Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, let’s see, last week Danny Gokey sang Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and butchered the big shriek at the end.

This week, Adam Lambert sang Aerosmith’s “Cryin'” and filled it with so many spot-on big notes … well, there might have been too many.

That’s a great example of the talent gap that’s existed all of season eight on American Idol. There’s the level Adam Lambert is on. And then there’s another level, several flights down, where you’ll find the rest of the contestants.

That said, I thought Kris Allen bounced back very strong last night, setting the stage for a very interesting results show Wednesday evening. You can follow along live here. I’ll be blogging as it progresses.

I’m sure we’ll see lots of footage of the three finalists’ trips home. You can get a sneak peek by checking out this photo blog.

Now, on to Tuesday’s recap.

Best of the night: I actually thought Kris Allen turned in the best performance of the night with his acoustic version of “Heartless.” It reminded me why Kris was labeled one of this season’s strongest contenders a few weeks back. It had been a while since Kris had delivered a special performance.

Deserves to go home: Danny Gokey. Somewhere along the line, I missed out on the Danny love potion Paula and Kara have been sipping all season. He was praised for his vocal on “Dance, Little Sister,” for instance. I thought he shouted the first half of the song. And I would have preferred if he had stuck with a more subdued version of “You Are So Beautiful.” Sorry, folks, I think Danny would have had a tough time cracking the top five a year ago, let along the top two.

Please save him: I fear for guitar-man Kris, because Danny’s never been in the bottom three, but based on last night’s two performances, Kris deserves the spot in the finale.

Surprise of the night: I wasn’t amazed by either of Adam’s performances. Does he deserve to be in the finale? Absolutely. Does he deserve to be this year’s Idol? Absolutely. But last night’s performances were just a little too over the top vocally to match his best of the season.

Best line of the night from the judges: Paula to Kris after he sang “Heartless:” “You are the bravest artist, because you sang a song that’s about Simon Cowell.” Truthfully, some of the judges’ antics were getting a little tiring Tuesday. At this stage, the focus of the show should be the contestants, folks.

Prediction for Wednesday: I’ll be rooting for an Adam-Kris finale, but I fear we’ll get an Adam-Danny finale. It’s the matchup certain judges seem to have been pushing for all season.

The song-by-song grades:

Kris Allen — “Heartless” — A

Adam Lambert — “Cryin'” — A-

Adam Lambert — “One” — A-

Kris Allen — “Apologize — B+

Danny Gokey — “You Are So Beautiful” — B

Danny Gokey — “Dance, Little Sister” — B-