looking to see who is in it to win it and who has the steam to take it all the way right. He loves the song, and personally, thinks this is his best performance to date. He says Kris told a story and gave the song some R&B styling. Kara says songs from this era give people a chance to show off their technical ability and he set the technical standard very high. His impeccable phrasing, diction, rhythm and timing make him a true dark horse in the competition. Paula says he has made an amazing transition from the boy next door to a sophisticated gentleman. He is a contemporary crooner and she says he was near impeccable. Now I’m not suggested the judges are intentionally pimping Kris tonight, but it’s interesting Kara and Paula used the same word (a big word for each one) to describe Kris. Simon says it was good, but he is not quite as enthusiastic as the other judges. He says something about the performance or Kris being wet. Huh? Maybe that’s a British saying or something. Kris’s family has no idea what it means and you can see they are all confused and asking each other to translate. He says the performance was like a well-trained spaniel for a walk. It’s going to be safe and quite nice but he didn’t think it was incredible. He doesn’t believe Kris can win this competition based on tonight. Ryan asks Simon what he meant by wet, and Simon casually says he meant not dry. Kris could be Ryan’s little brother as they stand sit by sit on the stage.

Allison – Someone To Watch Over Me

She is in the mosh pit raising the roof as they go to a commercial. Little do all these people realize that the free photo you get when you buy itunes is actually an autographed picture of Sarver. Allison gets a sit down with Ryan. I guess since they don’t have two songs to sing they will all get the chance to show off some personality. Allison says its awesome being the only girl left, but she does miss the other girls. She celebrated her birthday by rehearsing and then her family gave her a surprise party on the third floor. Jamie says her singing is absolutely innocent. He says she is too young to have a love life, so instead she should focus on her family while she sings. If she does that she can shock the world. She is singing an original version of the song. I wonder if they were told not to mess with the standards by creating their own arrangements. Unlike Kris, this song does not feel too big for her vocals. Her rock stylings are an interesting take on this classic song and gives it a new feel. She is hitting all the right notes and showing more subtlety than she has on any other song this season. It’s nice seeing her show so much technical control of her voice. This might not be as monumental as Kelly’s performance in season one, but it’s a lot closer than I would have guessed. She is doing a fantastic job that far outpaces how well Kris sang only minutes prior. The judges better give her the credit she deserves, and by that I mean even more than they gave Kris. She finishes the song with a nice jump into her quiet falsetto. This is perhaps her best performance. If the judges say anything other than ‘best of the season for you dawg’ then we know the fix is in for Kris. Randy says he thought this genre might be tough for Allison. He says she looks like Brittany Murphy and sings like Pink with extra octaves. He doesn’t care what nobody tells her, she was the bomb and did the song in her own rock style and he loved it. Kara was starting to think Allison needed someone to watch over her when she fell into the bottom three, but she isn’t worried anymore. She thinks she picked up some new fans tonight by showing she isn’t just a rock chick. She gave a gut wrenching deep emotion way behind her years rendition. Kara says if that doesn’t land her in the finals she doesn’t know what will. Paula has been waiting for an Allison ballad and loved the fact she was both alluring and tender; she is really proud of the new 17-year-old. Simon asks her if she thinks she can win the competition at this stage. She says yes she thinks she can. Simon says he still doesn’t think she believes she can win, and he has a horrible feeling she could be in trouble tonight. Ryan asks for some clarification from Simon. Unlike the wet question, he actually answers this query. He says he didn’t feel, in terms of commitment and belief, the performance was a 10, instead it was a 7. Kara says she loves Simon, but he is crazy. Randy also defends Allison and says she was the bomb. The judges seem to be enjoying the freedom of talking as much as they want tonight.

Matt – My Funny Valentine

Matt gets another sit down with Matt while Ryan advertises the Idol tour. He is wearing his ‘I’m cool’ hat and is stoked about this week. He loves jazz and studied it in college; it’s a part of his life. Jamie says it’s a big song and had no suggestions for Matt. But, he ended up calling him back into the room. All of a sudden Jamie wants him to change the song’s key. Jamie says if Matt sings it in the new key in his full voice he could land at number one. Matt is sitting on the stool of emotion. He is delivering the song in a slowed down deliberate pace. Matt isn’t trying to be cool, like he does most weeks, which makes him actually cool. He even hits the right pitch when he enters the danger zone that is his falsetto. His voice starts to really soar when he gets into the middle of the song, but when he goes back down to his lower voice he loses the right pitch for a moment. I don’t think he made the key change Jamie requested, but he still sounds good. He finishes the song showing off some vocal prowess by hitting a big power note, probably his biggest one this season. Still, much like Kris earlier tonight, I feel there is something missing from this performance. Fun. Maybe that’s it, none of these contestants look like they are having fun tonight, and the Rat Pack was all about having fun with life. Randy says for him this is one of the hardest songs to sing ever, and for him it was just a little bit pitchy. He compliments him for adding some runs, but says only some of them worked while the others didn’t land right; he only gives it a 6 out of a 10. Kara says the competition is so tough tonight she needs Matt to be the leader of the pack. She didn’t think Matt made an emotional connection with the song. Matt assures her he was connected. Paula loves what he did with the song and loves the advice from Jamie. She says by lowering the key they got to hear a different side of Matt and she says he did an excellent job. Simon has to disagree with Randy (Paula is thrilled). He says it was the only believable authentic song tonight and he could tell Matt loved the music. He could hear Nat King Cole phrasing in the song and calls Matt brilliant.

Danny – Come Rain Or Come Shine

Danny steers clear of any ‘making fun of blind people’ moments as they go to commercial. Ryan gives us another itunes commercial and then introduces Danny and Jamie. Danny says he isn’t changing up the song much, just adding a bluesy feel. Jamie says Danny is really close, to what, he never says. Jamie uses a creative technique to get Danny to sing the song well. He gets up in ‘his grill’ and makes him sing while he is close enough to still French kiss him. Danny is at first befuddled, but finally relents and starts singing. Jamie says if he channels the song he will be fantastic. This really should be called the slow and sad Idol night. This is almost a first; he is hitting the right notes in the verses. Normally it takes Danny awhile to get going. He sounds better than he has in recent weeks. Thankfully he is using a microphone stand and avoiding the hand of emotion. Near the end the song picks up pace and power and Danny enters his ‘I’m screaming but all of my fans say I’m not screaming and only Adam screams voice’ and gets gospel with the standard. He tries to finish with a bang, but runs into some pitch issues on his final riff and then goes completely off pitch during his final note. However, Danny surpasses Kris and Matt for best of the night and is probably tied with Allison. At least someone finally brought some energy to the stage. Randy has to corral the crowd before he can start pimping Danny. Randy says it sounded like a ballad again and too safe, but Danny is the only one that could actually have an album of songs like that and win. He reminds everyone to forget about the connection because this is a singing competition and Danny can sing. Kara says she has been missing the Rat Pack swagger from Danny all season. She says his ending was the most creative he has been with a melody all season; it was unbelievable. She is starting to think he should do standards. Paula says it was a stellar stellar performance. She says Danny can see the finish line in front of him and finishes with a ‘way to go.’ Simon agrees with Kara and says he had swagger and confidence tonight. He felt tonight Danny came out to prove a point with his vocals and he showed what he was capable of – an outstanding performance.

Adam – Feeling Good

Adam, like Danny doesn’t get a sit down with Ryan. I bet after all of Kara’s talking they were running long on time and need to finish the show quickly. Nice job managing the time judges and Ryan. Adam is singing a version of the song that gives it a bit of a rock edge. Jamie says he is going to knock everybody’s head off with his version. Jamie is so impressed with Adam’s run through he doesn’t think Adam is nervous and he says ‘you don’t care about who I am at all.” And Adam laughs because inside he was freaking out because Jamie was standing three feet away from his face. See, if he had the Danny ‘Jamie is only 3 inches away from my face,’ then he would have been nervous. Adam starts the song at the top of the staircase, which is lit all in red. He starts the song in his upper register when he stops on the middle of the staircase. He struts down to the stage while the band plays the classic descending melodic line. Confidence and swagger have never been a problem for Adam, at least not on the stage, this is the one place in his life where he knows he belongs. He is changing around the melody to sound new and current. Having Danny and Adam go back to back really demonstrates the disparity in talent between the prayer and the screamer. Adam has more vocal ability than anyone in the history of American Idol. Yeah, I said it, because it’s true. This is the first ‘fun’ performance tonight. It’s like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds on a stormy day. Adam is even adding a little rasp to his voice. His ending is amazing. He suddenly goes into a massive power note and then holds it and holds it and holds it some more, and while continuing to hold the note he reads the paper, finishes up his late taxes, and does some yard work. The duration of the notes isn’t what’s most impressive, no, that can be found with how he ends the marathon note. Instead of stopping short and then starting a new note after a breath, he somehow dials back the volume and slides into several more notes, a mini riff, and then pauses before hitting the final note. Wow, if the judges do not give his boy mad props as the best of the night Congress needs to investigate the judges. Randy asks Adam to check it out and then says the song was a little too drama filled, theatrical, and Broadway for him, but he says Adam is in the zone and gave another good performance. Kara says he is shocking in a confusing and good way. She says he is way over the top but still likes him. Are you kidding me judges? That’s two judges that are confirmed idiots. They slurped up the Kris and Danny Kool Aid and now they are not sure about Adam? Let me remind you Randy, A FEW MOMENTS AGO YOU SAID IT WAS A SINGING COMPETITON AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF DIDN’T MATTER AND NOW YOU ARE SAYING HE WAS TOO BROADWAY – ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What was too Broadway about it Randy? The fact that he hit a lot of notes and was pitch perfect? Is that what you meant? Furthermore, this was a lot more Vegas then Broadway. You know Vegas Randy, the new home to over produced shows where Adam would be at home. If any of the other Idol contestants got on stage at one of the casinos no one would bother watching their performance, but Adam, everyone would stop and take notice. Paula says he makes he feel better than good. She says watching him is like watching the Olympics and he is their Michael Phelps. Wait a minute, did she just accuse Adam of taking a hit from a bong? Someone in the audience has a creative sign that says, “Adam is Wicked Cool.” Will Simon give this his ‘Ring of Fire’ treatment? Simon says Randy complaining about Adam being theatrical is like complaining that a cow moos. Simon loves season 8’s competition because unlike some years, he thinks most of the people actually want to win this time. He says Adam wants to win and prove a point every time he sings. He says Adam had quite an entrance and says Ryan is no longer allowed to use the stairs. And then he is done talking. So, let’s see, HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE, ARE YOU SERIOUS? So we gave up 5 performance so Randy could say it was too Broadway, Kara could act confused, Paula could compare him to a swimmer, and Simon could ramble on about past seasons. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Idol judges! I think they have run out of nice things to say about his voice and if they say he didn’t sing it well they will be obviously lying, so instead they just act confused and avoid the topic.


Final Thoughts

Kris is still the little kid acting all grown up wearing his father’s suit. Allison is still more versatile than anyone thought. Matt is still in a lot of trouble if the voters get things right. Danny is still over singing his song and not emotionally connected. Adam is still feeling good. Taylor Hicks is on tomorrow night, which means Simon might actually skip the results show. Making him sit through a Soul Patrol performance is a bit like making a snake cross a recently waxed tile floor. Mean, but yet a lot of fun to watch. Not giving Adam the coveted ‘best of the night praise’ is a little like giving the MVP award to anyone other than Michael Jordan when he was in his prime. Sure you understand why it happens, but it still doesn’t make it the right or fair. Adam had the pimp spot and delivered a show stopping performance, so he should be safe. He was also the only person to take a chance and alter the original song to any significant degree. And for all the Danny lovers out there, your boy screams even more than Adam does, except it’s about 4 octaves lower. Danny is, well Danny is Danny, and his wife is dead, so he should also be safe. After the two frontrunners, things get really interesting tomorrow night. Kris seems to have much more fan support than Allison or Matt, but I wouldn’t be surprised if somehow he went home tomorrow night. Granted there were only 5 performances, but Kris did go first, for whatever that’s worth. In the end, I think he will be safe leaving Matt and Allison as the two most likely to go home and begin their careers in retail sales. Since I want Allison to remain the competition and I think we’ve seen all that Matt has to offer, I’m going to predict he will be the lowest vote getter. Somewhere Anoop is devastate the judges used their save on Matt. The Noop dawg would have loved all the slow and contemplative songs we heard tonight.

CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT - WE HAVE A DISCO INFERNO

Matt received excellent news last week when he learned the judges were going to save him, unfortunately, his reward is singing disco. Considering the judges always talk about being current and chart ready one must wonder why they have a theme night with music last popular in the early 1980s. For the first time all season every contestant faces elimination. Sure, there was no chance the judges would use their save in the first few weeks of the season, but knowing they might had to provide at least a modicum of comfort for the contestants. This might be the most talented Top 7 in Idol history. Everyone can sing, most of them pretty well. Even those Idols with ‘issues’ still manage to sound good most of the time. There are some very well known disco songs, but if the Idols sing them without making the song their own they will sound very karaoke (for some reason disco songs are more likely to sound karaoke than others). Some of the big questions heading into tonight’s show include the following. Will the show finish on time tonight even with every judge commenting? Will Adam break his trend of singing a slow song the week after singing a fast song? Will Lil finally show some originality? Will Matt play the piano during disco week? Will someone make the unfortunate mistake of singing the very much over done ‘Last Dance?’

Ryan starts the show by reminding us that Matt should have gone home last week. Ryan says his famous ‘this is American Idol’ line in front of a screen of burning flames. Normally he doesn’t get to stand in front of the burning flame screens. Ryan says the good news is that Matt gets another week, but the bad news is two people are going home tomorrow night. Ryan says there is an unprecedented amount of pressure on the contestants this week. I hope he means this season and not in the history of mankind. For instance, I’m guessing during WWII FDR was under more pressure than the people on this show. I can’t prove that or anything, but I’m pretty sure. The contestants emerge from behind the stage door and Anoop is wearing a very bright pink sweater. Adam looks like he is on his way to a 9-5 job wearing a full suit and tie. In an effort to shave off the extra minutes from last week the show has no mentor and no introduction videos before each song. I wonder if they will take out the itunes commercials to save even more time. All of the contestants leave the stage except for Lil, who must be up first.

Lil – I’m Every Woman

This song should be retired from every talent competition. When Lil picks a song like this it’s as if she isn’t really trying. She obviously picked the first and probably only song she recognized and figured ‘hey I can sing this so I guess I will.’ I wish she picked something we didn’t expect. Something no one would see her singing, and then sing it well. She got half of that formula right last week. She picked an unexpected song, but then sang it unexpectedly bad. Unless she has something in mind like changing up the melody, this performance is bound to fail. Her lengthening wigs are getting out of control. It’s the most obvious thing ever that she wears one, so why not let Ryan ask her about how she picks out her fake hair. She sounds pretty good, but she sounds like everyone else I’ve ever heard sing this song. She walks behind the judges and stands still for a moment, then she goes back to the stage. What was the point of her movement? She doesn’t really do anything except walk around. Rather than adding energy to the song her movements are just distracting. She is doing almost nothing unique with her vocals. This would have worked nicely on season one of Idol, but the show has changed. It’s no longer just about singing, it’s about how well you can create your own version of a song. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every week, but to be successful with the judges you need to show you have your own vision. You must develop a style different from the original artist. Lil can sing and is a good performer, but she either has no musical curiosity or is a coward. She almost never takes any chances. Her closest attempt came last week when she tried to gospelize the ‘Rose’ and failed miserably. Her family is thrilled with her performance. I have a feeling when the judges are done talking they might not be so enthusiastic. Randy says she definitely got the party started, but she sounded so wild. Although she can sing, he doesn’t think she showed them what type of artist she wants to be, even though she can definitely sing. It was big and she danced, but he doesn’t think she demonstrated enough vocal control. Lil is not pleased, but she is composed and timid compared to her mother who is shouting something from her seat in the audience. Kara says she has been waiting for Lil to sing a song like this, but she isn’t sure it was worth the wait. She says Lil has been every other women on the stage but her self. Kara still doesn’t know what type of artist Lil would become. Paula says Lil was on vocal rest this week because she lost her voice, but she made a great recovery with her strong vocals. Paula says the reason this song was great is because the original artist tapped into her inner goddess. She says Lil was hot tonight, but didn’t reach the boiling point. Lil has gone from upset to sad. Simon says she looks so sad and she says she had fun tonight singing this song. Her mother gives her a standing ovation. Simon says he is glad she had fun because this should be the last week we ever see her. He says there was no originality and the vocals and arrangement were a mess. Ryan asks Lil what she is thinking and she believes she didn’t sound karaoke tonight. Lil also believes in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the TARP program. Simon was extremely hard on her performance. Her only chance to stick around another week is if people try to annoy Simon by voting for her. It’s happened in the past and it wouldn’t be shocking if it happened again tomorrow night.

Kris – She Works Hard For Her Money

Kris gets a sit down with Ryan while he is holding his guitar. He was pretty worried about singing disco at first, but he feels comfortable with his song choice. He says the song has something to say since it’s about a woman…that works hard for her money. Kris is used to having an introduction video and sits there after Ryan makes the introduction. He is supposed to be walking to his spot on the stage but doesn’t realize it until Ryan tells him to get moving. While he is walking Ryan reminds everyone about the upcoming Idol tour. Wow, this is an interesting song arrangement. He is playing the acoustic guitar surrounded by a couple percussionist. He is doing a completely original version of this song. Hey Lil this is how you make a song new and relevant. Kris does not have the biggest voice, but he always manages to create his own unique blend of music and vocals. For some reason he is wearing dog tags. Lil’s vocals were probably better than Kris’s, but his performance is far superior. He almost runs into pitch issues near the end of the song, but he pulls it off. In a compare and contrast moment, when Adam had a band on stage with him and acknowledged them and shook some hands. Kris just stands there and looks cute as his backing band quickly leaves the stage. Kara starts things off, or tries to as the crowd keeps cheering, and says he took a real risk with his arrangement, but it paid off big time. He showed them something about himself with the song and she thinks it could go on his record. Paula says he had a Santana feel and then she goes off the tracks. She says a lot of women are known to shop in the men’s department, but there aren’t many men willing to shop in the women’s department. She says he shopped and found a perfect fit that showed his originality and why he is a contender in the competition. What? I have no idea what she is talking about. This is more confusing than when Kara talked about shopping earlier this season. Simon says he needs a translator to understand Paula and then she reiterates that Kris is known to shop in the ladies department. Simon joking asks if it’s for women’s underwear. He says Kris was a complete and total opposite to Lil. He was original and thought out and not karaoke. Simon doesn’t care if Kris buys or wears women’s underwear because he thinks the performance was fantastic. Randy doesn’t care what Kris buys and says to forget Paula and Simon because they are acting like they are in high school or even grade school. He loves that Kris knows who he is and he thinks he proved he is ready for the big time with that great arrangement. Kris looks like he wants to say something. Probably that he doesn’t like to wear women’s underwear, but Ryan is rushed for time and never gives him the chance. As they go to break Allison is wearing Danny’s glasses and he is pretending he can no longer see. Danny is obviously making fun of Scott now that he is off the show. His hatred for blind people cannot be tolerated and he should be kicked off the show immediately. Ok, not really, but I’m sure at least one overly sensitive person out there took offense to his antics.

Danny - September

Ryan advertises itunes while introducing Danny from up top with the band. Danny has the back up singers on the stage. I’m not saying Danny is cheesy, but he just signed a multi year endorsement deal with Kraft. He sounds better on the early verses tonight than normal. His hand of emotion is always a little distracting for me and tonight he is really using that hand. He is really belting out the notes. For all the Adam haters that don’t like it when he ‘screams,’ I hope they realize Danny screams a lot more than Adam, he just isn’t doing it at such a high pitch. He often sounds like his voice is reaching the breaking point, but it hasn’t failed him yet. He moves next to the back up singers and he then almost jogs down to the front of the stage. He has a fire background behind him. I guess because there are a lot of forest fires in the month of September. Maybe he will tell us after the performance that he met his wife in September. He doesn’t sound bad, but he is just going through the motions. This isn’t an original arrangement and even though he is adding his own interpretation to the vocals, compared to Kris’s new arrangement this feels a lot like a Lil performance. I wonder if the judges will be consistent and lament his lack of creativity. Vince Neil is in the audience. The lead singer of Motley Crew is sitting in the audience at American Idol. What is the world coming to these days? Randy starts things off by asking Danny to check it and then he says he was worried about this song choice. He says Danny turned this song, a song without much melodic range, into something that allowed him to work it out. Danny apparently has four sisters and they are all in the audience cheering for their brother. Kara says she was worried about Danny on disco night, but because he is an incredible vocalist his pitch is always right on and he never has any issues. She says he had another solid performance, and she hopes people remember him at the end of the night. Umm Kara? He never has issues? Did you really just say that? Have you ever heard him sing the beginning of a song? He almost always takes 30 seconds to find the right pitch. In fact I’m pretty sure you have pointed this out yourself at some point, so maybe you should go back and review your own comments from previous weeks before each show. Paula says she loves Danny’s voice because whenever she thinks he reached his limits he goes up even higher. Although he didn’t change the arrangement, she says he showed vocally his agility and brilliance. As a woman she thinks he has one of the sexiest voices ever. Yes Paula, in the history of the entire world, no one is more sexy than Danny. No hyperbole there at all. Simon says he agrees with what everybody says. Hmm so he thinks Danny has a sexy voice too? He cannot fault the vocals, but as a performance he didn’t get any star power from Danny. At this stage he thinks the contestants need to do something special and Danny was awkward and clumsy. Paula says she will still see Danny in the finals. Ryan says Danny was working late into the night on his performance. Does that mean no one else worked late into the night Ryan?

Allison – Hot Stuff

Wasting no time, the stage behind Ryan and Danny opens and Allison is sitting on a red lighted staircase. She is being as seductive as the show will allow for a 16 year old. She is doing an arrangement different from the original. Her version is more rock than disco. This song has a little grunge feel at times. She sounds good using her rock voice. She looks comfortable and unforced on stage. Like Danny, she gets the fire background. I guess it makes sense since fire is indeed hot stuff. The song gets a little corny near the end, but she salvages an otherwise lackluster finish with a wonderful glory note. She looks pretty content with herself when she is done singing. Randy says he has two things. For him personally he didn’t like the over indulgent arrangement, but he thinks she is one of the best singers in the competition and he doesn’t care how old she is because she can really sing. Kara also wasn’t crazy about the arrangement. She thinks the song was too slow, but this was the right song for Allison. She agrees with Randy that Allison is one of the best singers and vocally she says it was a 9 or a 10. Finally, Kara says something useful. I wish more judges would tell us what they thought of the vocals when they didn’t like the arrangement. Instead they normally spend their allotted time complaining about the arrangement and never say anything about how well the person sang. Paula says the word compromise does not belong in her musical vocabulary. She loved Allison’s edginess and authenticity and thinks she hit the last note off the charts. Simon says she was going into this week as an underdog, but taking everything into account he calls her performance brilliant. Ryan speeds through the numbers and Allison looks a little shocked Simon gave her the most praise. As they go to commercial Adam is in the middle of a girl filled mosh pit.

Adam – If I Can’t Have You

Someone in the audience is holding up a homemade Adam Lambert disco poster. Ryan talks to Adam about disco night. Since Adam has already done a disco song earlier in the season he wanted a song he could connect with emotionally tonight. He is standing on a darkened stage with a single spotlight shining from above. He is in his upper range and sounds fantastic. When he goes into the chorus he opens up his voice and seamlessly transitions from his quiet voice into the voice his critics call the ‘screaming’ voice, but it’s not screaming when you are hitting the exact pitch. It’s not screaming if you never lose control of your voice. He is a pitcher throwing a 99 mph fastball compared to Danny’s 65 mph knuckleball, but he has more control and finesse than Danny. He is really connecting emotionally with the song and unlike Danny, he doesn’t need to use the hand of emotion to guide the audience on his musical journey. He has the ability to connect to the lyrics without doing anything dramatic. He just stands still and sings the song while emotion pours through his voice. This season is shaping up as a Danny v. Adam showdown, which is exactly what it might be in the finals. And, the show will in fact go down every time Danny is on stage. He ends the song on a perfectly in pitch subtle falsetto note. When he is finished Simon is actually clapping. Adam’s dad is in the audience wearing a tee shirt and a pair of shorts – way to dress up big guy. Randy says one of the things that should be happening at this stage in the competition is the contestants should be showing off their range. Some weeks Adam does the rock thing, sometimes the slow vibe and he thinks Adam is ready right now dude. He says Adam has it majorly going on and is a hot one tonight. Kara says he is brilliant and ups it for her every week. She says he looks like the guy from SNL meets Clark Kent. I have no idea what that means. Maybe after the show Kara and Paula can twitter what they meant to say on the show and give explanations and a glossary for easy reference. She says he was inspiring the way he connected to the emotion. Paula says she has never questioned her visceral response when he performance. She felt his pain and vulnerability as if he tore his heart out and left it on the stage. She calls him fascinating, brilliant, and awesome, and predicts he will be in the finals. Simon didn’t quite feel the pain. He would have bet 10,000 dollars Adam would sing a Donna Summers song, but he didn’t, and that’s what makes him special. He does things the judges do not expect. He loved the performance because it was original, memorable, and most importantly the vocals were immaculate. Adam interrupts Ryan to give credit to Michael Orland for helping him with the arrangement; another classy move by Adam. Michael is the piano player for Idol that everyone recognizes, but no one knows his name. Adam did not have to give him any credit. There is no Youtube video out there of Orland doing this version of the song that might come back to haunt Adam if he didn’t give he credit, but he did it anyway. He is easily the best of the night.

Matt – Staying Alive

Matt is going all-in with his song choice. It’s like singing the national anthem; everyone has heard the song and will know if he misses a note. If he is ‘molten lava hot’ he can elevate himself as a serious contender, but if he is only lukewarm he might make the people at home regret the judges’ save. Ryan sells itunes while walking through the audience introducing Matt. He is using an arrangement different from the original. It has a Maroon 5 feel to it with the accented drum and guitar parts. Matt is sans piano and moving around the stage. However, he is not in falsetto on the verses. Why select this song (perhaps the most famous falsetto song in history) if you cannot handle the verses in falsetto? It’s like remaking Star Wars without any special effects. He sounds ok in his normal voice until he throws in some falsetto notes near the end of the verses and it does not sound good; he is completely off pitch for a few notes. He is doing his best to stay alive. He is adding a lot of movement trying to infuse the performance with his own energy. Every time he goes into his falsetto (which isn’t enough) it just points out how he isn’t using it on the verses. He is trying so hard, but he just isn’t getting the job done. Not even standing next to the back up singers Danny-style is working. Matt’s finale attempt at salvation is not quite a train wreck, but the train does come off the track. He adds an unnecessary riff that is a mess and dare I say self-indulgent. Matt’s family and friends learned their lesson last week and are standing this time. Randy asks Matt to check it out and starts with the bad stuff. He didn’t like the song choice or the arrangement, but he says Matt can really sing. He calls the Top 7 one of the most talented groups in the show’s history. Kara says he brought the disco groove back. She really liked to see him move and she thought the vocals were pretty good, but not crazy original like Adam’s performance. Paula says Matt picks songs like she bowls, sometimes it’s a gutter ball sometimes a strike. She calls it a strike tonight and says he saved his own life this week. Simon didn’t like his performance because he thinks Matt needs to leave Idol land. He says the performance was a bit desperate. He says the vocals weren’t great and Matt lacked originality.

Anoop – Dim All The Lights

Ryan takes a sip of Kara’s drink before he introduces Anoop. The Noop dawg is growing out a goatee. Nothing compliments a pink sweater like facial hair. He is going ballad tonight, but I think this is a mistake; he should be singing something up-tempo and having a good time. He sounds pretty good. The song gets a little faster and he kneels down and touches some audience hands. He hits a big power note halfway through the song and he sounds great. There is no doubt Anoop is a good singer, but despite some pitch perfect vocals this is a boring performance. He has a Lil feel to him, by that I mean he is singing all the right notes but has no emotional connection with the song. This is a ‘so what’ performance. He nearly makes it through the entire song without any mistakes until he reaches the end and butchers the final note. You never ever want to end a song like that since you know the judges are going to remember how you finished, not how you started. Randy says the last note was rough, but he is really happy because even though he didn’t like the arrangement, Anoop can sing. Randy is amazed by this season’s Top 7. He is happy to hear Anoop’s vocals and says nice baby nice. Anoop’s parents are happy with the dawg’s comments. Kara thought it was a great song choice and really liked the beat. She thinks something like this song could be on the radio. She says the last two weeks have been his best performances. His parents are even happier now. They have come out of their shell compared to the early weeks when they hardly showed emotion. Paula is talking about Anoop’s look, specifically his new facial hair. She says real men know how to wear pink. She says no one can deny his vocals and she felt Anoop was enjoying himself when the song picked up the pace, but she wants him to smile even more since he has great teeth. Simon, again disagrees with his fellow judges. He says it was mediocre at best. He prayed the tempo didn’t speed up, but it did. He says this was a horrible version of the song and in general his worst performance this season. Anoops parents look more amused than upset, in fact his mother is laughing at the crazy British man that just insulted her son.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Lil is still every woman because she sang the song exactly the same as every other woman who has ever sang it in the history of the universe. Kris is still original and entertaining. Danny is still bad for your cholesterol. Allison is still hot stuff baby this evening. Adam is still the most controlled vocalist in this show’s history. Matt is still not staying alive, in fact he might be Idol dead soon. Anoop is still better than Matt or Lil tonight.

Well, disco night wasn’t nearly as bad as some seasons. Maybe next season they will go all out and have a disco country night featuring the best songs of country music done disco style. Simon might take some of Paula’s pills before he sat through those performances.

Three contestants should be safe tomorrow night. Adam delivered another emotionally charged performance continuing his trend of fast songs followed by slow ones. It must have been hard for him to stay away from the fast paced disco numbers, but he didn’t break from his master plan. Kris continues his strong assent into the top three. He began his journey into the Top 12 (then Top 13) defying expectations by advancing from his group. Besides Adam, he is clearly the most original contestant each week. He usually takes chances and thinks outside the Idol box. The fact he is dreamy cute and has a large percentage of the teenage girls locked up solidifies his standing as a true contender. Danny is Danny. He has very little versatility and still struggles when he doesn’t shout his song. But, the judges love him and so do all the red staters sitting at home thinking about Danny and his deceased wife. There was a group of girls in the audience in Danny’s family and friend section. I wonder if the Idol producers put the Danny’s sisters caption underneath the girls lest anyone at home think he has a girlfriend in the audience. If the producers ever decide they want to get rid of Danny we’ll know when we see a girl in the audience with the following caption underneath her: “The girl Danny is sleeping with because he no longer loves his dead wife.”

Allison sang well and should be safe, but her fan base might not be big enough to keep her safe. The other four contestants could all be in serious danger. Two of the four will be going home and neither of them will be saved no matter how much they beg. The judges lambasted Lil, and unless the public rallies behind the only remaining diva, she will be going home. I think the rally will fall short and she will soon be at home with all her children and her wigs. Matt’s fans were terrified last week until their boy was saved, and they will vote vote vote to keep him safe. The extra voting should keep him safe, but it will not keep him out of the bottom three. That means Anoop is not only the final member of the bottom three, he is also the second person going home. This is the first week this season where anything can happen. It wouldn’t be a shock if Allison and Matt went home instead. The drama should make for a fun, perhaps sad night.

THE WORLD IS A STAGE AND THAT STAGE HAS A LOT OF CRAZY LIGHTING

With Sarver, Scott, and Megan now watching comfortably from home, the show has lost all of its ‘why are they still here’ Idol hopefuls. Everyone left, yes even Anoop, has a decent level of talent and at least one ‘hey this person could make the finals’ moment. Of course for Lil and Anoop those moments came before they even reached the Top 13. Lately, Adam has a ‘moment’ every week and the judges always ensure the public believes Danny also has moments. Allison, Kris, and Matt have been up and down each week, but it wouldn’t be shocking if one of them slipped into the Finals. For the first time this season I have no idea who should go home this week. Could this be the week the judges finally use their ‘save’ power? If the power only applies until we reach the top 5 this is their penultimate chance. It is perhaps a little fortuitous Scott left before we entered Movie Theme week. We are saved the awkward moment when Scott tells Quentin he is one of his biggest fans.

Ryan says the Idols have dominated the small screen but now they go big time taking on the music from the movies under the watchful eye of a legend. The so-called legend, Quentin gets the honor of announcing, “this…is American Idol.” Quentin has had some good movies and is always a great interview, but legend might be going a little too far. Is this the best mentor available? Is a guy that cannot even sing and never produced an album the best Idol can find? Any chance Fox is distributing his new movie? Idol never does anything without cross promotion involved so I’m guessing somehow his inclusion helps make them money. This is another wide-open theme that gives the contestants a huge universe of available songs. A big universe often leads to song choice disasters so we might have a couple train wrecks tonight. Ryan is using the new opening from last week that replaced the new opening they used the first several weeks. Gone is the voice of god guy and the judges’ grand arrival through the stage door. Ryan flies down the stairs and introduces the band, which for some reason is down on the stage tonight. In an ironic twist, Ricky, the lead musician on the show got sick of being high, so they put him next to the contestants. Ryan introduces a very colorful Randy by calling him the one and only vibrant congenial yellow striped Randy Jackson. He calls Kara provocative. If provocative means bad at math and a time consuming distraction, then yes Ryan used that word correctly. He calls Paula hot and Simon legendary. Ryan is just throwing out the legend word tonight. How long until he says Kris is a legend? Ryan says tonight is historic; after overrunning their allotted time last week the judges will now talk only two at a time. Simon says the show ran over last week because of the girls talking too much. I wish someone would go back and review every episode and see how much in minutes and seconds each judge has talked on air this season. And if the person is a big enough nerd they can also calculate how many of those minutes were spent giving positive comments. This is one of many new stupid changes the show is trying this season. Let me get this straight, Idol has so little control over themselves they cannot regulate the judges’ comments to ensure the show squeezes in under an hour? Every week when they get short on time the judges manage to fly through their comments with no trouble. Why not use the same approach tonight? I’d rather hear all four judges say something quickly than two judges providing a detailed opinion. If we are so pressed for time why not remove the mentor portion of the show. Do we really need to see Quentin working with each contestant? Maybe the show is thinking ahead for life after Simon and getting us used to not hearing him talk after every person sings. Steve Van Zandt is in the audience. He is wearing his E Street Band clothing, not the Soprano stuff. If we get lucky maybe he could kill off one of the judges. Ryan walks behind all the Idols giving them shoulder massages and comforting words like, “we got to work tonight baby.” They play an extended introduction for Quentin, which reminds everyone he has only had a few successful movies, but it’s ok because he is a legend, right Ryan. Ok this show is incredibly short on time, so short the judges cannot all talk after a contestant sings, but they have the time to show this video? Really? We are approaching ten minutes into this time pressed show and no one has starting singing! Next time you are so short on time cut out the introduction video for the mentor, especially when they are a legend and need no introduction. Quentin explains how the theme is about the combination of music in the movies and says he will give them performance tips if he has any.

Allison – Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing

She is following in the footsteps of last season’s Idol winner singing a song that should be retired into the ‘awesome song but overdone’ assisted living facility. Quentin says she wasn’t quite at a performance level when she ran through her song. He sat down in front of her and made her sing the song again. He thinks on performance night she will do a great job and belt it out. So his great advice to her was to sit in a chair in front of her and make her sing the song a second time. Wow, it’s pretty hard getting expert advice like that without paying the big bucks. What next he is going to lay down on the couch while someone sings? The song begins with the string section taking the melody. Allison is wearing an Adam like fingerless glove on her right hand. The lighting and the screen behind her are all red making her hair almost blend into the background. She changes up the melody a little on the verses. The background looks more and more like a giant lava lamp. She saunters her way in front of the judges as she approaches the chorus. She even reaches out and touches the hand of one of her adoring fans. What happens if the fan pulls her into the mosh pit. Please someone make this happen one week. For some reason when she nears the big finish the lighting turns white. She almost has a few pitch problems near the end, but avoids anything major. The big glory note is almost out of her range, but she manages to hit it with sufficient power. She gets a little shouty on the final few notes but this is her only real chance to add any originality to the song. This is a pretty good performance of an overdone song. I wish she did something different with the arrangement to make it a little fresher. Is that Katie Couric in the audience smiling and clapping? Paula says she has vocally championed Adam since day one, but tonight she noticed for the first time she has the same special sauce he does – her authenticity. Special sauce? You need to describe her singing and you use a condiment reference? Simon hears the word sauce and immediately throws out the word barbeque in the background. She doesn’t care if Allison is 16 or 60, she is an uncompromising remarkable and talented young lady. So we only get two judges talking about Allison and the first one barely manages anything about the actual performance. Simon continues the sauce talk and confirms the sauce is barbeque because Allison is hot and spicy. He thinks she is the only girl with a chance to make the Finals. She is getting more confident and stronger. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard a girl sing this song as well. He predicts we could see her all the way through to the end now. Allison seems more confused by Simon’s praise than happy. Maybe tonight is an attempt to get America used to Simon not always talking after each contestant. If he is leaving the show anytime soon we might have to deal without his acerbic wit permanently and not just after every other contestant. Normally going first is an easy way to slip into the bottom three, but with only 7 contestants left on an hour long show, going first isn’t that much of a hindrance.

Anoop – Everything I Do

As always, everything we hear tonight is available on itunes. Anoop, who apparently has no imagination, is singing a song everyone under the age of 60 probably has memorized. Quentin was a little concerned with Anoop’s song selection at first, but he told him to rough up the song and then changed his opinion. He wants Anoop to over emphasis certain words to give the song more dramatic effect. Anoop always sounds like he is starting the song in too high a key. For some reason there is a large red circle on the stage around Anoop. He is following Quentin’s advice and changing up the melody a little. He sounds surprisingly good. This song doesn’t allow for too many melodic changes, but he is making enough to avoid sounding like a bad Bryan Adams. He is adding a few too many riffs on the word ‘you (since when is you an 8 syllable word),’ but this is actually working. Dare I say Anoop dawg is rocking a slow song? For some reason Anoop likes to sing the sometimes boring love ballads instead of the more upbeat songs. Just because he cannot sing fast Michael Jackson and Usher songs doesn’t mean he should avoid the fast stuff completely. He is avoiding any major pitch issues while somehow emotionally connecting with the song. All too often Anoop uses dramatic facial expressions to convey how emotional the song is instead of using his voice; tonight he is avoiding this mistake and if finding a happy mixture. This might be his best performance all season. Since only two judges are going to talk about Anoop, it will probably be Kara and Randy since Simon and Paula just spoke. Anoop is barely staying on the show and he finally gives a good performance and he doesn’t get the benefit of Simon giving him praise. Maybe Simon would find a way to criticize Anoop, but I think even he might like Anoop-dawg tonight. Paula, well it goes without saying (see normally when people use that expression they then say what they said doesn’t need to be said, but not me, you can figure it out yourself). The crowd isn’t booing, it’s Nooping. Although some weeks I think they were actually booing. Randy affectionately says Anoop dawg is in the house. He was worried when he learned Anoop was doing this song, but the last couple weeks Anoop has found his zone and is rocking the house. He thinks Anoop was in tune, filled with emotion, and did a really great job. Kara says Anoop found his place – pop songs with a little soul infused. She says this was one of Anoops best performances. She felt connected to his singing and really liked his changes to the melody. Ryan asks Anoop what he was thinking about while he sang the song, but Anoop says he cannot reveal the source of his inspiration. I bet he was thinking about Danny’s deceased wife.

Adam – Born To Be Wild

He is easy riding tonight and hopes to give the song an electronic vibe. Quentin says he is looking forward to hearing Adam’s version of the song and Adam, who apparently hasn’t decided how to change it yet, says he is too. Quentin says Adam is the real deal and Quentin doesn’t appear to offer any advice to Adam. I guess he didn’t feel the need to tell Adam to come out of his shell a little. Adam begins the song with his back to the audience standing in front of a lightning bolt filled background. You can already tell the Adam haters will not like his upbeat song. Adam skips his way to the center of the stage. He is wearing his fingerless gloves again and through the first two verses he is keeping the song pretty close to the original. Then, as he approaches the chorus and he runs over to the band (I think more than any other contestant he loves having the band on stage next to him) and the song morphs into a head banging interlude. Adam jumps back and forth between the keyboard player and the back up singers. Seriously, the band has to enjoy playing for him. If you could play your instrument on a slow and dreary dead wife dedicated Danny ballad or an Adam ‘experience’ wouldn’t you prefer the latter? I’m sure there are some bikers listening right now not approving of Adam’s alterations to their theme song. He is really changing things up now on his second run through the verses. Instead of singing the normal straight melody he is starting low on a verse and going a little higher on every word until he reaches the apex then going a little lower on every note until he reaches the end of the verse. This is how you make a song your own without totally destroying the original song. He screams (in pitch) his way into the next pass through the chorus and the drummer is having a lot of fun bashing away on Adam’s new arrangement. I wonder if they put the band on the stage specifically for this number. His final note is higher than Keith Richards. He finishes his performance on his knees belting it out with everything he’s got. The crowd erupts. You get the feeling every one was expecting a loud fast number from Adam tonight. Most of the clapping people have a ‘holy crap’ look on their face. Paula tries to talk but then cedes to the screaming girls that need to voice their approval for Adam a little longer (they do know he is probably gay right). Paula tells him he should take it all in. She says the reason he is shaking up this competition is he dares to dance in the path of greatness. Even though he probably has no idea what the heck she is talking about he thanks her. General rule – anytime someone says greatness to you say thanks. Paula says fortune rewards the brave and she thinks Adam is one of the bravest contestants she’s ever witnessed. Simon says Adam needs to learn how to express himself a little more. Vocally, Simon thinks he was incredibly, but on a down note, he felt parts of it felt like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Since this is one of the biggest rock songs of all time Simon predicts a large portion of the audience will despise his changes to the song. He doesn’t’ think the performance will be as popular as his performance last week. Ryan asks Simon if he liked the performance and Simon says yes, but not as much as last week; last week he was more original and current in Simon’s opinion. Ryan jokes with Adam that he should work on coming out of his shell. I agree with Simon. Anytime Adam takes a chance with a classic song he is bound to annoy part of the audience. Danny isn’t nearly as talented as Adam, but no one hates him when he sings. How can you hate something that doesn’t’ force you to think and borders on boring. Danny’s singing would be played on an elevator because although some people might not love it, no one would hate his singing. If Adam really wants to win this competition he needs to show his softer side every other week like he has been doing. He is following the Tom Cruise model. He usually does a big blockbuster movie followed by a small independent feature. Therefore he gets to ‘act’ and make lots of money. We still don’t know which is the real Adam. Does he prefer doing the fast paced number of the slow break your heart ballads? Maybe he likes doing both and will make an album that touches on several different styles and genres. He is a walking contradiction at times. He dresses like an emo rocker and spends hours on his fashion sense. He constantly talks about being new and modern, but every time Idol provides him a wide-open universe of songs to select, he usually picks something older. He keeps going back to the 60’s for his material with a few trips to the 70s and 80s. His most recent song came during Michael Jackson week. I would like to hear how he alters an already modern song to fit his style. Adam is safe tomorrow because if he somehow got the lowest votes you know the judges would use their save.



Matt – Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman

He gets a sit down with Ryan on the stools of knowledge. Ryan asks him about the judging the last few weeks and how confident he is tonight. Matt says it varies but this week he picked a song he loves and it should work because he is going back to the keys. The Idol piano guy gets a break when Matt works with Quentin since he can play his own piano. Matt thinks this is one of the most beautifully written songs. Quentin warns Matt not to lose the enunciation of the lyrics when he riffs and growls. He thinks Matt is giving the song a completely different feel. Quentin says Matt could have one of his top three performances. Matt begins the song playing the piano with no backing. He runs into his first pitch problem before he finishes the first verse. Well he isn’t sounding copycat right now, but it’s because Bryan Adam hits the right pitches. The band joins Matt and he stays at the piano. He is actually playing the piano really well tonight, probably his best piano moment so far. He jumps into his falsetto note, but struggles a little to hit it with sufficient power leaving his back up singer as the dominant voice. Uh oh, the bridge is a mess. He is trying to do a few vocal riffs and he loses the right pitch and then struggles for several moments to find it again. That sound you hear is the train going off the tracks. On the final note he goes a little flat before he fades out with just the piano. His family isn’t even standing for him. Guys, he is your boy, STAND UP FOR HIM NO MATTER HOW BAD YOU THINK HE SOUNDED. IF YOU DO NOT THINK HE IS WORTH STANDING UP THEN WHY SHOULD WE VOTE FOR HIM? A laughing Randy says the performance started out kinda cool, but then hit a rough patch in the bridge. He lost the melody and went off pitch. He cautions Matt not to do ‘all that stuff’ with a song that has a beautiful melody. He says Matt fell down more than he won on the song and it wasn’t one of his best performances. Kara, who wants to put everyone in a box, says there is a struggle for Matt between rock and soul songs. Some weeks he really nails the song choice, and then he tries to put too much soul into a rock song and takes away some of the core melodies that make the song great. She says if he flips a song like that he has to make it a master piece. Randy says the only way you can soul up a rock song is to make it perfect on every run. A non-glasses wearing Danny waves as they go to commercial. I just realized Danny without his glasses looks a little creepy.

Danny – Endless Love

Danny gets the second sit down stool love of the night with Ryan. He tells Ryan he bought a guitar because he gets bored. Ryan wonders how he has time to get bored and Danny never answers him and instead talks about the Idol tour. He says he will not break out the guitar on the show anytime soon. Was this entire ‘interview’ just a way to advertise the Idol tour? Quentin is a big fan of Danny’s vocals. Danny says this song touches his heart the most out of all the songs he has done so far. Wait a minute Danny hold up. Isn’t every song you sing touching you emotionally? I mean all but a few were dedicated to your deceased wife so shouldn’t they all touch you the same? Or, are you just scared that Adam is better than you and know your only chance to beat the emo rocker is to pull on America’s heart strings as often as possible. Why don’t you find a song called ‘My Wife is Dead’ and sing that one instead. Quentin tells Danny that he is showing his emotions through his eyes. He wants Danny to stick his hands in his pockets and convey his emotions through his eyes and not his hands. Maybe that’s why he isn’t wearing his glasses tonight. Danny is sitting on a stool still using his hands to emote. He sounds a little weak on the verses. As always, he just doesn’t sound too good unless he is really belting out the notes. He stands up at a totally random point in the song (contrast with Adam who stood up last week right as he hit a big power note and the song changed course) and grips the microphone with both hands. This is Danny in full sincere mode. He sounds better when he gets into the louder parts. He is still using his hand of emotion. Dude put that thing in your pocket. He is not doing anything original with the song, but then again Danny rarely does anything creative. His big creative moment last week came when he did the 1980s version of ‘Stand by Me’ that destroyed the classic song. So maybe he is better if he just sings the copycat version. He looks very sad while he sings the song and looks towards the heavens when he hits the last note. Is it wrong to point out his love with his wife wasn’t endless? Sure their love will go on, but the relationship is over now unless he sees his dead wife Grey’s Anatomy style. Although his vocals were good most of the song, this is pretty boring. His family and friends are standing (take lessons Matt’s friends) and they all look sad instead of happy. At least no one is holding up any pictures, but you know they have them in their pocket just in case they need to whip them out. Paula says she wasn’t sure at first if Danny should be singing in a lower key, but midway through the timbre of his voice became magical and he was unique and unforgettable. She says he grabs them in the beginning, wows them in the middle, and slays then in the end. Wait, you just said he wasn’t that good in the beginning, so how did he manage to grab you with his subpar vocals? Simon says he cannot fault the way Danny sang the song because he is a brilliant singer, but he is disappointed they heard the original version of the song. He was a bit bored Danny didn’t do more with the song like David Cook did with a Lionel Richie song last season. The crowd boos and Simon suddenly remembers the dead wife and says he knows this song means a lot to Danny personally and was hard to sing. He congratulates him for overcoming the intense emotions. 30 years from now will people be attending Danny concerts and still crying for him about his dead wife? When does the sympathy party end and the vocal competition begin? Hopefully if he finds love again he will steer clear of one legged British women – they cannot be trusted.

Kris – Falling Slowly

When they return from commercial Ryan is sitting in Randy’s seat and Randy is trying to get back to his chair but Simon will not let him pass. I guess he doesn’t know the magic word. Ryan does a very bad Randy impersonation while selling itunes. For some reason Randy’s shirt, which looks like something out of a new Star Trek series is growing on me, I wonder where you buy something like that, maybe the pet store. Kris looks like a midget next to Quentin. The tall one thinks he captured the spirit of tonight the most by picking song from a movie that meant something to him. Quentin thinks he will do well with or without an instrument. Kris is sans guitar and in full emoting mood. He is having a little trouble enunciating in the lower range of his vocals and we lose a few words. He is missing the right pitch a little on the first verse. I think because he is singing too low for his voice. He must be going high at some point otherwise he shouldn’t start the song this low. A back up singer joins Kris and they are harmonizing well. He hits a falsetto note in pitch and is sounding really good right now. The back up singer and him must have practice a bunch; this is the best pairing of Idol in back up singer in recent memory, they sound great together. His vocals are really good tonight, but there is something missing from his performance. Maybe the song is not big enough for a ‘moment’ or his voice is too small to blow me away. Whatever the reason, he is just short of an amazing performance and instead never leaves the good but not great zone. Randy says for him for Kris it never quite caught on for him. He loves the song, but for him it was pitchy form note one for him. Kara says it is difficult singing such an obscure song, but for her it was one of his best moments. An excited Paula grabs Kara by her shoulder. I guess she liked Kris too. If only we got to hear her comments too, but that would mean we’d have to give up that cool introduction video about Quentin and let’s face it, he is the only reason we are all watching tonight right?

Lil – The Rose

Ryan is in the mosh pit next to a random nerdy looking guy. Why is the mosh pit always made up of a bunch of attractive teenage girls and one or two random guys that look out of place. I’m guessing the guys are children of Fox executives or something. Quentin is a big fan of Lil and was thrilled to hear her sing. She took the song more gospel at the mid point, but Quentin wants her to commit more to the original verse in the first half as much as she commits to the gospel middle. Lil is either using a wig every week or some combination of chia pet and miracle grow to get these elaborate hairstyle variations. She is singing the song with only a piano accompaniment. She sounds good yes, but not good enough to sing this song. She tries to take the song in a Mary J. direction, but her big gospel moment isn’t gospel enough. This song should be filled with emotion but she is just going through the motions, not the emotions. She needs to watch Mary J. sing a song prancing around the stage stomping her foot becoming part of the song. Lil doesn’t know how to reach those inner emotions, which leaves the song feeling lifeless and boring no matter how good her vocals sound. I have no idea why she thought Bette Midler was the way to ‘gospel out.’ Is this song over yet? She finishes her mediocre performance barely hitting the big falsetto note and then ends it quickly when she doesn’t appear to have enough breath support to hold out an extending finish. Despite all her talent, she just cannot figure out how to put together a complete performance. Paula says the lyrics were beautiful and she is sure that sometimes the road is really long, but it’s a worthwhile road when you’ve made it this far. What? That made no sense Paula. At least tell us how you think she performed. Ok new plan next time they are afraid the show might run long, let every judge except Paula talk. Simon has no idea what Paula is talking about and then tears into Lil. He says the song was too soft and middle of the road and despite a few nice moments he doesn’t believe she is the artist they discovered 8 weeks ago. Uh oh Lil is verging on going ethnic on Simon. She asks Ryan if she can respond (haven’t you been paying attention Lil there isn’t enough time for all the judges to talk let alone time for you to talk back). He tells her to be quick. She says when she heard this song she put her own gospel into the song and she thinks it was really good. She says she honestly put an R&b feel into the song and then out of nowhere Paula says, “Don’t ever be afraid to say what you feel Lil, those that matter don’t mind.” What does that even mean? Maybe Paula is just smarter than anyone and years from now we will quote her unique insights to make sense of the world. Ryan quickly gives out Lil’s numbers and rushes into the video recap. She is lucky Simon didn’t have time to verbally berate her attempt at creativity.

Final Thoughts

Allison is still straining on the high notes. Anoop is still surprisingly good and should stick with songs from white Canadians from now on. Adam is still born to be wild. Matt is still more Chris Richardson than Justin Timberlake. Danny’s wife is still dead, but his love is endless. Kris is still interesting and so close having a moment. Lil is still a stem without a rose. Ryan manages to get the show in just a little over their allotted time and promises both Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson tomorrow night.

Tonight was probably the first ‘no one really sucked tonight’ episode since last season. Not coincidentally, it’s also the first episode without Scott and Megan. The Top 7 is very talented but one contestant stands out as far and away the best – Lil. Ok just kidding, in fact she is the exact opposite. Adam ‘rocked out’ tonight and again had a moment. Every time he sings he has a moment. Even his not well-received ‘Ring of Fire’ created a huge buzz and crowd reaction. This season is shaping up as a replay of last season where the creative and original David C. went against the family friendly loveable David A. The teenage girls love them some Adam, so when Kris and Matt make their exits he should gather up their remaining votes and become powerful enough to slay the Danny ‘my wife is still dead’ Gokey. Allison started off the show strong and got the Simon seal of approval and Kris is just so darn cute; both of them should avoid the bottom three. Therefore, Lil, Anoop (he does not deserve to be here), and Matt will face danger, with Lil eventually going home to all her children. Since tonight has 7 contestants left Ryan should implement the standard ‘make one person pick which group of three is safe’ routine. Since whichever group has Adam and Danny in it will be safe, they will have to put them each in a different group of three. I’m guessing they put Adam, Lil, and Matt in one group with Danny, Anoop, and Kris in the other group. Allison will be the final person and Ryan will tell her she is safe but must pick which group of three is also safe. If she is smart she will avoid making a choice and Ryan will then ‘change things up’ and tell Adam to switch with Anoop giving us our first glimpse of the bottom three. Since Lil has struggled for weeks finding her true identity, I don’t think the judges will use their save to keep her around any longer.

It's A Mad World Until Adam Sings - Then It's Very Happy

Last week the bird lady officially flew the coup, leaving Lil and Allison as the only girls remaining (no Adam does not count). Tonight is one of those wide open any song goes theme that usually results in horrible song choices galore. The contestants can select any song from the year they were born. Basically it’s an 80s night and then one song from the 90s thanks to Allison. Last week the judges pimped Danny and Kris and gave lukewarm praise to everyone else. Who will be pimped tonight? Will they try again to save Matt? Will they finally declare their love for Lil? Will they give Allison good comments after her sojourn to the bottom three? Will Adam go big again? Will the show be as much pure fun without Megan?

Ryan says every one of the contestants has the dream of becoming a superstar, but the life of that dream lies in our hands because this…is American Idol. Hmm we have a new beginning to the show. Normally the voice of god introduces the judges and then Ryan ambles down the stairs. Instead, Ryan is coming down the stairs with no introduction. Please tell me the judges are already seated and we never have to see that preposterous introduction again. The camera gets a close up of a very scary looking bald man in the crowd. He is not smiling or cheering and looks like he is ready to kill whoever dares converse with him. Who is this guy? Yes! The judges are already sitting in their chairs. The camera shows scary bald man again. Who is this guy and why do they keep putting him on camera? Ryan introduces the judges along with their baby pictures. Randy looks cute as a baby. Kara looks like she just heard Norman sing in her picture. Paula looks about the same and Simon looks like he is playing with toy guns. Ryan’s picture wins the award for goofiest. The contestants emerge from behind the stage doors all wearing dark colors except for a green wearing Anoop. Lil is on Scott duty.

Danny – Stand By Me (the crappy version)

The oldest contestant goes first. See, they couldn’t put him first without having an excuse, a reason why they could possibly put the golden boy anywhere but last or behind horrible singers. At least by putting him first this week they can keep him closer to the end when the episodes really start getting tense. Danny remembers when his dad first told him he could sing. His dad was amazed and cried over his son’s talent. Danny seems close with his parents and his dad is obviously very proud of his son’s accomplishments. Nice way to get around the rules Danny. Pick a song from the 60s that was redone in the 80s and then say it came from your birth year. Did you really need to do the play fast and loose with the rules? Weren’t there any songs in 1980 you could sing? I’m sure at least a few about dead wives were written that year. I already don’t like this adult contemporized slowed down version of a classic song. I bet the song picks up pace at some point like his version of ‘PYT’ earlier this season. Danny is singing soft and subtle to begin the song. Like always, he does not sound at his best this way and he flirts with going flat on several notes. The song picks up pace heading into the chorus, but this is still a cheesy arrangement of such a good song. His riffs are a little weak. In the back half of the song he adds some energy and his voice is fuller. He sounds good here, but it doesn’t make up for the below average (for him) beginning. Kara and Paula are both really enjoying this performance, maybe a little too much. His last note is more of a whimper than a bang. I think he ran out of breath. Maybe he meant to hit the note just like he did, but I expect more from Danny and he looks like he expected more from himself; Danny does not look pleased with his performance. After a few seconds he remembers he is Danny Gokey, god’s gift to music and his smile returns. Ok judges, this is your chance to prove me wrong. This is your chance to demonstrate you can be objective and are not just following a script every week. Danny just did a horrible arrangement of a horrible remake of a classic song. Please show a little honesty and tell him his vocals missed the mark and his song choice was borderline awful. I of course don’t think they will do any such thing, but it would be nice. Randy says when he first came out he didn’t like the arrangement, but he loves Danny because he is an amazing singer. He says this is a vocal talent show and he has some talent. The judges are now one for one on the sucking up to Danny scorecard. Kara also wasn’t sure about the arrangement but thinks Danny killed the song at the end. He turned it on its head and made the song his own. The judges are now two for two on the sucking up to Danny scorecard. Paula says wow and suggests Danny set the bar so high everyone is going to have to run as fast as they can to catch up. Hold up here Paula, if he set the bar high why do they have to run fast? Shouldn’t they be jumping to get over the high bar? Thanks for the awesome analogy Paula. She continues with Danny saying she liked the liberties he took with the arrangement because they matched how brilliant his voice was tonight. He was very amazing. Simon is laughing at Paula and says he can’t stand her. The judges are now three for three on the sucking up to Danny scorecard. Simon says he thought the beginning was good, the middle was lazy, and the end was terrific; overall he thought it was great. The judges are now four for four on the sucking up to Danny scorecard. It’s like David A. from last season all over again. No matter what Danny does or how he sounds the judges will say he is amazing and brilliant. If Adam did the same version of this song I bet the judges would say he shouldn’t tinker with a classic. Sigh.

Kris – All She Wants To Do Is Dance

Kris gets a sit down on the stools. Ryan asks him if he is enjoying the praise from the judges, and surprisingly he says yes. Thanks for those hard hitting insightful questions Ryan. What next, are you going to ask Lil if she misses her children? Maybe you could ask Scott if he would like to have 20/20 vision. It’s only a matter of time until Ryan works his way onto 60 Minutes at this rate. Kris says they got their first day off in forever and he went to the beach, which was nice. He rode the ferris wheel and the instructor of the wheel asked him to say hi to Adam. Ha. Kris wins the award for the night’s funniest story. Kris’s parents say his initial dream was to become a taxi driver for some reason. He thinks it was because he always wanted to travel, but then he realized they only traveled around one city. Kris is in the middle of the audience like Matt was last week. This week he is back to his trusty guitar. He is putting an original spin on this song. His vocals are ok, but this isn’t a song meant for singing. Sure it’s fun, but the vocals are lacking. After last weeks journey into soul land he has returned to the bubble gum pop realm he usually occupies. He doesn’t hit any bad notes, but he doesn’t hit a whole of great ones either. This is your standard ‘so what’ performance. At least he did a version different from the original and at least he picked a song from his birth year. Unlike Danny, who picked a remake of a song written 20 years before he was born. He was at least no worse than Danny, but I have a feeling the judges won’t give him the same lovey dovey praise. Kara says she is a huge huge fan (uh oh Kris whenever a judge says they like you…they are usually about to destroy you) and she was glad he picked a fast song, but this song felt like jazz funk homework. She felt like the song lost a lot of its youth. She is still a fan though. Paula says he took a melodically same note song and changed it up to make it his own. She declares him one of the most likeable contestants. Simon says he was indulgent, boring, and forgettable. A group of girls (probably a bunch of stay at home moms) scream out “Kris you are hot,” to which Simon says so is he, but it’s not about that. Simon was disappointed because Kris came across as a guitar player who wanted to sing, rather than a singer. He thinks he made a stupid song choice and was also indulgent. Randy agrees with Simon that the arrangement was self-indulgent and says when something is so great you don’t need to change the arrangement. Dude you cannot be serious! Danny just did a butchered version of an all time great song and no one cares, sure they mention it in passing, but they don’t excoriate Danny. Kris changes around a somewhat silly song from the 80s and they are acting like he just ripped a picture of the Pope in half on SNL. Kris made the unfortunate mistake of singing directly after Danny. They had to tear him down so Danny’s train wreck would look more like a safe arrival. Kris tells Ryan he understands what Randy was saying. Ryan says Simon’s judging comments were indulgent and predictable. Ryan says, “alright hottie” to Simon giving Kris an opportunity to laugh even after getting killed by the judges.

Lil – What’s Love Got To Do With It

Lil’s mom clears up the fact that Lil’s name is her name. Her grandmother’s name was Lilly and her mom wanted to honor her by naming her Lil. One of her teachers thought she could see her name in lights and Lil hopes she was prescient. Lil is sexing it up wearing a short skirt and high heels. This is the most skin she has shown all season. She is even walking Tina Turner style across the stage before she starts singing. Hey big surprise, this sounds a lot like the original. Lil will never be scolder for changing up a classic because she never changes anything up – she is the copycat queen. She sounds really good when she reaches the chorus. Despite a few creative movements before she opened her mouth, she is mostly repeating her other performances where she barely moves and often stands still while singing. She feels slightly robotic. This is a passion filled song and she looks like she is just going through the emotions. On the final chorus she finally goes off the copycat tracks and does something original. A grand total of about 10 seconds, but at least she gave us something. Her last note is a little off and not the best way to finish her performance. Did she sound good? Yes she did. Did she display any creativity during her performance or do anything to make this song her own. No she did not. The judges can go either way with their comments. If they want to praise her they can, or they can destroy her, we’ll see which direction they take. Paula says she looks very hot tonight. This was the week when she thought it was really important for Lil to take her own liberties and go outside the box proving she knows what she is as an artist. However, she tells Lil being a brilliant vocalist only gets you so far. She thinks Lil needed to create her own niche in this classic song. She deosn’t think she did and is really worried Lil is becoming a beautiful karaoke performer. Simon says he thinks what Paula is saying is the judges are not looking for a third rate Tina Turner. He also noticed she tried to copy Tina’s walking style. He has no idea who she is and he feels like they lost her because of her bad decisions. He wants her to become original. Randy says they all love her and she looks hot tonight, but he agrees with Paula and Simon. He says it’s like she isn’t listening to them because Tina is not her. Kara says it’s about making the leap from a singer to an artist. She says Lil needs to find some strength in her lower range. Lil tells Ryan she listens to their advice and she tries to take in everything they say. She promises to make a giant leap if America keeps her around. I guess the rules state you must destroy the two performers immediately after or before Danny. Last week they torched the two before, this week they torched the two after.

Anoop – True Colors

He gets a sit down with Ryan and he is thrilled his Tar Heels won the national championship in basketball last night. Ryan asks him about the ‘fight’ with Kara last week and Anoop says he wishes he could back his comment to Kara. He says that is not the way he wanted to represent himself. He feels like he was caught up in the moment and not himself. So you humiliate him and then make him sing. This should work out real well Idol producers. Anoop was born the same day as David Cook. Nice shameless pandering for votes Anoop. Anoop hates taking pictures because as an only child he was always the focus of their picture taking. I guess that means most of those girls in playboy came from really large families. Anoop is on the stool of sincerity. Uh oh, he is starting off the song a little high; the song might get too high for his voice. He handles the first pass through the chorus ok and then gets up from the stool. His green and white striped sweater is a little distracting. This arrangement is not the best; I have no idea why is he singing this version and not the original, but I give him credit for singing his own original version. He sounds nice on a sustained falsetto note to complete the song. This song is all about emotion and he just doesn’t have any while he is singing. He makes a few sincere faces and brings out the stool to show how serious he is, but I think he is failing to convey the power of these lyrics. This is a good but not a great performance. Instead of frat boys sitting in his family and friends section it looks like he has some family members and a token white guy. Why is Anoop even here, didn’t they kill off his character last night on House? Randy congrats Anoop about the Tar Heels. He says Anoop pulled it back tonight and gave a very nice vocal. Kara says the song didn’t control him; he controlled it and took a pop song and filled it with soul. Paula says his song choice was flawless and his phrasing was beautiful and he was magical. He showed his true colors just like a rainbow. Simon says Anoop is a singing yo-yo. One week he is down and then he is up. He likes that he did an original version, but doesn’t quite think he was fantastic. Simon tells him he shouldn’t have apologized about his reaction last week because the contestants are allowed to be horrible to the judges. It’s only fair since the judges can be horrible to them. Ryan walks on stage and says it’s a happy ending between Anoop and Kara, giving us our first sexually laced comment tonight!

Scott – Search Is Over

Ryan sells itunes from high above the stage by reminding us we can download all of these songs. Scott wanted to be a train engineer when he was a child. He still plays with his train set. Scott created a scary Halloween once and the video goes into slow motion and his voice goes two octaves deeper as he bellows out a laugh…umm ok. Even Ryan looks a little embarrassed by the cheesy special effects. Wow Scott took Paula’s advice and left the piano behind; he is holding a guitar! This is unexpected. He isn’t actually playing the guitar so far, but he is singing pretty well. All of the songs from an entire year and this is what he picked? I suppose he sounds good, but he sounds the same every week. At least he isn’t pitchy yet dawg. He hits a few really nice clear notes, but he runs into a little trouble deeper into the song. He sounds totally off pitch right now, but I don’t know this song, maybe the note is written intentionally flat. He is really falling apart down the stretch his final riff is not good at all. If only the song ended one minute sooner he could expect nice comments from the judges. His family is a little too excited. Kara commends him for coming out with a guitar. He took on a very difficult song and she thinks he should stick with the singer songwriter song and not ballads. She says he had some good moments, but there were parts she liked and parts she felt were too over ambitious. Paula gives him credit for stepping away from the piano. When she says she would have pictured him playing acoustic guitar Scott says he is playing electric so his punk side can come out. Paula thinks he has a wonderful sense of humor, but felt he came off a little screechy on some of his high notes. Simon hopes he goes back to the piano next week because that’s where he is most comfortable. He calls the song horrible and says the guitar playing wasn’t much better. Simon says he isn’t criticizing Scott, he really believed the song was atrocious. That’s right songwriters, give Idol permission to use your song so one of its judges can call your creation atrocious. He didn’t think the awful guitar playing went with the awful song. He thinks Paula’s advice about the piano was wrong. Randy says the whole thing was all ok. It didn’t show him as a star, one of the best undiscovered talents in America, which is what they are looking for at this stage in the competition. Scott responds by telling Randy he showed he was versatile. Yes Scott, if by being versatile you mean you can sound crappy playing multiple different instruments.

Allison – I Can’t Make You Love Me

She is young enough to be Danny’s daughter if he hooked up with a teacher while in middle school. Her mother says Allison used to talk too much as a baby. She even took her to the doctor, who told her she would end up being a singer. Wait, so her mom took her to the doctor because she talked too much? Am I the only one who thinks that’s little weird? Did she also take her to the doctor because Allison kept ruining diapers? Uh oh, Allison is singing a grown up song, which means the judges are legally obligated to say she should sing something that makes her sound her own age. This is a little too laid back for the rocking Allison; her voice is capable of much more than the song allows. She is staying away from the screaming/shouting that sometimes afflicts her performances. There had to be a better song from her birth year that fit her style and allowed for her to add her own personality into the performance. This is just the wrong song choice, she is singing it well, but it’s still the wrong song choice. She isn’t adding very much Allison to the song. Paula says its great having her in the competition because if you hear one note it’s undeniably Allison, a gift you cannot put a price tag on. She loves that Allison added some tenderness to such a gut wrenching song. She says this is a perfect example of using the same arrangement as the original but making it your own. Simon says she was very good and they just need to sort her out a bit and make her more likeable. Simon says she needs to start being more talkative and lighten up a little bit. Randy compares Allison to Kelly Clarkson and says they both can sing their face off. He agrees with Simon she needs to engage the public more. Kara says to take adult content and make it believable and young like she did shows true talent. She suggest they go make a record. I just don’t agree with the judges. She was good yes, but not THAT good, but I guess they needed to prop her up after her dismal vote totals last week.

Matt – Part Time Lover

Matt, who is probably thrilled he gets to go before and not after Adam remembers singing in his choir. He got the lead roll and had 72 lines, which was pretty awesome. Matt is without his piano wearing a hat gripping the microphone stand when he starts singing. He has a few pitch issues right away and then the entire band enters. Burnt from showing his versatility last week, Matt has returned to his comfort zone. He is adding his own riffs throughout the song. He isn’t sounding all that great on the chorus. Come on Matt, that’s the one part of the song everyone knows, so you have to sing it well. He jumps into his falsetto and falls just a tiny bit flat. On a positive note, he is missing his falsetto notes with far less frequency than earlier in the season and when he misses the note it’s just a little off. He scats his way to the finish of the song. Sigh. This just isn’t working out too well for me because I expect more from Matt. He added a little creativity, but not enough. Between his missed notes and the basic and bland arrangement this is the most karaoke feeling song tonight. Even more so than Lil, and that’s saying a lot. Randy yos to get Matt’s attention and says vocally he was one of the best of the night. Kara says he was incredible on every level and unbelievable. Paula, better at math than Kara, say two words, standing o, and stands up. Simon says a million times better than last week and well done. They are running super late and fly through their comments. Why can’t Idol put someone back stage with a stopwatch so they can keep track of time throughout the show and not constantly end up rushing towards the end. And what’s up with the judges giving Matt so much praise? Did he really add any more creativity than Lil? Did he make the song his own with his artistry? Or, do they just want to make sure Matt sticks around another week?

Adam – Mad World

Ryan is standing next to Randy behind the judges’ table when they come back from commercial. Despite Randy distracting him, Ryan still manages to get out the itunes commercial. Adam’s mom says when he was little he loved everything and his dad blurts out, “except sports.” You figure he had to go through some rough times when he figured out his son didn’t want to do football but wouldn’t mind doing the football team. He liked to play dress up and decided he wanted to be a grown up. His parents bought him a little suit and a fake mustache. He is sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage with a spotlight shining down on him from high above. He is dressed so conservatively even Danny would wear this ensemble. He is in customary falsetto and the band is backing him with a piano and strings. He sounds excellent and extremely vulnerable on the verses. After the chorus he is joined by a back up singer and they make a nice pairing. He is changing up the melody his second time through the song. He stands up and hits a powerful note. Finally someone that stands up from the chair/stool at exactly the right moment instead at some random point in the middle of the song. He is showing remarkable control and subtlety on this song. He works his way up to higher and higher notes to finish the song. He might be a little off pitch on the final note at first but he rounds into the right pitch and he is so high who could even tell besides a dog. Paula is already standing. Simon says the bad news is they are running out of time and the good news is words are unnecessary and he gives Adam a standing ovation. In fact, all the judges are standing up for Adam. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Simon stand up like that before. Adam looks amazed that Simon actually liked his song. I know Adam should be thrilled he received such high praise from Simon, but he should also be a little frustrated he didn’t get the suck up fest Danny received earlier in the show. At least Simon didn’t stand up for Danny, even if he did get just about get down on his knees for him.

Final Thoughts

Danny still doesn’t deserve the judges’ love fest. After hearing Adam he sounds pretty bad. Kris still deserves praise for changing up a song and making it his own. Lil is still Tina Turner if Tina Turner lost 63% of her talent. Anoop still looks silly in his sweater, but maybe he is conveying his true colors. Scott still sounds pretty good for a deaf guy, oh wait, he is blind, never mind then, he sounds horrible. Allison still sounds a lot older than she really is – Chris Hansen is already planning how he can use her on his next special. Matt is still not amazing like the judges suggested. Adam is still wow! Interesting, on the rehearsal he didn’t go for the big finish like on the live version. Idol is finally finished extra long. I’m sure the local news at each Fox station around American is going to love sticking around an extra 10 minutes tonight. Adam was clearly the best tonight. The separation between him and everyone else is astounding. The gap is bigger than the Grand Canyon. I wonder if the judges didn’t talk about Adam because one of them would have slipped up and accidentally said he is 100 times better than Danny. You can’t exactly trust Paula to stay on script. Adam had another moment (he has already had a few), but because of time constraints his praises were visual instead of audible. Danny is also safe because he is Danny. The judges did everything but text a vote for Matt and Allison so they should also be in the safe zone. That leaves only Lil, Scott, Kris, and Anoop. Kris had a super strong outing last time, and is just so dreamy among the teenage girls, so he should be safe. That means Anoop and Scott return to the bottom three and Lil makes her first visit. She will be quickly returned to the couches leaving Scott and Anoop. Based on his performance tonight, Scott should be going home, but will America stop voting for the blind guy? I think the guitar experiment will finally seal Scott’s inevitable fate and he will be saying goodbye to Simon, Paula, Kara, and the guy with the huge watch.