Pizza update: I think I just burnt the prints off two fingers on my left hand.  I may be good with fire, but the stove is an entirely different animal.  This will make typing very interesting tonight!

I called it last week, and I’m still waiting for it.  The Norman Gentle / Tatiana Del Toro duet.  One night, one stage, one epic performance.  Idol better bring it!

Ryan Seacrest… lips planted firmly on the judges butts.  Let the sap and cheese begin.  The judges montages are actually pretty funny though.  Kara seems annoying when they play her back like that.  I still have a crush on her though.

If Simon got one of those shirts with a tie imprint on it, then he would still be able to wear a t-shirt and look dressed up. #idol

Good to see the microphones are working!  Well done Idol.  Well done.  It’s not like this is the finale or anything!

OK, so the Top 13 are doing So What by Pink.  I don’t know Pink, but I think I can safely say that she is currently vomiting at what they are doing to her song.  If she was in the crowd, I bet she’d rush the stage and whoop all their butts.

Burnt fingers update… they hurt!

David Cook is on stage now.  He really is a great singer.  I’m a little surprised he hasn’t found a higher level of success.  It’ll come for him.  Performances like the one he just did can only help him.  That was awesome!  Gotta be hard for him to be on stage after losing his brother.  It’s cool that they are selling the performance to raise some money for cancer.  Say what you want about Idol, but they do a lot of good with the funds they raise.

Time for the Golden Idol Awards.  This is usually pretty entertaining.

Outstanding Male: As soon as they announced Norman Gentle as a nominee you had to know he was going to win!  He drove me nuts.  Absolutely nuts.  But that was because he was taking a spot that could have went to a real singer.  However, he is pretty funny!  It’s a stirring rendition of You’re Gonna Love Me.

Lil Rounds gets to take the stage with Queen Latifah.  If Lil would have sang like this throughout the season, she might have actually went a lot farther.  No offense to Queen Latifah, who I think is great… but what the crap is she wearing?  Dang!  There should be a law.

I’m Yours by Jason Mraz is such a great song.  That was a much better performance than So What.  I miss Alexis Grace.  I still say she got robbed!

Kris is singing with Keith Urban.  This is a great fit.  Is it just me, or does Kris look a lot more confident tonight?  Like he actually believes he belongs here, and he could win this thing!  He should look confident.  He is an incredible singer.

Megan Corkrey… I didn’t miss her at all.  Not even a little.  But there she is, singing with Fergie and Jasmine, Alexis, Allison and Lil.  Glamorous and Big Girls Don’t Cry.  That was only a little painful.  Oh, and was that really Fergie?  I didn’t even hardly recognize her.  And, of course, where there is Fergie there must be the Black Eyed Peas. I’d like to go on record as saying that Boom Boom Pow, in my non-expert opinion… is a horrible song.  It’s a drum beat.  That’s it.  No melody.  A 5 year old kid could play that with his mom’s pots and a wooden spoon.

Favorite quote of the night so far… ”I don’t know what else to do other than give you the finger!”

Outstanding Attitude goes to Katrina Darrell, aka, Bikini Girl.  Look who has had some work done!  Too bad it didn’t improve her voice. OH DANG! Kara is singing!  Have I ever mentioned I have a HUGE crush on her and seeing her sing just made the crush even bigger!!!  Kara DioGuardi will always be my American Idol.

Burnt fingers update: The skin is falling off them now.  It’s kind of gross!

And we’re back.  Kara is hot.  Oh wait… got sidetracked.

Allison is singing with Cyndi Lauper.  I wonder how Cyndi feels about the fact that a 17 year old is singing her own song better than her?  Allison is amazing.  That girl has ridiculous talent for a 17 year old.  All in all, not a bad performance.  I’m still reeling from Kara singing Vision Of Love though.

I am still upset that Danny didn’t make it to the final.  He’s going to do alright though.  Actually, he may do better by not winning the competition.  To back up that statement, I give you Daughtry as a prime example.  I am such a big Lionel Riche / Commodores fan.  Danny and Lionel is a great pairing.

Holy crap… just about had a nervous breakdown. I sat on the remote, changed the channel and couldn’t get it back again. I missed part of the Danny / Lionel duet.  I got to see most of All Night Long, which is one of my favorite Lionel Richie songs.

Adam has been absent in hour one… that means I’m going to have to suffer through him for all of hour 2 doesn’t it?

Who in the world dresses Glambert?  What in the world is he wearing?  If that outfit suddenly lights up I’m going to fall off my chair in laughter!

So of course, Glambert is rocking it with KISS.  I’m curious though… why didn’t he paint his face to fit right in? I wonder if Adam has enough chest hair to fit in with KISS?  Maybe that’s why his outfit isn’t as revealing!

I am not a big Adam Lambert fan, but I will give credit where credit is due.  On that performance, Adam showed what he is capable of.  That was pretty stellar!  Well done Glambert.  I’ll give you that one.

Burnt finger update: My fingernails are now peeling.  I didn’t even know that was possible!

Carlos Santana takes the stage now and Matt Giraud is singing with him.  I am a Matty fan!  Matt, Carlos, Smooth… heck yeah!  Now that is a great combination!  Too bad they had to bring in Jorge! :p  So all the Idols are now singing Smooth.  That’s a bummer.  I would’ve preferred to hear Matty sing it solo!

I would like to say that I will NOT miss the Ford music videos… those are total cheese.

Steven Martin with Megan and Michael Sarver?  For real?  Never would have saw that one coming!  Not in a million years.  OK, is this performance supposed to be serious or comedy? I can’t tell…. especially when Megan sings!  I won’t be rushing out to buy that one.  I like Michael Sarver… Megan… umm… mom says if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all… I shall refrain.

Another group performance. These have been pretty much train wrecks tonight.  Do You Think I’m Sexy… this is hard to watch.  All the guys dressed in black shaking their butts at the crowd.  Come on now.  Is that necessary?  And of course… here comes Rod Stewart.  That’s quite the jacket he’s got on.  Is that wallpaper?

“It sounded like a cat jumping off the Empire State Building and the noise it would make before it hit the floor.”  Simon Cowell

It’s so obvious Tatiana is going to win the Outstanding Female Category.  Why even bother going through the drama?

“Simon you know you wanna hear this song a fourth time.” Tatiana Del Toro.  Yup… she is still annoying!  I guess it’s true what they say, some people can’t change!

Where was Steven Martin and his banjo? I bet he could’ve stopped Tatiana and it would have been funnier!!!

10 more minutes and I get two nights of my life back!

We Are The Champions???  No, that’s not cheese at all! Kris and Adam doing a duet to We Are The Champions… this is what I waited 2 hours for?  I’ll give it to Queen though… especially the drummer.  He was fun to watch!  Not a bad performance for both guys.  Two entirely different styles, but both extremely talented!

A new world record created with nearly 100,000,000 votes cast.  Wow.  That is pretty impressive.  Season 8 was definitely a great one with many talented singers!

The winner is… KRIS ALLEN

The good news is… I don’t have to quit my job now!  The bad news is… even when Kris sings it… No Boundaries is still total cheese.  PS: I still have a crush on Kara.

Until next season… thanks for checking the blog every week!  It’s been fun!

So Adam kicks off the show and his parents reveal that he never stopped screaming as a baby.  It all makes sense now! So he kicks off the show with Mad World.  Umm… he looks like a vampire.  What’s that all about?  Anywho, this would be the song that was his favorite performance from the season.  I would have picked Tracks Of My Tears, but that’s only because it’s the one performance he did all season that I actually liked.  Anywho, all in all, to me, it sounded exactly like it did the first time.  Nothing special.  At least he didn’t scream though.  That’s gotta count for something.

You know what I’ll miss about Idol when it’s done for the season… Kara… I have a crush on her.  Have I ever mentioned that on this blog?

So as a child Kris was afraid to perform in front of his parents.  Now he gives his mom coupons for free performances.  How sweet.  Kris is at the piano, which I love!  Such a great call for him to play.  He nails it every time he does.  Great pick for his personal favorite from season 8.  Ain’t No Sunshine really is a perfect song for him.  Of course, he totally nails it!!!  If I’m keeping score, after the first song, I’d say that Kris takes the lead 1-0.  Flawless vocal performance, as always.  Has Kris missed a note all season?  I don’t think so.

Here’s the thing… Kris is the guy next door.  That is the type America always ends up picking on Idol.

Oh look… Simon agreed with me.  Kris takes round 1, so says Simon.  I knew there was a reason I liked him!

For round 2, Adam and Kris will sing songs picked by Idol producer Simon Fuller.

Adam is singing “Change Is Gonna Come.”  You know what, this is a great pick for him, as long as he doesn’t turn it into a metal version.  That would be very NOT cool.  Yet, even still, he still manages to fit in the screaming.  What’s with that?  It’s not singing.  I find it very grating.  I mostly can’t understand it either.  Really, I think it was painful.  Fingernails on a chalkboard come to mind.

So all the judges loved it.  I thought Paula was going to get naked on the desk or something.  Maybe we are listening to different performances?  Perhaps my cable is behind or I’ve got my surround sound hooked up wrong?  I thought that was anything but awesome!

Simon Fuller’s pick for Kris is What’s Going On.  This time around Kris busts out the guitar.  Raw, acoustic, simple, perfect.  The focus is entirely on his ability to sing the snot out of any song he chooses to sing.  He really is amazing.  The total underdog who has been underrated and underestimated from day one.

I’d say that round 2, like round 1, goes to Kris Allen.  Simon disagrees.  What does he know anyway? :p

At this point, a little over halfway through the show, I’d break it down like this.  I’d pay money to see Kris Allen in concert.  On the other hand, you couldn’t pay me money to go see Adam Lambert.  I just don’t get him.  That’s not to say he’s not talented.  I just don’t get it.

I can see Adam as a Broadway Star.  I cannot see Adam as a Pop Star.

Round 3 is the song that would be their radio single.

I am going to sum up Adam Lambert’s performance like this… if he wins, and I have to play that song on my radio show on Thursday… I might have to quit my job!

That was quite possibly the most painful moment of American Idol Season 8.  What I really love though is this… the judges, including Simon, absolutely refused to call it like it was.  Adam bombed that song hard and none of the judges had to stones to step up and say it because they want him to win so bad!

Now Kris gets to sing the cheese song co-written by Kara.  Cheese songs are a staple of the Idol finale.  Why do you suppose that is?  So Kris was a hundred times better than Adam was, but even he struggled a bit.  The song is such cheese than even a flawless singer like Kris has a hard time with it.  That says a lot!

I think Kara actually just made fun of her own song. HA!  Classic.

So, based on performance alone, I’d say that Kris Allen is your next American Idol.

Great way to wrap up the show tonight, with Carrie doing Home Sweet Home, which is a great song by the way!

OK, so, the opening sequence was pretty much awful.  If that was supposed to make me want to go see the new A Night At The Museum movie, guess what… it failed miserably!  In fact, it made me not want to see the movie even more than I already didn’t want to see it!  Oh, and what’s with Ben Stiller’s hair?

I understand that Ryan Seacrest is the “King Of All Pop Media” or whatever, but sometimes the way he says things really annoys me.  I get that he is trying to create suspense and drama, but it doesn’t always work.  It just makes me want to fast forward.

You know the best part of the Idol season coming to an end?  No more Ford music videos! Those things are just brutal.  I still drive a Ford, but it certainly isn’t because of those videos.  They kind of make me wish I had a Chev!

The song with the kid… umm… a little weird.  Not nearly as disturbing as Seacrest trying to simulate his dance moves!  Will anybody be buying the song on iTunes?  No offense to the cause, but I think I’ll just keep sending my money to my World Vision child.

I’m not going to lie to you… I’m fast forwarding through a lot of this fluff stuff.  I love Danny.  I’m glad he got to go home to a heroes welcome.  I just don’t care to watch it.  Crying… key to the city… appearances on FOX News… opening pitch at a ball game… radio interviews.  It’s the same old stuff every year.  It’s uninteresting to me.

I was excited to see Jordin Sparks tonight.  She’s actually one of my favorite Idol winners from days gone by.  She is a great singer.  You know what was really cool about her performance… she actually sang for real!  That’s something the vast majority of “guest artists” don’t do!  Well done Jordin.  Love the new track, Battlefield.  Can’t wait to start playing it on my show.

Did Adam Lambert just talk about living his life in the CBS studio?  Doesn’t Idol air on FOX?

I thank God everyday that people don’t have a sweet clue who I am.  Fame looks really annoying!

It’s 9:43pm and were still have no results at all.  And yet, FOX still insists on making the results shows 1 hour.  May I ask why?  I realize there is only one result tonight… so make it a 30 minute show and save the world the agony of 58 minutes of filler fluff.

I’m not really a Katy Perry fan, so I’m not one that is excited about this performance.  She also dresses funny.  I get that the song is called “Waking Up In Vegas” and so unusual costumes come as part of the package, but still… she dresses funny.  In case you weren’t aware… she wants Adam Lambert to win.

So Kris is in, and he deserves it.  His performance of “Heartless” was, without question, the performance of the night last night.  He’s been the dark horse, but he’s got better every single week.  Well done Kris!  You’ve earned it.

I can’t believe Danny is out.  I really can’t.  A guy that was never once in the bottom 3.  I honestly expected he would win American Idol.  He was my pick from the audition episodes.  I never expected that he would be going home.

OK, so Danny being out, in my opinion, is a Daughtry sized upset.  I fully expected that at least a dozen record companies are drooling over their remotes right now to sign this guy.  Like Daughtry, I suspect he’ll do better by not winning the competition.  We’ll hear from Danny Gokey very soon, and I, for one, will be buying that record!

As for my official prediction now… I have two…

1) Norman Gentle and Tatiana Del Toro will unite on the Idol stage for one last time.  Together, they will sing a duet of either “Time Of My Life” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, or “Islands In The Stream” made famous by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.  Wait for it… it will be epic!!!

2) Kris Allen is your Season 8 American Idol

Danny Gokey kicks it off tonight with a song picked by Paula.  Dance Little Sister by Terrance Trent D’Arby.  It was an interesting song choice.  Most definitely not what I would have picked for him.  H0wever, as usual, Danny can sing the snot out of anything.  He has a really raw, soulful voice.  I would’ve picked a Michael McDonald track maybe, but still, it was a great vocal performance.  Dude can’t dance… but we know that.  It’s OK though.  When he goes on tour he can pay people to dance for him! :p  VERDICT: Withholding until the end of the show tonight.

Second half… time to choose their own songs.  Danny is up first.

Randy and Kara are picking the track for Kris, and they picked Apologize.  I think this is a perfect song for him.  The only thing, he didn’t really seem to do much with it.  It sounds so similar to the original that I can already hear Simon busting out the “Karaoke” line that he so loves to use.  Personally, I’m thinking of the 3, he needed to impress the most.  I’m not convinced that he did it with this track.

Quote of the night, “At this stage you’ve got to be swinging it out of the park.” Kara needs baseball lessons!

Listen to Simon and Kara going at it.  HA!  I think they secretly love each other.

Simon is name dropping.  Apparently Bono said it would be an honor to have Adam sing their song!  Gee, no pressure at all.  Here’s hoping he doesn’t tank it!  OK, nevermind.  He’s tanking it.  He’s tanking it hard.  Missing notes, screaming, pitchy.  Ouch!  Bono is going to regret letting Adam sing his song after he hears this performance.  I, admittedly, have never been an Adam fan.  Of the 3 performances so far, Adam is definitely ranked #3… in my humble, non expert opinion.

Carrie Underwood dances almost as good as Danny Gokey.

OK, second half. Time to pick their own songs.  Danny is doing Joe Cocker, which is a perfect song choice.  You Are So Beautiful makes sense for him, but I am not stuck on this arrangement.  Danny showed off great vocal skill again, but I still wasn’t stuck on the feel of the song.  He infused some gospel into it.  Danny likes his church it seems.  I think just a piano would’ve been amazing.  Overall though, I still love this guy, he is still my pick to win the competition!

Kris Allen singing Kanye West?  Huh?  Heartless… wow… definitely didn’t see that coming.  Then again, he’s out there with his guitar, and he is always great when he plays.  It seems like his instrument is his comfort or something.  He seems much more in the zone when he plays.  You know what… I wouldn’t have picked that song, but he nailed it.  It was a perfect performance.

Here’s the thing with Adam… he’s like Coldplay to me… everything sounds the same!  It just seems to be a bunch of screaming singing, which to me really isn’t singing.  Then again, I’m old and not cool.  So I guess I don’t get that new fangled Rock N’ Roll sound or something.  I was less than impressed with this song too.

So in all honesty, I’d love to see a Danny / Kris final.  However, I suspect that will not be the case.  What do we know going into the results show?  Danny has never been in the bottom, so I can only assume he is safe.  Kris has been in the bottom more than Adam, but he’s always improved from week to week winning people over.  Then you think about an upset like Daughtry getting voted off early.  Taking all of the variables into account, I really don’t even know if I can make a prediction.  I’m thinking it will be Danny / Adam, but I’d love to be wrong!

Jordin Sparks and Katy Perry on the show tomorrow.  See ya then!

Slash is a great guitar player.  There is no denying it.  Great to see her perform with the Top 4.  He really was the only one performing too, since the Idols were really just lip syncing.

So I love Paula.  I’ve been a fan since I was a kid.  I had a crush on her.  Straight Up, Opposites Attract.  I really loved her.  I will say this, her new song is SO much better than the track she released last year.  That one was really bad.  Now, with regards to her “performance” well, it was hard to watch.  Really hard.  Are you really performing if you’re lip syncing?  I’ve always wondered that.  Then again, I guess it’s a form of acting, and acting is a form of performing.  So… I guess so.  The dancing was not terrible.  I’ll give her that.  Am I the only one that thinks it was her “last hurrah” on Idol so to speak?  The rumor is she won’t be back.  Maybe that is why she chose this year to perform, since it would be her last chance.

No Doubt wasn’t much better than Paula.  I’m just saying.  But good for Gwen Stefani and her ability to do push-ups on stage.  That was, ummm…. great? :p

So 9:36p before we even start with results.  All the more evidence that 1 hour results shows are retarded and entirely unnecessary!

Great… so they give us 1 result.  Kris is safe.  Now another commercial and another performance.  I want to throw something at my TV, but it’s already messed up and I don’t want to make it worse!

I can’t believe Kris is safe.  After 2 bad performances last night, I was sure it would be the end of the road for him.  Now I’m worried.  If it isn’t Kris going home then it might be Allison and that would make me sad!  I love Allison.  I don’t want to see her go yet.

When they showed the flashback to the results sending Chris Daughtry home, did you catch how much younger Simon looked?  He had some big hair!  Very poofy.

So Daughtry returns to the Idol stage.  It’s great to see him back.  I still say that getting voted off Idol when he did is the best thing that could’ve happened to him.  Clearly he’s done alright for himself.  Better than most of the show winners even!

The new single is called “No Surprise.”  The new album lands July 14th.  Awesome song.  Awesome performance.  Oh, and did I mention it was a real, honest to goodness, legitimate performance.  As in… Chris really did get on stage and sing!  That guy, and his band, have some serious talent!

Adam is safe. No big surprise.

64 million votes… and they weren’t for Allison. I’m so sad to see her go.  She is such an incredibly gifted, talented individual.  It’s hard to believe she is only 17.  I’m not too worried though.  She has an amazing voice, and somebody is going to give this girl a record contract!  We’ll hear from her again soon enough I’m sure!

Kicking off the show with Adam Lambert.  You have to believe he’s been desperately waiting for this week to come!  No doubt it’ll be his week to shine, and to recover from a trip to the bottom 3 last week.  No big surprise.  Adam is screaming like a heavy metal rock star.  This is his element.

Umm… did Kara just have a “moment?”  You know, like a “When Harry Met Sally” moment?  Interesting.  Anywho, that was Adam being Adam.  I can take it or leave.  Mostly… I’d leave it.  VERDICT: He’ll be safe.

Allison is definitely going to be in her element tonight too.  She has that rock chick voice, and she obviously has the rock chick look.  She survived Disco, so she deserved to make it to this week.  She is doing Janis Joplin and she’s doing it well.  I think she could have picked a little better song though.  Something to showcase her a little bit more.  Randy and Kara were right.  She could have chosen something with a little more melody.  Loving listening to Allison stand up to Simon.  That was fun!  He tells her to talk, and then he gets on her for talking. Good grief.  Confused much?  VERDICT: I’m not saying until after I see Kris and Danny… who are not exactly Rock guys.

Kris and Danny doing a Rock N’ Roll duet?  What the heck.  Does anybody else find that odd?  The two guys who are not rockers doing a rock duet.  HA.  Anywho, Danny is seriously showing up Kris.  Not that he is trying to, just that he is.  He completely out-sang Mr Allen on that deal.  They sounded good together.  The harmony was tight.  But on the solo pieces, Danny ruled.  Did you catch the look on Kris’s face when Simon said Danny was better?  He looked TICKED! HA!

So now Kris goes it alone.  This is NOT his week.  I sort of feel bad for the guy.  I mean, he is definitely a gifted singer, but this couldn’t be more out of his element.  I just don’t buy him as a Rock N’ Roll singer.  God bless him though.  He’s trying his butt off, that’s for sure.  So, it wasn’t bad, but it really wasn’t great.  Not when you put it next to Adam or Allison.  VERDICT: This could be bad for him.

Danny does have an edge to his voice.  But again, he not a Rock guy.  I just don’t picture him as a Rock guy.  OK, so, honestly, even though Danny is my pick to win still… and I’ve been singing his praises all season long… this week is not good.  In fact, it’s almost bad.  He was WAY better in the duet with Kris.  He was pretty bad solo.  The scream was just awkward.  I kinda felt bad for him a little.  Shoot man.  That was awful.  Hokie Dina.  Anywho, again… this was not his genre, so I will cut him some slack.  I sure as heck wouldn’t want to have to sing a rock song.  I’m not a rock singer!  VERDICT: Not a good week for Danny or Kris.

For the record, Adam and Allison were AWESOME on their duet.  WOW.  I would actually buy that song and I am neither a fan of Rock or Adam.  But dang!!!  That was incredible.  Randy said it best.  That was the bomb!

Prediction time… based on performance alone… I suspect it will be the end of the road for Kris.

First up, I loved the group number this week.  Some weeks I can take it or leave it, but this week I really liked it.  Great assortment of songs and a great arrangement as well.

I am shocked by the bottom 3.  Shocked!!!  I am not an Adam Lambert fan, nor have I been from the beginning.  If this was Broadway Idol, he’d be the guy to beat.  No denying his talent.  I just don’t know about him as a Pop Star.  Anywho, despite the fact that I’m not a fan, America and the judges have loved this guy from day 1.  To see him in the bottom 3 blows my mind.  I think I feel out of my chair at the same time Kara’s mouth fell open!  Not surprised to see Matt in the bottom 3.  A little surprised to see Kris there though.

PS: I have a crush on Kara DioGuardi!

Natalie Cole was awesome!  What a great song, what a great performance.  All recorded music should have a big band backing it up!

OK, I love Matt Giraud.  I’ve been a big fan of his all along.  I would hate to see him go tonight, but I can’t help but think tonight might be his night.

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!  I’m a big Taylor Hicks fan.  I picked him to win Idol.  I was doing morning radio at the time and on my radio show I picked him to win during his initial audition.  It’s good to see him back.  He was awesome tonight.

Kris is safe. Hokey Dina… could it possibly be the end of the road for Adam Lambert?  I might have to do a happy dance, while at the same time being shocked and stunned into silence!

So Matty G is done.  The first guy in the history of Idol to get saved, and now Top 5 is the end of the road.  I’m sorry to see him go, but he is not done!  No question we’ll be hearing from Matty G again.  If he comes out with an album, I’ll be throwing that bad boy on my iPod!

Interesting choice for the mentor tonight.  I think that Michael Buble would’ve been the perfect choice for a mentor.  So I was a little surprised to see Jamie Fox come out.  We’ll see how it goes.

Kris Allen kicks it off tonight and he offered the following wisdom, “We can only do what we know how to do.”  Quite profound Kris.  I love “The Way You Look Tonight”  It’s an awesome song.  I think he can do it and do it well.  After all, he can only do what he knows how to do.  Jamie Fox had some high praise for him that’s for sure.  OK, you know what… as usual, Kris was awesome!  He nailed it.  Great job.  Great way to start off the show.  VERDICT: He has at least 2 more weeks I think.

Great quote of the night… “You’re like taking a well trained spaniel for a walk.” Simon Cowell. Wow… I thought only Paula was capable of a critique like that.  What does that even mean anyway?

Allison is 17 now.  Guess what… she’s still amazing for her age.  I’m really glad that she is still here.  She deserves to be here.  I can’t get over how great her voice is.  She really does have the Kelly Clarkson thing going on.  She has such incredible vocal control too.  Wow.  Dang.  I just can’t get over how much talent this girl has.  OK.  She killed that song tonight.  Holy crap.  I don’t know what else to say.  Holy crap.  Randy said it best… “that was the bomb!”  I agree! VERDICT: She is phenomenal!

Another great quote, “Can I say something to Simon?  I love you, but you are CRAZY!”

Matt Giraud doing My Funny Valentine.  I’m looking forward to this.  I think this week is a make or break week for Matty, whom is one of my favorites!  He could really shine this week if he does it right.  Mat really does have great range, and he does well when he sings falsetto.  He has a good voice, he has good control.  He has definitely struggled in the past though, with numerous visits to the bottom.  It’s so hard at this point when there are only 5 left.  I don’t know that he set himself up like he needed to.  VERDICT: Not sure how to call this one.

Commercials ruin American Idol.  Here is what I think… Ford should just own the whole show and run it commercial free.  In return, we can just suffer through another Ford music video each week.

Danny Gokey goes in the #4 slot tonight.  This could be a good week for him too.  It seems like it would fit in his style.  Any performance that starts with a good horn solo is already starting on the right foot.  Nothing beats a fat horn section.  Man I love the feel of Big Band.  All music should sound like that.  Danny is just a solid, pure vocalist.  I really think he could sing the Yellow Pages and I’d buy the album!  I liked the bluesy feel too.  It worked.  I can actually seeing him doing an album filled with songs like that.  I’d buy it!  VERDICT: Still my pick to win.

Adam Lambert closes out the show again tonight.  Is it just me or does he close it out a lot?  Maybe I’m just imaging it.  I don’t know.  For the record, the Michael Buble version of this song is one of my favorites of this great standard!  I’m so afraid right now.  OK, so… I didn’t like it at all.  No big surprise.  I don’t like Adam Lambert.  I just don’t get him.  He can sing, I suppose, but I just don’t get him and I certainly wouldn’t buy his record.  He just makes things rock and scream-sings.  Whatever, America seems to love him so good for America.  Maybe that’s my problem.  I’m Canadian so I can’t understand.  VERDICT: Yeah, yeah… he’ll be back.

Quote of the night… “If scream-singing was a genre, Adam Lambert would be the poster child.” Marc Scott

Now that we are down to the final 5, it’s getting very hard to call.  I’m thinking it might be Matty going home but it could also be Allison.  Not necessarily because she should, but just because America doesn’t seem to vote for her like she deserves.  Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

First off, I love Disco.  It’s one of my favorite genres of music to listen to and I have a lot of it on my iPod.  It’s fun music.  So I was really looking forward to Disco week.  Then last night happened, and of the 7, there may have been 1 or 2 performances that even had a feeling of Disco.  That was a bit of a letdown for me.  Tonight was an even greater letdown.  The Disco medley with Disco stars from days gone by was a spectacular flop.

We all know the Idols lip sync during their group performances, well maybe they should’ve done that with the Disco stars too.  Then it might have been a little less painful.

Paula is a little loopy, we can’t argue that.  However, she is still a cutie and I have definitely had a crush on her since my youth.  Have I said that before?  I think in every Idol blog I’ve ever written.  Sorry. ;)

No big surprise that Lil got sent home.  In fact, the bigger surprise for me is that it didn’t happen sooner.  She has been out of the game for a while now in my opinion.  I’m sure her kids will be glad to have mommy back home again, and that is a good thing.

I am shocked by the bottom 2.  Anoop Dawg I get.  But Allison, I don’t.  She is so good.  I guess it’s getting to that point where good singers are going to be in danger, but I really didn’t think Allison would be one of them.

I wonder if Archie had a cold tonight?  He was sounding a little congested tonight.  Maybe he’s just hitting puberty and his voice is dropping or something.  He can still hit the high notes though.  I’m still kind of surprised that he didn’t win the whole thing last year.  He really is just the nicest guy ever isn’t he?!

End of the road for Anoop Dawg.  I can’t say I’m surprised.  I really liked that guy.  He was fun, and he could most definitely sing!  I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear from him again somewhere down the road.

It’s Disco week and personally, I’m excited about that.  It just so happens that I’m all about the Disco!

Lil Rounds kicks off the show tonight on what, I suspect, will be her final week on Idol.  She’s doing “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan.  She isn’t doing it well.  Of course, this should come as no surprise considering she isn’t actually a very good singer… a fact I’ve been trying to convince the judges of from the beginning!!! VERDICT: Simon (and Marc) says “she’s done!”

We’re back to all 4 judges critiquing again.  How much you wanna bet we run over again and somebody gets missed by America?  Check the settings on your PVR!  I’ll be OK as long as I don’t miss Fringe!

Kris is busting out the guitar again this week.  Curious to see how that is going to play out.  ”She works hard for the money?”  Really?  OK, so that’s an odd choice.  You know what, I’m digging this stripped back arrangement.  It’s actually pretty unique.  This guy knows his zone and he is smart enough to find a way, regardless of the genre, to sing in it!  VERDICT: Solid performance.

Paula is so out there sometimes.  ”Are you saying he buys ladies underwear?”  Simon trying to make sense of Paula’s critique.  If she isn’t back next year, I suspect it is moments like these that will be the reason why!

As if I needed another reason to be a fan of Danny Gokey, he comes out with “September” by Earth Wind & Fire… that just happens to be one of my all time favorite songs!  I have versions on my iPod by Earth Wind & Fire, Kirk Franklin and Sisqo and Vitamin C.  One thing I will say, Danny can’t dance.  I mean, I can’t dance, so I probably should judge.  But dang… the boy can’t dance.  Regardless, he is a lot of fun to watch.  Vocally, he is the guy to beat. VERDICT: See you in the top 5!

“I thought asking Danny to sing Disco is like asking Simon to wear plaid.” Kara

Allison doing Hot Stuff.  Her outfit looks like it must have been really hard to get into.  I bet it’ll be hard to get out of after the fact too.  No surprise that Allison took her Disco track and made it a Rock track.  She knows her zone and she makes her songs go there.  I still can’t believe this girl is only 16 years old.  She is phenomenal!  VERDICT: She should be safe.

I get the idea of the competitors taking the songs and making them there own.  But still, I can’t help but think that there should still be some resemblance of the original genre!

Adam didn’t impress me tonight.  He did something he’s done twice before.  He came out in a suit and sang a song slow.  It’s original to the song, but not original to Adam.  I mean, the guy can sing I suppose, and he’ll be the finals whether I like it or not.  I’m just having a hard time understanding the fuss.  VERDICT: He’ll be back.

I love Paula Abdul, I really do.  I’ve had a crush on her since my youth, but I can’t help but wonder… do you think she gets teary because of the performance or because she knows how ridiculous she sounds?

Did the judges waste the save?  Matt Giraud is doing the Bee Gees and if anybody was singing for their life, it’s this guy.  I really love Matt.  I really want him to stay.  So I’m hoping he nails it tonight and thus far, I’d say he is nailing it!  That was a pretty hot rendition of “Staying Alive.”  He took a Disco song, and gave it a modern Disco feel.  Give the guy props for that. VERDICT: I’m crossing my fingers.

“Matt, you pick songs like I bowl. Sometimes I throw gutter balls and sometimes I throw strikes. Tonight you threw a strike.” Paula Abdul.

I, like Simon Cowell, am the last guy to give fashion advice, but Anoop Dawg… what in the world were you wearing?  It was odd to say the least.  Wasn’t it last week he busted out the green and white striped shirt?  Who dresses this guy anyway?  OK, onto the performance… boring.  That was not good, and that has helped me pick my two to go home. VERDICT: I think Anoop may be done.

I have every confidence that Lil is finally done.  The judges want her to be done, and she needs to be done.  As for the other person going home, I think it might be Anoop.

Wow… congrats Idol.  You proved me wrong and you finished on time!  Good job.  Time for Fringe.  Curious to see the results tomorrow night.