Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Last week, I figured two performances per contestant was too much to expect from Idol, even though that had been the standard format in past years when the field was reduced to five finalists.

That, of course, was before the dawn of the four-headed judges’ panel. Before Kara and Paula started vying for the prize for most long-winded critique. Before Idol had so much trouble finishing shows on time.

So last week we were left with 7.5 minutes of singing in an hour-long show. Oh, yeah, it dragged a little.

This week, pretty please, Idol. You’ve got to do better. Six minutes of singing in an hour-long show might lead to more filler than even the most diehard Idol fan can stand.

And, of course, there’s been no official word on the format for this week’s show.

This week’s mentor won’t be a mystery. The mentor will be Slash, former guitarist for Guns N’ Roses and current guitarist for Velvet Revolver. The theme will be rock-and-roll, which should bring the show out of the dark ages after Rat Pack week.

I read one report that said Idol will try something radically different Tuesday night. Each contestant will do one solo number. Then each contestant will pair off with another for a duet.

The good news: That would get us up to 9 minutes work of performances.

The bad news: I don’t see how that would be fair. I mean, one Idol will have Adam Lambert as a partner. The other two … well, they’ll have someone not named Adam Lambert.

This week’s rankings:

4. Kris Allen (3rd last week): Kris is often referred to as the dark horse in the competition. Well, he might have fallen a few too many lengths behind the frontrunners. The last time I ranked his performance higher than fourth among the finalists was back in week four when he sang “Ain’t No Sunshine” on top downloads week. That’s means four consecutive performances that have ranked fourth or lower since then. Now that the field has been reduced to four, Kris might be in danger.

3. Danny Gokey (4th last week): Danny jumps a spot this week based on two factors. First, he’s the only remaining finalist who has never been in the bottom three. Second, his performance of “Come Rain or Come Shine” last week was his best since the finals started. Danny comes off as a little awkward on stage, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does with rock-and-roll as a theme.

2. Allison Iraheta (2nd last week): Allison must feel like she survived theme week hell and found gold on the other end of the rainbow. I mean, rock week, that’s right up her alley. Disco and Rat Pack week … well, not so much. Interesting that Allison finished in the top two last week. One has to wonder if she picked up extra votes because she’s the lone female remaining in the competition. Sometimes, eliminated contestants (like Lil Rounds two weeks ago) can shift the balance of power on Idol.

1. Adam Lambert (1st since the season began): So, were you shocked to see Adam in the bottom two last week? You probably won’t be shocked again. Based on the comments posted on last week’s blogs, voters have learned their lesson. Nothing’s a sure thing on Idol. And casting votes for your second favorite contestant to help them survive is a surefire way to sabotage your favorite. Now that he survived last week, I expect Adam to cruise into the finals.