The set is in shambles.  Slash is on set.  And the Guitar Hero hits are played!  What more could you ask for?

Actually, I wasn’t all that impressed this week. The only thing that really got me excited in this show was the final duet between Adam and Allison.  Unlike the first duet, these two actually sang to (or “at”) each other.  Danny and Kris looked like two singers who happened to be on the same stage.  Their harmonies were good, but there was always a separation in their performance that sucked the life out of it. Also, Danny looked horribly uncomfortable with it.

I’m still in shock that the easiest Guitar Hero song, “Slow Ride,” could work so well for the two power singers, who shared a hair dresser this week.

I wonder if telling America that Adam has his own “hair girl” will turn off some voters. That seems too professional, don’tcha think?

I think we’ll see Kris and Allison in the bottom two, with Kris going home this week.  (Daughtry says Kris is his favorite and he wants to record with him. Kris will land on his feet.) I don’t quite understand why Gokey hasn’t been in the bottom three yet, but I imagine it’s due to some early-formed fanbase that’s quite active.

And I still am going with my theory that Allison will win it all. I need to write a separate blog piece about that before it’s a moot point.

And IDOL timing continues to astound, as the show ran over just by enough to cut off Simon’s final critique of the best musical number of the night.  UGH.

It’s that time of year again!  Time for Movie Week, in which every contestant sings a ballad by Aerosmith or Bryan Adams. Really, this theme is almost pre-scripted for us, but then someone will throw us a curve to utterly bore us (Kris Allen) or electrify us (Adam Lambert).

And Quentin Tarantino is back, demanding that all of his Meet The Kids segments are FILMED, not merely recorded.

Alison Whose-Last-Name-I’ll-Someday-Learn-To-Spell is still great fun to watch.  I wonder if her voice is getting a little tired.  We’ve seen it happen to lots of contestants going into this stage of the competition. (Tamyra Gray, anyone?)  I know she was underplaying the front of the song to build up to something, but it still sounded a little “weak.”  Of course, “weak” for her is still overpowering for most of the Top 36 any given season.

Was I the only one creeped out at Paula discussing Adam Lambert’s “special sauce,” though?  And, seriously, who is writing Paula’s critiques?  Those cutesy turns of phrase are NOT coming off the top of her head.  Someday, one of them will even apply as being an actual critique of what was just sung, too.

Oh, and due to last week’s show running almost 10 minutes over, only two judges will talk per contestant.  And guess what?  The show still ran over enough that nobody saw Lil’s phone number on screen who was using the DVR.  More on that in a bit.

Anoop is a balladeer.  As much as he came to our attention as the crazy college frat boy, he always does extremely well when he strips it down, sings the damned song, and finds a song to showcase his voice.  I liked it.

In my notes, I wrote, “Remember Daughtry’s Have You Ever Loved a Woman?  Great performance.”  It’s like I saw Matt Giraud, ten minutes into the future. . .

Adam Lambert – I never imagined I’d hear someone sing “Born to be Wild” on this show.  Never.  It’s not an “Idol” song. There’s not much you can do with it.  It’s fine on a Guitar Hero type game, I suppose.  But on Idol?  I can’t help but laugh most weeks with Adam. It’s so crazy, so over the top, and so unreal that it’s great fun to watch. Simon is exactly right that some people will be majorly turned off by this, but I don’t care.  I loved it.  Again.

Adam is just crazy enough that I almost have gotten over Norman Gentile’s loss a few weeks back.  Imagine a duet with those two? Make it happen, Idol!

Matt Giraud – In trouble.  He’s running in the shadow of Daughtry’s performance of “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” here and losing badly.  Heck, it was a clunker without the Daughtry comparison.  And did his voice crack?

Danny Gokey – We were all thinking it, right?  “Eternal Love” == Dead Wife.  I’m shocked Paula and Kara weren’t bawling their eyes out.  Even I felt a twinge somewhere deep inside my rocky exterior.  Simon is right that he should have done more with the song, but he sang that arrangement well.

Danny also ignored Tarantino’s advice about the hands completely. Kris Allen - Trouble.  Who knows that song? It’s a boring, tedious song that isn’t memorable at all.  He’s lucky to have the Text-Friendly Tweeny Girls voting for him.  He’ll be bottom three, but saved first.

Lil Rounds – It’s over for her.  She has to go home. I echo everything Simon said.  “The Rose” could have been an amazing Idol moment.  And while she sang fine, it wasn’t memorable enough.  It didn’t explode enough in the gospel part, so the final restrained part didn’t hit as hard.  And, in the end, who knows who Lil is?

It would seem to be that she’s a bit ticked off by Simon pointing all of this out, and feels the need to talk back. Traditionally, that can be the kiss of death on Idol.

So: Lil out.  Matt in bottom two, saved by the voted he picked up when Scott lost last week.  Kris in bottom three.

I was wondering last night whey they kept flashing to the audience to show that tall scary bald guy to the right of Simon.  Today, I saw Mario Lopez sitting next to him, which leads me to believe the tall scary bald guy isn’t a viral insert for a FOX show, but rather a security guard for whatever celebrity is sitting in that spot that night.  I never saw the celebrity last night, though.  Whoops.

I wondered briefly before the show what would happen if Adam got voted out because half of America was using DVRs and so didn’t vote for him. I wondered if IDOL would dare admit to their mistake and make it up to us all by re-airing the performance on the results show.  They didn’t, and I’m the sucker who paid $1.49 to iTunes to see a 2:30 video.  UGH.  He did well, though.  The man has better control of his falsetto than any contestant on the show has ever had. So the bottom three had Scott and Lil, not surprisingly, and Anoop, who I though the judges were overly effusive in their praise of last night.

And I figured out Kara — she’s the excitable fangirl who’s made it to the big stage. She’s TOO eager.

In any case, Lil was pulled out first as being safe, which surprised me.  I picked her for first runner up.

And then Flo Rida — an alleged singer of some sort — came out and danced around the stage to an island beat while a much more talented woman accompanied him off to the side. I laughed out loud when the sampling of “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” kicked in.  So it hits all the low points of today’s music.  It’s a song by one artist “featuring” another, and includes a sample of an 80s song.

I know, I know.  I’m out of touch and an old fuddy duddy. The Woman Alleged To Be Kellie Pickler sang.  We know from last season that she’s underneath all that plastic surgery somewhere.  She sang well, and I liked the song.  But, man, it’s tough to watch her nose today.

Frankie Avalon lent some surprise class to the show at the opening. Crazy. I think they really did surprise Simon with that. Doesn’t he see dress rehearsals at all?  Doesn’t he know the producers personally?  Strange.

And then Scott has to sing for his life and, honestly, I thought he was much better than last night. He’s the first singer on the chopping block I can say that about this season. After much deliberation — Kara and Paula were obviously pulling for a save — Simon cut him loose, mostly because there are better singers that might need saving in the next two weeks.  I think he’s dead on the money there.  Allison, Adam, and Danny are at the head of that class.

I love a good 80s Night on Idol, but get depressed when I realize all the contestants were BORN in the 80s.  They don’t remember the songs they sang tonight from listening to them on the radio during Casey Kasem’s Top 40.  They remember them from being those “oldies” that aired on weekends or as filler.

Allison, at least, isn’t a child of the 80s.  Depressingly, she was born in 1992.  Life moves on, eh?

Danny – Going first is always a curse, but I think he did well enough to save himself.  I wasn’t as enthused as Paula, but he was technically strong.  I like him. But then, I also liked Taylor Hicks. The problem with “Stand By Me” was, as Simon pointed out, 75% of it is Danny standing there singing the lyrics “stand by me” over and over again.

Kris – Boring. In the middle of the performance, I turned to my wife and asked, “Will Simon call this song self-indulgent” or “boring”? ” Then, Simon used BOTH. Is this show getting too predictable?

Lil – She’s lost.  That was the most slavish Tina Turner imitation not seen at a cross-dressing karaoke competition.  I mean, she copied Tina’s dance moves, gestures, costume, and vocal mannerisms. What was left?  All she needed was for Matt to walk on stage in an Ike costume and punch her to complete the whole thing.  Sheesh.Oh, CRASH AND BURN.

Anoop – Who is he?  Silly party guy, or balladeer?  He’s best remembered early on for the former, but only does well on the show now as the latter.  “True Colors” is a great song choice for Idol, but I don’t think he did as well as he could have with it. It’s not memorable enough. Good enough, but not great.  I’ve heard much better — and I think it was probably on “Rock Star.”

Scott – Here’s our cheesy power balladeer/singer/songwriter.  Who knew he played guitar?  He missed some of the high notes.  The rest was too karaoke.  He’s in trouble this week.

Allison – It’s scary how much she reminds me of Kelly Clarkson.  You watch her and you can’t help but remember Kelly.  The mannerisms, the gestures, the cock of the head — it’s all there.  She put a weird rock sheen on a country ballad, but it mostly worked.  I wish she had pushed it a little further, honestly, but I’ll take it.

Simon’s quote of the night, in reaction to the judges agreeing with me on the Kelly comparison: “Say ‘cool beans.’”  Cracked me up.

Matt – I didn’t love “”Part Time Lover” nearly as much as the judges.  The dancing was a little spastic. But I’ll give him that it was a crowd pleaser, and that he did some interesting things with it.  He needs to wait for the “Songs of the 2000s” week so he can do a Maroon V song, though.  Matt’s not going to win this competition, but he doesn’t deserve to go yet.

Adam – I have no idea.  Idol is awful at running their trains on time.  They’re too busy having meaningless Coca-Cola moments.  So Adam was after the 1 hour and 1 minute mark, so my DVR didn’t record him.  I imagine that no matter how bad he was, he’s still interesting enough to get positive votes from the viewers at home.  So he’s safe.  He did amazingly crazy things with that song, didn’t he?  Who knew a man could have such range?  He’s too good for this show.  etc. etc.

Bottom two this week: Scott and Lil.  Scott goes home.   Rounding out the Bottom Three would be Kris Allen.

Now, can we take up a collection to pay Kara off to never say “Artistry” again?

The question on a nation’s mind: Did Bob Marley’s influence on Megan Joy extend to any mood-enhancers?  If you know what I mean. . .

In my wife’s Idol pool, I got Megan’s ouster correct, but guessed incorrectly that it would be Matt Giraud in the bottom two with her, not Allison. But that goes to show you — the voting populace is a fickle lot.

Megan went home because she squandered all the good will she had at the beginning with really poor song selection. I think, drug references aside, that she might just be very happy to go home to her baby now.  Maybe that explains the euphoria more than anything.

Anoop landed in the bottom two because he went first, did poorly, and was ultimately forgetful.

A few other quick thoughts:

• I loved it when Simon didn’t protract the process by pretending to think about saving Megan.  Good job!

• Lady Ga Ga – So, that’s what the kids like these days? It’s an interesting spectacle, but don’t they want music somewhere, too?

• Next week’s show is themed for songs that came out in the year the contestant was born.  Allison will be picking a song from a year I was in high school.  I feel so old.  Will Nirvana let her sing one of theirs?  Courtney Love is an Idol fan, right?

• That lip synched group singalong is painful and pointless. Give it up. Wait, no, it’s a revenue stream.  That group number only exists now to sell iTunes tracks, so it’s Very Important to have a carefully recorded track to sing against. I think Idol — and others — would do well to save their contestants by cutting things back to the point of the show — the weekly performances.  The Ford commercial shoots and the group number are two things that clutter the show up, and run the contestants needlessly ragged.  No wonder why they all get sick every season.

This week’s theme had something to do with downloadable iTunes songs.  I’m afraid I was only half paying attention to it, but it seemed like this was the producers’ way to get the contestants to sing more “current” songs.

Three did.  I recognized none of them. Thanks, Idol, for reminding me why I don’t listen to the radio. Ick.  Is THAT was Top 40 has come down to?

Anoop did his best Usher impression.  And while his vocals weren’t bad, I’m still not sure there was a song underneath all that screaming and preening for the audience. I’m sure it’s good karaoke, if you’re a fan of that kind of thing.  Going first won’t help him, either.

Megan Joy is, to put it mildly, in trouble.  I think she’ll be everyone’s guess to go home this week.  She’s just not working out the way we had all hoped.  She has a decent voice with a unique sound.  She’s squandered that sound, and even goes off-key during hideously boring songs.  This is also another great example of the trouble contestants get into when they choose a song because they “really really like” it.  UGH

And is this the first time she’s worn pants on stage? Danny Gokey did well.  He went with Idol favorites, Rascal Flatts, who will now have to show up on the Finale Night again to sing this song with him. The judges loved him.  I didn’t like the song, but thought he sang it well. He did smart by going country, the week after potential country favorite Michael Sarver left the show.  He pulled a bold political move to go after Sarver’s fans there, and it paid off.

Allison went with No Doubt.  Can you believe that song is more than ten years old now.  Probably closer to 15, eh?  The judges focused on what she was wearing — which was ridiculous — but the girl still has pipes.  She did what she could with that song and with that arrangement.  Not showing great range, but strong and memorable enough (again, if only for the outfit) to carry through.

Scott did a Billy Joel song.  If you’ve read this blog long enough, you know how big a Billy Joel fan I am.  However, I’m also sick to death of this song.  (As is Billy Joel, by the way.)  For me, Scott didn’t do much, but I’m an ardent Billy Joel fan.  Just doing up your hair to look like Joel did in 1978 isn’t enough for me.  He did some things with the song, particularly in the second half, to make it different, but the overall impression wasn’t strong for me.  I caught pitch problems the judges ignored while slobbering over how “brilliant” he was.  So, yeah, not my thing, dawg.  But the judges loved him.

The question is, will that coax his faithful fans to vote for him, or make them rest on Simon’s laurels, costing him the competition?

Matt Giraud picked some annoying modern song I’ve never heard before.  Eh.  I think the best comment was the comparison his Cold Play performance, which was similarly awful.  There are other better singer who can play the piano, Matt.  You’re in deep trouble.

Lil Rounds didn’t go with “All By Myself,” which might have been cool. She did “I Surrender,” another song I’d love to hear LaToya London sing.  Lil works best when she can shout through a song, and this is another example of that.  I hate to say it, but I think her stock is falling week to week, even when she shows a strong vocal like this.  After last week’s “Heat Wave,” it all starts sounding alike.

Adam Lambert is on this show for a reason.  You just never know what you’re going to get from him next, and the look of befuddlement on Simon’s face afterwards is worth the price of admission.  No matter what he does, it’s going to be different.  And crazy.  And bad.  And awesome.  Sometimes, that all happens in the same verse. “Play That Funky Music?”  Really?!?

This week, I finally realized who he should duet with:Sam Harris. Hey, Harris has roots in “Star Search,” so it all makes perfect sense.

Kris Allen didn’t have an Idol Moment, per se, but did a very good job with his mix on “Ain’t No Sunshine.”  He did a good job on the synthesizer — when did that become a recurring instrument on Idol? — and riffed around the song perfectly.  If we’re charting contestant progress along a line chart, Kris’ line is heading up at a very steep angle.  He’s coming on strong when it counts.

I think the bottom three will be Megan, Matt, and Anoop.  Anoop gets saved first, though I’m happy that someone else other than me pointed out the frat boy part tonight.

I’m going to guess Megan goes home.

Update: Two other things:

Contendor for Favorite Moment of the Night: Simon mouthing a correction to Kara after she referenced “Studio 57.” Kara’s not old enough to have ever been there.  Perhaps she shouldn’t reference it?

And who is Paula’s script writer?  I know they were pressed for time last night — after all, they did two singers between commercial breaks at one point — but many of her comments were clearly pre-planned and memorized or read from notes.  

Is it time to rethink the classic rules of American Idol voting?  There was a time when an appearance in the Bottom 2 or 3 would guarantee your safety the following week.  The contestant’s fans would ramp it up and vote double time the next week to save their favorite.  This went triple if the judges hammered on you.

Yet Michael went home this week.  So either the old rules are changing, or he had so small a fanbase that it didn’t matter.

Personally, I think it’s the latter.  He couldn’t capture the country fans.  He couldn’t capture the tween/teen vote (and their parents) that propel the contestants on this show. . .  He was lost in a middle ground, and then had a couple of Not Great weeks in a row.

Matt Giraud landed in the Bottom 3 because he went first on a TWO HOUR show and wasn’t as memorable as I think the judges initially thought he would be.  There were too many better — and flat out great — performances that came after him.  He didn’t stand much of a chance.  I think with a better position in the “run order” next week and a strong song choice, he’ll do OK for another couple of weeks.

Megan Joy needs to pick a good song this week, or she might be toast next.  If she doesn’t show off her unique vocals, she’s not worth keeping around.  Picking songs like she picked this week will not help her.

And, really, why would you disfigure your arm like that?!?

Matt Giraud – I’ll be forgetting this performance in ten minutes.  He didn’t do badly.  He moved around the stage very well, but not great.

Kris Allen - I really like this one. Did a good job in changing it without overdoing it.  Looks comfortable.  And he worked the guitar.  He didn’t just stand behind him.

Scott MacIntyre – He’s no Phil Collins.  But having the backup singers as his Supremes at the piano is cool.  But he’s done.  He tried.  Did he forget the lyrics early on there?  Last half was better, but it’s like his voice got into this one register, never budged, and started to bore me.  Maybe if he had redone the whole song as a ballad, it might have work.   And he seemed out of whack with the backup singers at times.

And bad pants.

Then Paula whips out the crayons and the coloring book for Simon. Hunh. The Simon/Paula interplay this season is a little awkward, isn’t it? Megan Joy – Back to clothes that will help accentuate her awkward movements.  Looks and sounds awful in front of Smokey.   Stares at him while singing.  Odd.  She has a tattoo on top of her left foot, too?  Weird.  Reminds me of Nellie McKay.

Her performance sounds all pitchy.  Did better once she got up on stage behind judges, but the pitches were all over the place.  If she stood still and tried to work it vocally, it might have worked.  And maybe Randy is right — too fast. Musically overdone.

Paula compliments her beauty and tells he how much the camera loves her. In other words, YOU SUCK.

Simon says she’s in trouble.  Maybe that’s his ploy to get her more votes.

Anoop Desai – Loses it a little on the falsetto in “Ooooh baby baby,” but sounds clean and clear in the verses. Not sure this is going to be a song nor a performance to excite people to vote for him, though.

Is his father’s “My Idol Anoop” button in Comic Sans?  That’s it; I can’t vote for him now.

Michael Sarver -  Needs to take the mic another couple inches away from his mouth.  Sounds like he’s gasping for air to keep up with the song when he’s not hitting all the plosives wrong.  He’s spitting out lyrics, instead of singing them with any meaning.  Disappointing.  He’s in trouble again.

Simon says, “You have no choice of winning this.”  Truer words hath ne’er been spoken.

Lil Rounds – The producers were very happy to see this song on the list for tonight.  It meant another excuse for the flame video background.  Her hair looks like she’s auditioning for a production of “DreamGirls.”

Just when the song was getting redundant and boring (the song doesn’t vary much, it’s all up loud), she turned it up, interacted with the singers, added a little more.  Too karaoke, but I think the second half will save it.

But Randy is right — wrong song choice.  Too many words, too fast. Paula is out of her mind to think Lil owned that song.  Simon’s right: she did shout it too much.

Have a feeling that the 6 second excerpt from this performance at the end of the show will sound much better than the overall performance. Adam Lambert – He almost pulls off the look, but those earrings blow it.  Point made: he has a falsetto.  But you know what?  I think it’s strong, its memorable, and the Standing Ovation is well deserved.  Best performance of the night.  After last week’s performance, this one shows great range.  Chills.  (“Solitaire” moment, a la Clay Aiken? Also, a little “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” with the drummer on stage and the “Unplugged” feel.)

Kara said: “Six words: One of the best performances of the night.” is more than six words, and not a great compliment.  There’ve only been eight songs, total. How many songs are the best?  And does she realize that “Best” indicates a singular?  Grammar is so passe, I know. Danny Gokey – He’s really starting to remind me of Taylor Hicks, but I liked Taylor.  And after all that back and forth with Smokey, he didn’t sing his own backup parts. But dancing with the singers was good.  I liked it.  Looked like he was having fun on the stage, and that’ll translate to votes.

When it comes to singing advice, I think Randy really gives the best advice.  Kara has it in her, but doesn’t get technical enough.

Allison Iraheta – Comes out singing and sounding like Kelly Clarkson.  Good attitude on stage. Wow.  That was amazing.  Made me involuntarily smile at the end of it.  Insane that she’s that good at 16.

Allison and Adam are tied up front.

Megan is a half step above the bottom level. At the bottom: Scott, Michael.

The question is, will Michael’s near-miss last week get his fans to vote for him more than Scott’s, who’ve never had to worry about an elimination?  Scott goes home.  Michael lands in the bottom two again.  And who’s in third?  I’ll go with either Matt (he went first) or Megan Joy. I say — Megan.

Uh oh.

I hope Al Sharpton wasn’t watching tonight’s show. (C’mon, you knew I was going to point that one out. . .) Just to keep me honest: The 13th and 12th place finishers I had picked to finish #11 and #9. And I have a funny feeling Anoop won’t make it as far as I predicted either.  He’s painful to watch.

Also: Darn you, FOX, for selling only the musical performances on iTunes, and not the whole episodes of “American Idol.”  I wasn’t about to spend $1.49 a song.  I would have spent $1.99 or $2.99 or even $3.99 for the full episode last night, though.

As for this season’s new twist: Smart idea.  It allows the judges to make a correction to an anomolous week without lording over everything.  It also gives producers a chance to falsely add suspense to the show.  Did anyone thing the judges would unanimously bring Jorge or Jasmine back?  They’re saving that selection in case Lil or Danny or Allison get tossed early.  Everyone else is expendable right now, I think.

Also, those group numbers are getting more and more painful, though it is fascinating to watch how they choreograph around Scott.

Good to see Kelly Clarkson again. I know I shouldn’t point this out, but – did she gain a couple pounds?  Or is that just the hair that made her look a little plumper than usual?  I’m no saying she’s fat by any stretch, mind you.

Danny did well. My DVR ran out of space about an hour in, so I’ll let you all do the writeup.  Who did you like?

I will say this, though: This is the week I became sick of Kara.  I liked her up until tonight.  Now, she grates on me. And why is the windscreen on her mic so much bigger than everyone else’s?  Is it because she always leans to far forward that it looks like she’s about to eat it whenever she talks?

And someone get Paula her medication.  One should not be near tears that often. . .

Running out of time.  Let’s do this quickly:

Who goes out in what order:

1. Kris Allen – how did he get here in the first place?
2. Michael Sarver – Ditto, besides the Nice Guy story.
3. Jasmine Murray – barely made it in in the first place.
4. Matt Giraud – He WANTS to be that guy who sang that awful ColdPlay song.  He’s doomed.
5. Jorge Nunez – The accent/lack-of-accent gets to America. Puerto Rico’s solid voting block only goes so far.
6. Anoop – A novelty act. Simon cries.
7. Alexis Grace – Likable, but not inspiring.
8. Scott MacIntyre – Not inspiring, vocally.  Paula cries.
9. Adam Lambert – Too much screaming.
10. Allison Iraheta — officially becomes the token redhead to go the further in the competition, if you don’t count Nikki McKibbin’s dye job.
11. Megan Joy – Probably made it much further (farther?) than she should have.
12. Lil Rounds – Powerful voice, a bit old but otherwise a cookie cutter American Idol contestant.
13. Danny Gokey – Not the most inspiring or skilled singer.  But people have loved him since Day One.

More guys, but more girls make it into the later rounds.  I’d count on that, if nothing else.  By the time we’re down to 5, you’ll see 3 girls/2 guys, I think.

Who I’m rooting for — nobody in particular this year.  Lots of “eh” this season.  Some good singers, some interesting personalities. I’m hoping someone separates themselves from the pack.  Otherwise, I’m in it for the spectacle.

Round of 13 begins in a matter of hours. . .

I said to my wife at the start of the show, “And this year’s twist will be the 13th finalist.”

God, I’m good.

Plus, I went three for three.  The judges added Matt Giraud to my list.  Tatiana took the predictably dramatic exit, complete with the judges comforting her from over their vaulted judging desk.

It was a night of awkwardness. There was a missed high five. Ryan asked Tatiana to get down on her knees in front of him. Everything else Tatiana did qualifies, too.  Paula and Simon practically made out between mock fights.  And a poor cut to a camera shot showed a production assistant moving two contestants in the Red Room closer together for the upcoming throw to commercial.  (It was during Paula’s critique of Matt Giraud, if you want to watch it back.)

So let’s get to the performances, briefly:

Jesse Langseth – What the heck is that song?  Meh. (I know John Hodgman says we’re not supposed to use “meh” anymore, but it’s terribly appropriate here.) Matt Giraud - Made a good showing for himself, and is different enough to be “cast” for the Final 12, er, 13. But, reallty, we know Anoop is the “casting” choice.  More on that in a bit. Still, to me, Matt was self-indulgent with too many grunts and growls.

Megan Joy Corkrey – Was there ever any doubt the judges were going to pick her, after their comments to her in the first week?  No.  She still dances awkwardly, and her performance couldn’t live up to Katharine McPhee’s performance of it.  Remember when the producers were worried about contestants with tattoos?  Or kids?  I think half the Top 13 are parents now.  (I’m only slightly exaggerating, I think.) Von Smith – Toast.  Cannon fodder.  Although I finally realized who he looked like: Tintin combined with Rick Astley.  I hope he Rickrolls the Finale.

Jasmine Murray — All power throughout the whole song, but then nailed the falsetto at the end.  Impressive.

Ricky Braddy – He got through it.  Sounded karaoke to me.

Tatiana Del Toro – You want to point and laugh, but then she hits her stride and impresses the hell out of you with her voice.  Scary little thing, she was.

Anoop Desai – Gets bonus points for daring “My Prerogative.”  The whole thing is a complete mess and something you’d expect to see at your fraternity’s kegger.  But the crowd loves it, most of which is underage.  He’s the Sanjaya of this season – the kids love him, despite his abilities and awkwardness.

Next week: Kelly Clarkson has an album out.  Also: She’s appearing on Idol.  Coincidence?  Of course not, silly.

Also, I’m glad I taped “Hell’s Kitchen,” as the show ended a few minutes past the hour. Many watching this show on DVR tonight missed the announcement of the third and fourth additions to the finalists.  Whoops.

Separated at birth: Von Smith, Tintin, and Rick Astley

See if you can tell them apart:

Uncanny.

Really, IDOL, did anyone think the judges would put through the great Normal Gentle last night?

Why bother loading him into the Red Room? Tonight’s Wild Card winners will be at least 2/3rds female.

Idol loves to equalize the male/female dynamic. Every “Next Highest Votes” winner so far has been a guy, so there’s a big lack of balance going on here.

Megan Corkrey is a lock to go through. The judges love her.

I think Jasmine Murray will make it through, if she sings a decent song.

There’s a chance they’ll put Tatiana through, as much for the drama and the hilarity as her singing prowess.

Of the guys, I think only Anoop Dawg has a chance.

What are your predictions?

Didn’t I say I wasn’t doing these writeups this year?  Once more, into the breach!

But, first, the tease: After eight years, I’m breaking one of my cardinal rules of AI.  Stay tuned for which rule. . .

Von Smith – Good song choice, awkward to watch, rough start. But, please, if I want someone to mug and scream at me, I already have Adam Lambert.

Taylor Vaifanua – Boring, bad song choice, trying too hard too early.  Karaoke.  Her “journey” has come to an end.

Alex Wagner-Trugman – Overdoes the Joe Cocker thing. Off beat too much. Self-indulgent.

Arianna Afsar - She doesn’t have the falsetto she thinks she does.  Bad song choice, and she knew she blew it as soon as she was done.

Ju’not Joyner – I liked it.  It should be boring and too reserved, but I liked the reinterpretation of a good modern song.  He didn’t overdo it, which is what too many would do in that position.

Man, Paula’s watch is seriously blinged out.

Kristen McNamara – Karaoke, but a very strong and clear voice. I didn’t ‘feel’ it, but she’s got some pipes.

Nathaniel Marshall made me break my cardinal rule of Idol: Any contestant who does a Jim Steinman song automatically gets my vote.  I’m sure Steinman is spinning in his coffin right now.  (He’s not dead; he’s just seriously weird.)  But, yeah, he butchered a song sung by Meat Loaf while wearing a 1982 costume for a 1992 song.  He didn’t do justice to the song. He doesn’t have the range or the strength of Meat Loaf’s voice.  Without that, the song falls apart.

Or, to quote Simon: “verging on excruciating.”

Felicia Barton – Good song choice, good voice.  A little too close to the original (what little I can remember of it.)  Her third “no one”s faltered a bit. But she’s the right contestant to bring back.

Scott MacIntyre – Not a good song for Idol, but he did just enough with it to make it work.  He needs to be in front of the keyboard to really shine.  I can’t wait for that. (Now, how will they choreograph around him on the group dance number tomorrow?)

Kendall Beard – Has a nice voice, but is a cookie cutter country singer who sang a song that’s bigger than her. And is she the second contestant of the night to offer that her mother helped dress her for the show?

Jorge Nunez – Sings the second Elton John song of the night.  I don’t know what Paula was listening to, but the accent is still there, though well hidden.  (Typical issue with a non-American English speaker trying to adopt an American dialect: he holds onto the “R” sound too hard and long.)  He’s got a great voice, though, that comes naturally to him.  His posture is a little cramped, but I can’t fault his singing ability, in whatever voice he uses.

Lil Rounds – She’s got a much better voice than this song.  But she’s going through.

It just dawned on me: Nathaniel is wearing MacGyver’s second season hair-do, isn’t he?  UGH

I think Lil Rounds and Scott MacIntyre will go through.  Who gets the popular vote after that?  I’ll guess Felicia Barton, though Jorge has good odds.  Whichever of those two don’t make it in votes will make it to the Wild Card round on Thursday.