Idol Chatter & Voice Views

OK. That wasn’t nearly the disaster it had the potential to be.

We were back to all the judges critiquing every performance, which means Idol must have realized how silly last week’s change was.

Considering it was disco night, and disco figured to be a struggle for several of these contestants, they did very, very well. Several bent the theme to fit their abilities. Excellent job of adapting, Idols.

Best of all, Allison Iraheta was absolutely fantastic, which means last week’s use of a save on Matt Giraud shouldn’t come back to haunt Simon and friends this week.

The only sour note: Paula’s proclamation that she’ll see Danny Gokey in the season finale.

Her comment wasn’t surprising. The show seems to have been pushing Danny on us as the next Idol since his audition. Paula and Kara seem to be his biggest supporters.

But, come on, Paula, we’re now seven weeks into the finals. Right now, based on performances to date — based on what happened last night, even — don’t you think Allison and Adam Lambert deserve the spots in that finale.

Here’s the recap of Tuesday’s show …

Best of the bunch: Hey, it had to happen sooner or later. I mean, Adam Lambert has pretty much owned this spot in the weekly recaps. But not this week. On disco night, it goes to the most unlikely of contestants — 16-year-old Allison Iraheta, who put a rock edge on Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” and turned in the vocal of the night. And here I was, worried she’d need the save the judges used on Matt last week. Speaking of Matt …

Best of the guys: Last week, he was saved. This week, he sang like he deserved to be saved. I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Giraud’s rendition of “Staying Alive.” And, hey, what an appropriate song, right? You gotta think that was intentional. Hey, that was Matt’s best vocal in weeks, perhaps of the finals. He even hit all — and I mean all — the high notes.

Deserves to go home: Lil Rounds, who got roundly criticized again, and not without reason, for a bland version of “I’m Every Woman.” She’ll go down as the contestant with the most unrealized potential in this competition.

The second singer to go home Wednesday night should be Anoop Desai. I’ll tell you what, Idol had better hope Simon never quits this show, because he’s the only judge who said what needed to be said about Anoop’s strange version of Donna Summer’s “Dim All the Lights.” Anoop’s worst performance in weeks couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Baffled by the judges: I’m convinced. Paula and Kara are so gaga over Gokey, they’ve got gunk in their ears. And now they’ve infected Randy, too. That’s my only explanation for the rave reviews Danny Gokey got for a very average version of “September.” I’d rate that as his worst performance yet. He oversang. Badly.

Please keep him: Kris Allen changed up “She Works Hard for the Money” to better suit his style, not to mention his acoustic guitar. I didn’t particularly like his version. But, right now, Kris is my third-favorite performer in this competition, behind Adam and Allison. Speaking of Adam …

Surprise of the night: Given the disco theme, I really figured Adam Lambert would go absolutely berserk on stage Tuesday night. Instead, he returned to the gentler, classier Adam, donning a suit and turning in a toned-down version of “If I Can’t Have You.” It wasn’t my favorite performance of the night. But there can be no doubt; Adam is this year’s best singer.

Prediction for Wednesday: If viewers were listening to the singing, Lil and Anoop will go home Wednesday night. The next worst performance came from Danny. He hasn’t finished in the bottom three yet, so he’s not going anywhere.

Coming Wednesday: Live blogging during the results show, with performances from David Archuleta and Harry Wayne “KC” Casey (of KC and the Sunshine Band).

The song by song grades:

Allison Iraheta — “Hot Stuff” — A

Matt Giraud — “Stayin’ Alive” — A-

Adam Lambert — “If I Can’t Have You” — B+

Kris Allen — “She Works Hard for Her Money” — B

Danny Gokey — “September” — C

Lil Rounds — “I’m Every Woman” — C

Anoop Desai — “Dim All the Lights” — C-