American Idol, Episode 8-27

Shows

The theme this week was “Songs from the Year You Were Born”. Basically, the theme again allows the contestants to choose a song they want, but within limits, and generally without conflicting with someone else’s choice of song.

1. Emo Boy – For once I wasn’t particularly digging Adam’s performance. Frankly, singing “Mad World” was a bit of a downer, and we’ve already seen Adam’s “dark, sensitive side” when he did Johnny Cash. Frankly, I thought it was a bit boring, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s still the best performer on the show. I don’t think he deserved a standing ovation from the judges, but really, they ran out of time so it’s the best way to express themselves to the guy who at this point is a lock to finish in the Final Two. 7/10

2. Allison Iraheta – Allison was back on target this week. Actually, I didn’t think that she was ever OFF target, but voters have apparently decided otherwise, because if she gets even a slightly negative review from the judges, her stock drops way down. This week, the judges all but pleaded to the voters to vote for Allison. They even broke out the Kelly Clarkson comparisons to put her over. And really, I can’t fault them for it – Allison is far and away the best under-18 talent they’ve had on this show – and yes, I mean better than Jordin and Archie. And she’s probably not gonna win because Adam or Matt will probably pull it out. 8/10

3. Matt Giraud – Matt moves up to 3 thanks to his Justin Timberlake-sings-Stevie Wonder rendition of “Part-Time Lover”. To be honest, if the judges were giving out standing ovations, THIS is the performance that deserved it. I’ve been resisting moving Matt up because I felt that he has been somewhat inconsistent, but I felt that this performance shows that he “gets it” and really, he’s the dark horse to make Final Two. 8.5/10

4. Danny Gokey – This version of “Stand By Me” was not one of the worst ones I’ve heard. The worst would probably be Anita Mui’s cover of the Lennon cover. You probably don’t know who Anita Mui is, don’t worry about it too much – it’s not mandatory to know Hong Kong pop artists of the 80s. My point is that this was one of those performances that cased Ju’Not Joyner to not make the Wild Card. It was good, but it didn’t really give off that buzz that some of the other performers had. 7/10

5. Kris Allen – Once again, a good, consistent performance from Kris. And this could be the guy’s downfall – he’s consistent. It’s possible that, like Scott, he’s already hit his plateau, but Kris’ ceiling was a lot higher, and because of that his stock goes up and down based on everyone else’s performances. In MMA, one would call Kris a gatekeeper. Would that apply to reality competitions? 7/10

6. Anoop Desai – Where Kris is consisten, Anoop is truly a hit or miss proposition. This week, he showed off his great voice, and was back in the judges’ good graces, but I really do think that at this point he’s just having fun until he gets the boot. He made the vote off stages and he’s made the tour, so he is definitely playing with house money. And yes, he’s still a better singer than Scott. 6.5/10

7. Lil Rounds – Lil’s stock has arguably taken the biggest hit since the voteoffs began. Arguably, because some would say Alexis – but really, she was fortunate to be in a vote-in group with weak female singers. But once again, Lil has been unable to rise to the occasion. I don’t think Tina Turner was the worst song choice, but Lil was unable to sing it well and it’s hurting her. I think voting her out at this point would be a mercy kill. 4/10

8. Scott McIntyre – As far as blind guitarists go, Scott is clearly no Jeff Healey. He needs to go sooner than later, but he’s probably not gone just yet.6/10

Predictions
Bottom 3:

Scott
Lil
Anoop

Eliminated:
Lil

See you next week.

Kevin Wong’s second dance at his wedding was to “Angel Eyes”.

Kevin has been an Insider since 2003, writing on a variety of topics ranging from The Amazing Race to Mixed Martial Arts. His current hobbies include Fantasy Football, Sporcle, travelling, making liberal use of his DVR and wondering what the heck he's gonna do when his two daughters are old enough to date. You can follow Kevin on Twitter (@starvenger).