Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So that’s why we need four judges — to artificially pump up a two-hour show that features less than 22 minutes of singing.

The judges seemed to babble on forever last night.

And I think we need assigned seating. Move Paula to the other side of Kara so she’s not sitting next to Simon. Their bickering used to be sorta fun. Now it’s just annoying.

And let’s hold off giving that Idol title to Adam Lambert. His vocals were still strong, but that odd version of “Ring of Fire” is likely to turn off some voters … though perhaps not those inclined to vote for Adam anyway.

This is a big week for the Idol contestants. Those who advance get to perform as part of the American Idol summer tour while this week’s eliminated contestant misses out.

Here’s the recap of tonight’s show. Don’t forget to follow along tomorrow night, when I’ll be blogging live through the elimination show. And we’ll be treated to a live performance by one of the most popular Idols, Carrie Underwood.

Best of the bunch: Anoop Desai showed us that maybe the judges knew what they were doing when they put him in the finals. Where has he been hiding that vocal skill for the last month? Brilliant rendition of “You’re Always on My Mind.” Simon summed it up best, “from zero to hero.” Danny Gokey was also very strong, this time earning the judges’ praise with his version of the Carrie Underwood hit, “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

Best from the gals: Lil Rounds takes the honor, hands down, though Allison Iraheta did better with country music than I expected. For the first time, we heard Lil’s voice truly soar as she performed “Independence Day.” Once she hit the chorus … wow.

Deserves to go home: Scott MacIntyre sings for the third time and turns in a third mediocre vocal. I figure if you haven’t had a highlight in three turns on the stage, your time is up. In my book, Scott’s time is up.

Best line of the night from the judges: Simon, commenting on the bulky white jacket Danny Gokey wore while singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” … “My only problem, Danny, is what you’re wearing. It’s like you’re going on some sort of polar expedition or something, and it’s 80 degrees in Los Angeles.”

Baffled by the judges: Michael Sarver sure didn’t get any love from the judges, despite what I thought was his best performance so far, singing “Ain’t Going Down Til the Sun Comes Up.” It was a fun performance and his best vocal of the competition. The judges, clearly, weren’t impressed.

Please keep her: Alexis Grace followed two very strong performances by singing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Ouch. Brooke White did it better, and got lukewarm reviews. The judges might have been kind giving Alexis what amounted to lukewarm reviews. She badly oversang a song that’s beauty lies in its simplicity. Still, I think better weeks are ahead for young Alexis.

Surprise of the night: That would be Adam Lambert’s rather bizarre performance of “Ring of Fire.” Hey, trying different takes on popular songs is good. David Cook rode that strategy all the way to the Idol crown. But it has to be really good, too. Adam left me … how did Kara put it … yeah, confused.

Best line of the night from the judges, part 2: Simon, commenting on Adam’s performance: “What the hell was that?” Oh, he also predicted lots of people would be throwing their televisions out the window. And called it “self-indulgent rubbish.” And “horrific.” You get the idea. Simon doesn’t like country, and he sure didn’t like country with an Adam twist.

Prediction for Wednesday: He got a B in my gradebook, but I’m afraid Michael Sarver might not survive the double whammy of performing first and getting panned by the judges. As I noted earlier, I’d pick Scott MacIntyre to go home.

The song-by-song grades:

Anoop Desai: A

Danny Gokey: A-

Lil Rounds: B+

Matt Giraud: B

Michael Sarver: B

Allison Iraheta: B-

Kris Allen: C

Adam Lambert: C

Megan Joy: C- (but she had the flu)

Scott MacIntyre: C-

Alexis Grace: D