Tonight’s American Idol competition began with a spotlight on Quentin Tarantino as the Idols were to perform songs from the cinema. Interesting choice for someone to mentor the contestants. I think having a director assist the Idols in the whole performance aspect would be hugely beneficial. It will be interesting to see how Quentin’s feedback affects the performances.

The judges took turns – only 2 judges for each contestant. I didn’t like that… I wanted to hear what each of them thought for each contestant. It was the fallout from last week and having the show go over which made the judges decide not to talk as much. My thought was that there is one less singer this week, and they could have made the spotlight on Quentin Tarantino a bit shorter, and they would have been fine to give their normal feedback this week. Hopefully this will be the only week that they all don’t give their critiques.

Allison Iraheta. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. I love this song and thought Allison’s voice would fit the tone of the song. I was very much looking forward to hearing how Allison could shine. But I was a little disappointed. I’m not sure if she was nervous or a little out of breath, and the outfit was distracting, but I didn’t love it. I think I expected a bit more. It’s not that she did a bad job, but just didn’t meet my expectations. The judges seemed to love it. Simon “you are the girls only hope in this competition right now. You’re getting stronger. … I don’t think I’ve heard a girl sing that song so well.”

Anoop Desai. “Everything I do” by Bryan Adams. Quentin suggested Anoop make it a really big and growly song. Anoop didn’t do that, he kept it soft and smooth. It seemed that he tried to make it big in some spots but it was still smooth. I thought it was a pretty version and nicely done. But it was not a performance that was memorable. Anoop is talented, but I think he’ll be going home in the next few weeks. Randy “you have definitely found your zone… I thought you did a really good job.” Kara “probably one of his best vocals”.

Adam Lambert “Born to be Wild” from Easy Rider. (Just a side note… this past week I heard the song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and thought… Oh… Adam should take that song, change it to “Boys Just Want to Have Fun” and it would be a HUGE hit.)… Now back to my thoughts about Adam’s performance. Well… all I can say is classic Adam. Just not my style at all! I’m sorry but give me a break… please! Holy cow he can certainly hit those high notes, and the crowd goes wild.. but I can’t wait until it’s over. Simon “I think vocally, incredible… the downside it was like watching the Rocky Horror Musical in parts… there is going to be a huge portion of the audience who would have loved that, there is also going to be another side who will absolutely despise it… I don’t think that performance will be as popular as your one last week.”

Matt Giraud. “To Really Love a Woman” by Bryan Adams. I liked Matt’s performance. He had a few rough moments though. Comparing the fantastic performance by Adam (even though I’m one of the audience that despised it)… Matt’s song didn’t compare. The judges were critical… and based on that performance I’d think Matt will be in the bottom 3 this week.

Danny Gokey. “Endless Love” by Lionel Richie. What happened to Danny’s glasses? I love Lionel Richie and love this song. But there is only one Lionel… and as Danny began I was a bit disappointed. But as the song continued I thought he made it his own but I felt like there was more that could have been done to really make it shine. I actually did like it, but didn’t feel the connection as much this week as I have in the past. Paula “beautiful rendition”. Simon “I can’t fault the way you sang the song… I’m disappointed that we had the harp, and we had a very traditional version of the song. I was a bit bored that was all you did with it.”

Kris Allen. “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once. I’m not sure I like the really slow songs and this one was quite slow and boring initially. Perhaps it was because I was not familiar with the song. I’m liking Kris more and more and think he’s getting a big following. As the song went on, I had the thought that he could make a big hit with a song like that. It was beautifully done. Randy “Dude. It never quite caught on for me. It was pitchy from note one.” Kara “Difficult to pick an obscure song like that. but for me it was one of your best moments.”

Lil Rounds. “The Rose” by Bette Midler. I liked when Lil made the song sound Gospel – that was when she began to shine and made it her own rather than just a duplicate of Bette’s version. She did a good job, but I didn’t think it stood out as much as some of the others. My concern for her is that she will get lost tonight and end up in the bottom three. Simon “I think that you’re getting this completely wrong… the song was too soft for you… there are no excuses any more.”

Well, my TiVo cut off the last couple of minutes … Lil’s response to Simon’s criticism. But at least all of the performances were there this week.

I think there were too many slow songs this week and no real standout performances except for Adam Lambert (even though I just saw posting on Twitter of Adam in drag… that is not going to hurt him at all because each week he just stands out… even to those of us who don’t like his style.) I’ve been watching Tweets on Twitter go past and there are 6-12 posts for Adam to every 1 or 2 for Allison, Matt, Kris, and Danny.

My predictions for the bottom three are Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds and Matt Giraud. It’s kind of a toss-up as to who will go home. With Anoop and Lil both in the bottom last week, and Anoop only 30,000 votes from going home last week… I predict Anoop will be going home. It will be interesting to see.

Question: Does being gay, performing in “alternative” venues, and having overtly gay images all over the internet (dressed in drag and in gay clubs)… does that affect how you view Adam Lambert, or affect his chances of becoming the next American Idol? I think in years past it would have made a big difference, but this year, it seems to not be in the press and not really hurting Adam’s chances. I’d like to know what you think…

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