Idol Chatter & Voice Views

p>Say it ain’t so.

Now the judges are going to mess with the format in the finals? Do something that Ryan Seacrest promises will “change the face of the competition?”

After the way they changed the face of the semifinal rounds (pretty much ruining it, in my opinion), I just can’t wait for this new development.

Oh, well, that’s tomorrow night’s news. Along with performances by Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West. Along with the elimination of not one, but two, Idol finalists.

Tonight’s news: Plenty of mediocrity. Plenty of safe performances. And an absolutely brilliant one from Adam Lambert, who surely won’t be going home tomorrow night.

Here’s the recap.

Best of the bunch: Adam Lambert. One word: Wow! We just saw the first memorable performance of season eight when he sang “Black and White.” Heck, one of the best performances ever on Idol. I tell you, this guy just might run away with this thing.

Best from the gals: On a night when safe pop performances were the norm, Allison Iraheta took the stage looking like a rocker chick, then rocked out while singing “Given to Me.” Wow. I have new respect for Allison. Can this possibly be the same gal who won a sweet 15 competition on Telemundo a couple of years back? Alexis Grace turned in a solid effort, too, with a down-and-dirty version of “Diana.” But the vocal was over the top, making it all turn out like wannabe Adam.

Deserves to go home: On a night when I was hoping someone would sing one of the better Michael Jackson songs, Anoop Desai did, tackling “Beat It.” Problem was, he needed to change it, like David Cook did last year when singing “Billie Jean.” Instead, Anoop changed nothing. And he sure couldn’t match the Michael Jackson version. When Paula criticizes your performance, you know it was bad. Of course, two finalists will go home Wednesday night. My second choice would be Jorge Nunez. Which brings us to …

Best line of the night from the judges: Trying to defend a song choice that was being criticized, Jorge said: “I not going to sing ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson.” Simon’s on-the-mark response. “Well, you sorta did.” The song was “Never Can Say Goodbye.” But voters might be saying goodbye to Jorge tonight after that tortured performance.

Baffled by the judges: Paula and Kara were again beside themselves after Danny Gokey sang. Paula already predicted he’ll be in the final. I don’t get it, didn’t care for his vocal at all. On the other hand, I give him high marks for showmanship. All in all, an OK performance, but light years behind Mr. Lambert.

Please keep her: Probably the least experienced performer in the final 13, Megan Joy took the stage, looking lovely in red, and turned in a lively performance of “Rockin’ Robin.” The judges didn’t like the song choice. I did. But maybe that’s because I had just heard Anoop and Jorge butcher their Michael Jackson songs. Besides, I just plain like Megan. And she looked more comfortable on stage than I expected.

Surprise of the night: The only good surprise was Allison. I wasn’t a big fan of her semifinal performance of “Alone,” maybe partly because it’s a song that’s been done to death on Idol and done better in the past. She won me over Tuesday night. At 16, this gal is for real. The bad surprises included Lil Rounds, who again failed to pick a song that would showcase her tremendous vocals; and Kris Allen, who lugged a guitar on stage for a song that didn’t require one and turned in a rather silly performance. Still, I expect both to be around to sing another day.

Prediction for Wednesday: Prediction 1: I won’t like whatever change the judges have in store for us. Prediction 2: Anoop and Jorge should hit the road. But I think Michael Sarver and Jasmine Murray have reason to be concerned, too. Neither did anything to stand out in what is a crowded field of similar performers.

The song by songs grades (full blog here):

Adam Lambert: A+

Allison Iraheta: A-

Alexis Grace: B+

Danny Gokey: B

Megan Joy: B

Li Rounds: B-

Scott MacIntyre: C

Michael Sarver: C

Jasmine Murray: C

Matt Giraud: C

Kris Allen: C-

Jorge Nunez: D

Anoop Desai: D-