American Idol Top 4

The theme on this week's American Idol is songs from the Rat Pack era, and the five remaining contestants are mentored by Jamie Foxx. I get that he's a classically-trained musician who also starred in Ray and Dreamgirls, but is he the best person to mentor on this genre? I get the feeling that whomever is getting bad press calls up the Idol producers and begs to be on the show. Well, that and I'm sure he's plugging The Soloist, in theaters right now. Anyhow ...

Kris Allen starts things off with "The Way You Look Tonight," one of my favorite songs from that era. It's really nice having Ricky Miner and the band onstage, because it helps to put you in that era. The tune starts off slow, then picks up with a jazzy beat in the middle. Really, really nice.

The Judges: Randy says it's his best performance to date; Kris took his time, told a story, and added some R&B stylings. Kara agrees, saying Kris set the technical standard high for the evening. "You are truly a dark horse in this competition," says Kara. Paula says he's made an amazing transition from boy-next-door to sophisticated gentleman. Simon isn't quite as enthusiastic, saying it's "wet" and like "taking a well-trained spaniel for a walk." He doesn't feel like Kris can win the competition.

Allison Iraheta sings "Someone to Watch Over Me," and it makes me forget that she's known as a rocker chick. The song really works for her. Plus, she looks magnificent, and celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday.

The Judges: Randy says she looks like Brittney Murphy and sings like Pink. Kara says she's not nervous for Allison anymore, that she's not just a one-trick pony or rock chick. Paula says it was alluring and tender. Simon thinks she might be in trouble tonight and called the song "mechanical." Allison mentions something about trying to be more "likeable," probably because that's been the Internet buzz for her this week.

Matt Giraud is next with "My Funny Valentine." He says he loves jazz and studied it at Western Michigan University. Jamie Foxx doesn't have much to say during rehearsals, but then calls Matt back into the room for more feedback. Weird that it wasn't edited out. The performance starts off slow and picks up steam along the way, with Matt adding some nice runs and power. Not my favorite performance tonight, but nice job.

The Judges: Randy says it's probably one of the hardest songs to sing, and it was a little pitchy. He gives it a 6 out of 10. Kara agrees, saying she appreciates all the runs, but didn't feel like he was emotionally connected to the song. Paula did feel the connection and thinks he did an excellent job. Simon agrees with Paula, saying it's the only believable, authentic song he's heard tonight. He heard Nat King Cole phrasing and says it was "absolutely brilliant." It really makes me wonder if they hear something different in the studio audience than what we hear, but maybe not, since the judges were divided.

Danny Gokey is next, singing "Come Rain or Come Shine." During rehearsals, Jamie Foxx kind of intimidates Danny by looking at him intensely about one inch from his face. Yikes, that would scare the living crap out of me. Foxx says it's like working with director Michael Mann, whom I'm sure is an intense guy. The performance is good, with Danny wearing these beautifully dorky Mad Men-type, black-rimmed glasses. Great job overall, ending with some power notes.

The Judges: Randy says that Danny is the only singer tonight who could actually put out an album of Rat Pack songs. Kara loved his Rat Pack swagger. Paula calls it "stellar." Simon also loves the swagger and confidence, calling the performance "outstanding."

Adam Lambert sings "Feeling Good." Jamie Foxx says he'll knock everybody's head off, and "you don't care about who I am at all." I can appreciate that from Foxx, who probably has a huge ego. The performance stats with a white-suited Adam descending a pink-lighted staircase. This guy has no confidence issues at all. The song goes into a jazzy-rock beat, and he hits some of his famous power high-notes – one that lasts for about 20 seconds – then brings it down to a subtle ending.

The Judges: Randy says it was a little too theatrical for him, but Adam is "in the zone consistently." Kara says it's shocking and confusing and sleazy and superb, but "I like you!" Paula likens him to Michael Phelps in the Olympics. Simon loves the showmanship, especially Adam's entrance on the staircase.Tomorrow: Taylor Hicks and Natalie Cole perform.I'm thinking maybe Matt Giraud might go home this week. What about you?

Who Else, But Adam Lambert!

Once again, Adam Lambert has managed to overshadow his competition on American Idol. Tonight the Top 8 American Idol contestants performed songs from the year they were born. Lambert was the only standout performer of the night. At this point, they might as well refer to the show as Adam Lambert & Those Other Dudes.

With Adam Lambert closing out the show, you knew it was going to be amazing or absolutely horrendous, yet still come off as more entertaining than the rest. Adam sang Mad World by Tears for Fears. You can check out the lyrics here. It was a really powerful and heartfelt performance. Adam Lambert does have the best voice out of all the contestants, however, there were moments when he sounded like the creepy old neighbor Herbert from Family Guy. Please, someone else tell me they noticed that! Still, he gets my standing ovation for the night.

In order of best to worst, here is a quick assessment of the rest of the performances:

Matt Giraud performed Part Time Lovers. It was cute, and I would almost go so far to say it was a sexy performance. He doesn't have the charisma of Justin Timberlake, but he's improving. Kara, though, went a little too far by awkwardly getting out of her seat and shouting, "Stand O!"
Anoop Desai surprised me with his selection, True Colors. I had never really liked the song, but with Anoop, I had a change of heart. He changed it from a simple pop arrangement to one with soul. Yes, he kept is slow, but his voice sounded great.

Alison Iraheta made me feel old for two seconds when she sang the only 1990s song of the night, I Can't Make You Love Me. Beautiful voice, but with all the songs to choose from in that decade, she should have gone for something younger.

Kris Allen chose All She Wants to Do is Dance. He performed it in a rock and funk style while standing on a stage, surrounded by groupies, which I'm sure the wifey loved. He needed to up the tempo though because it was really no fun. Simon called it "self-indulgent".

Danny Gokey started the show with Stand By Me. Why didn't he pick a song that was actually written in 1980 rather than remade? Danny's performance sounded like one you'd hear at a wedding. But the judges complimented him in an effort to sway the audience not to vote him off the show. Yeah, we all know it happens.

Lil Rounds performed What's Love Got to Do With It. Lil looked great in a cute black leather vest, skirt and with a new hairdo. Unfortunately, Lil ain't no Tina! The performance was amateur and karaoke. Lil needs to be extremely careful about controlling her voice.

Scott MacIntyre sang The Search is Over. This time he tried something different by getting away from his piano, and instead playing his guitar. And from this, we learned that Scott really can't play the guitar. Worse yet, Scott was incredibly off-key! Looks like someone's going home real soon!

Adam Lambert...Who??

Adam Lambert is currently on the run to becoming the next American Idol. Appended below is an extract from the media:

Los Angeles, California - After singing "Mad World" by Tears for Fears, Adam Lambert receives a standing ovation from Simon Cowell and the rest of the judges.The theme for this week was "Song the year you were born", Adam takes the song written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982 , the year Adam was born.

The song was released prior to Tears for Fears commercial success in the United States.A lot of critics says that Adam Lambert made a BIG step ahead of his rivals in getting the Idol title this year after his performance a while ago. His biggest rival, Danny Gokey sang "Stand by Me", a Ben E. King Original, fails to get some "shouts".

Just two weeks ago, Danny Gokey was listed as the slight favorite to win American Idol following a performance by Lambert that left most of the judges confused. Cowell essentially called it "horrible".