Are we really down to the final 3? Ryan tells us that they became heroes in their home towns… blah, blah. The 3 are standing center stage looking stupid under 3 spotlights. This is all so dramatic… well, that’s because THIS… is American Idol. Hollah!

Ryan introduces us to the judges, the crowd cheers, and we get on our feet for the top 3. Here they come, and I think Adam’s wearing a stone washed shirt that’s unbuttoned to his navel. Cute as crap Adam. Speaking of Adam, remember how he is an absolute giant on that stage. I know Seacrest is short, but Kwak is looking tiny, and Gokey is about the same height as Seacrest. Adam looks like the jolly green giant up there (that makes Ryan Sprowt, right?) and dwarfs them all.

We go to Gokey’s home town (for a split second) and we find out that his song this week (as chosen by Paula) is “Dance Little Sister.” It’s a brass laden number, has a very big-band feel. Gokey sounds pretty good this week. His voice suits this song. Whoa! There is a massive, weird sax solo in the middle that Gokey scats to. After that bizzareness, he goes down and sings in Simon’s grill for a sec. He does a fine job singing, although he looks a little uncomfortable dancing around. It certainly wasn’t an edgy song choice, and if he woulda picked it the judges would have called the pick “safe,” but since Paula picked it, they all give her a tongue bath for her selection. Randy says it was dope. Kara loves the song choice but says she won’t remember the song tomorrow. Paula thinks he did “re-olly good.” Simon makes fun of So You Think You Can Dance and then makes fun of the sax solo & calls it toy sounding (which I totally agree with).

FYI: Ryan just said “Simon’s left breast.” This show is going to be awesome tonight.

We go to Arkansas and we find out that Kris is going to sing One Republic’s “Apologize” which will either be awesome, or a flaming train wreck. Kwak is at a piano, and he falters a little off the top. He progressively gets better, although the high note on the “too laaaate” part is a little tough for the upper part of his register. He knows it too, because he only goes for that money note on the first shot. It’s good, but not top 3 good and he’s gonna get SLAMMED (not his fault though, because he wouldn’t have picked this song). Randy says it was “nice baby, nice.” Kara says he needs to be “swingin’ it out of the park” (not the correct saying), which he didn’t do, and that he needed to reinterpret the song (which is unfair since she chose the song for him). Paula says there was a bum note that was loud. Simon slams Kara saying that you can’t choose a song for Kris with a K and then tell him it wasn’t a good song. He says that they shoulda given him more direction if that’s what they wanted (agreed). The judges scream at each other, and we move on.

We’re here with Adam and we find out that Simon’s choice for him is “One” by U2. Adam is standing on the stage with nothing but blue lights over his shoulder. He’s still wearing that weird unbuttoned stone washed monstrosity, but he sounds great. It’s a very toned down version of the song, which is nice… until Adam starts going nuts on it. He still sounds good, but it was hauntingly good in the beginning. It seems like he slipped into his typical wailing wheel house and kind of made it… well…  not as good. Still it’s the best so far (by a mile) lending credence to the conspiracy theory from Aryl last week (second shout out Aryl) that the judges pick good songs for the people they want to win. Randy says he is one of the hottest 3 in the competition (he’s one of the only 3 in the competition Randy). He didn’t like the same part I didn’t like (and Si boos). Kara said that the change up was unbelievable (she actually doesn’t think that… she just wants to get back at Simon). Paula plays on the “one” business and says he is the American Idol. Simon says it was “brilliant, brilliant.” He goes on to say if Adam isn’t in the finals it will be one of the greatest upsets in the history of the planet (or something equally as hyperbolic).

We see Carrie Underwood in Africa talking about Idol Gives Back. Which is a good reminder for all of us to continue to give whatever we can… even during this lame recession. It also reminds me how much I like Toto’s “Africa.” “Like,” as in I wanna hit it like a champ with Toto’s “Africa” (who’s with me on that?).

Gokey’s up with his pick (“You Are So Beautiful”) and his fancy vest (he looks like Wyatt Earp). There is a four-piece string quartet on the stage as well as a guitarist. It’s very stripped down and very quiet. It’s a little bit of a gamble, since this could easily not be remembered in the morning. It’s good though, and Danny really hits the vibe I think he’s going for here. He goes into his gospely thing at the end though (he just can’t help it). I would have liked his and Adam’s performances better if they just took the chance and kept them quiet. Neither can resist a good power note though, and he goes for it. Randy says he can “really, really, really sing.” Kara says that this was stunning. Paula says she’s breathless and it was beautiful. Simon loves the song, but didn’t like the rearrangement. He then says it was a vocal “masterclass.”

We’re on to Kris with a K who is singing “Heartless” by Kanye West. Wow! I’m blown away that he’s using this as his Hail Mary… seriously. “Heartless” isn’t exactly a song that shows off the pipes… maybe he’ll rearrange it (or maybe he’ll just use an auto tuner like KW… ha!). He starts out with an A Capella  thing. He’s just got his guitar and zero band and he. is. NAILING IT. This is really, really cool. GREAT arrangement. Okay, Kwak, with this arrangement, just killed the competition tonight. This is my favorite song of the night (and, I may add, better than the original). Randy says it was better than the original (told you). Kara says it was fearless (and says he shoulda done that with “Apologize”). Paula says this keeps him relevant. Simon says after “Apologize” he had written him off, but now he wrote him back in. It really was awesome.

Here’s Adam and he’s gotta come out swinging here to bump out Kwak. He’s singin’ Aerosmith again (“Crying”). Okay, I really like Adam, but I HATE the way he leers around when he’s performing. His back up singers are REALLY loud, and he’s actually flat on a sustained note. Wow. That’s strikingly un-Lambert. Saying all of that, one thing is for certain: he’s got killer range. He does a good job, but it’s typical Adam, and his first performance was better. Good, but too typical (saying that, he’s cruising to the finals). Randy says he’s one of the best they’ve ever had on the stage, and he liked this more than “One.” Kara asks, “who hits those notes?” Paula says something about frequent flyer miles, and that we’ll see him next week. Simon says he’s not gonna suck up like the other 3 (which they did). Simon then says he deserves to be in the top 2 based on talent and encourages us all to vote for Adam.

Best contestant tonight: Geeze. How do you pick this? Kwak had my favorite song of the night (although I think Adam is the best singer). Best tonight though? Kris with a K.

Worst contestant: Nobody was bad tonight, so I’m not going to do this tonight. I’m just going to say who I think is going home.

Ugliest jacket/shirt: Adam. The 80’s called… they say you can keep their all-denim look. Even they don’t want it.

Going home: Gokey. Sorry man… you’re too undefined. He’d be the next Taylor Hicks. Great voice, no market.

So that was a great night. What did you guys think? Who’s in and who is out? What did you think of the songs? Who was your favorite? Most importantly, what do you think of Toto’s “Africa?”

We’ll see you tomorrow night where we’ll final the playing field to the final 2. Bum, bum, BUMMMMMMM!!!

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photo by rickey

This article has been read 431 times since Wednesday, May 13th, 2009. It was posted on at 2:20 am by Jeff Lind and is filed under Live Music, TV Shows, YouTube. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.