JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum American Idol 2009

I thought that overall, tonight's performances were not all that strong with a couple of exceptions.

Here's my take on the top 8, in performance order:

1. Danny Gokey (Stand by Me) - 8; I thought this was a respectable, but not outstanding performance - especially for the show opener. Unique arrangement that the judges liked as well.

2. Kris Allen (All She Wants To Do Is Dance) - 7; I loved Don Henley's version, but this version was slowed down and made into some stock R&B groove. If he'd have just kept the same Henley rock groove and kept it rock, it would have gone over better. This was disappointing and he could be in trouble.

3. Lil Round (What's Love Got To Do With It) - 5; a bad karaoke version. The best comments the judges found were that she looked good tonight. She was pitchy and totally unoriginal. She's had a few bad weeks in a row, so I think she's also in trouble.

4. Anoop Desai (True Colors) - 7; not bad, but I heard more than a few pitchy notes. He didn't pull me in and convince me he was sincere. He's no idol and will probably go about the same time as Scott.

5. Scott MacIntyre (The Search Is Over) - 6; he had some really weak parts of his voice too far out front in this song. He sounded like someone "trying" to sing like a pro - and NOT succeeding. This was one of the few performances where I couldn't wait for it to end...

6. Alison Iraheta (I Can't Make You Love Me) - 9; finally, the judges heard what I've been saying (along with Brian, too) that this girl is pretty amazing. Easily the best performance up to this point in the show. She took a difficult song to sing and did a unique interpretation that still respected the original version. Excellent!

7. Matt Giraud (Part-Time Lover) - 8; That's a generous 8. I don't know why the judges were going ga-ga over this performance. I was sure Simon would pull the ol' "self-indulgent" cliche he overuses. It really was overly indulgent with the mock megaphone/nasal vocals at the beginning and (at times) pitchiness. I will say that even with that, I enjoyed the performance, so he was entertaining at least. He's definitley safe this week.

8. Adam Lambert (Mad World) - 10; Adam, Adam, Adam...the guy is simply killing his competition. I had never heard this song before, but he just sucked me in and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole song. He doesn't seem to be burning out early...he's still in a league of his own.

Top 2: Adam and Alison
Bottom 3: Lil Round, Kris Allen, and Scott MacIntyre.

I think Lil will be going home. She's had several bad weeks in a row, whereas Kris has been getting better - except for this week when he mis-judged the song & arrangement. I think the Tweenie girls are voting (and texting) for him more so than the Bible Belt voting for Lil. Scott is there simply to show people that the judges can be kind. I'm finding it terribly hard to believe he's getting enough votes to keep him there legitimately.