American Idol goes Retro on Disco Night! Which 2 will go home this week?

Matt Giraud was saved. Was it worth it America? Yikes, after tonight I don't know! (by the way, I just got the bad joke of the song he chose for the night. Yep, I'm a little slow. I'll catch you up down below!) Hello American Idol fanatics! The Top 7 returned for a 2nd week in a row with the stakes raised even higher this week. That's right, the bottom 2 vote getters will be leaving us tomorrow. The ultimate joke on the show would be if 2 actual contenders end up being booted. But it's looking like 3 are vying for those 2 spots at this point. The problem is figuring out which 3! Tunes from the DISCO ERA are what songs were sung on American Idol this week. I may have stated last week, when you are expecting the worst, sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised. And that was true for 4 of tonight's 7 contestants. Hey, over 50% is good for this show!

2 things before we get started on the recap. They finally finished the show on time! (well, it ran over maybe 30 seconds but that's normal for American Idol). Eliminating pre-performance clips was a big time saver letting us hear the long winded judges in all of their glory. Which brings me to my 2nd thing. I have declared Randy Jackson's feedback for the night utterly pointless. To sum up for all contestants "I didn't like the arrangement, but man you can sing! This top 7 can really sing!!!!" yawn. We really only need 2 judges on this show. The complete ridiculousness of Paula Abdul and her perfect companion Simon Cowell. The best shots of the night are when they show Simon as he is listening to Paula's critiques. Priceless! Onto the reviews and picks!

Top 7 Performance Recap

1.) Lil Rounds

"Like my wings? I'm gonna SOAR to the top of the charts with or without this stupid show!"

Song: "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Kahn

Let me give you some advice Lil! If you're going to beg for America to vote for you, don't keep gloating that you have them on your side and keep cutting off the judges with your rants about how your performance was NOT Karaoke. Your performance was the EPITOME of Karaoke! Granted, this is the type of song everyone has been waiting for Lil to pull out of her arsenal. Sadly, no one is left to even care. I'm glad she had fun out there, really. But geez, just hearing her keep talking and talking to the judges thinking anyone out there really cares just drives me bonkers. Not much to say about her performance. It was just THERE. Nothing special about it. The only thing I can remember about it was the lyric that showed off her wonderful pronunciation of the S's "I can read your thoughts right now. Every one from A to THEEZAAAYYYY!!" Never heard THAT letter of the alphabet! And the end of the performance? Just lots and lots of screaming. Simon Cowell hit it on the head. There is no saving her this week. She went first, she was forgettable, she's gone! We only have to hear her blab on one more time. (during her swan song!)

2.) Kris Allen

"I may not be able to explain the deep meanings of why I choose songs, but man can I rock 'em!"

Song: "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer

"It's a song about a woman that uhhhhh works." Well, even if the subject matter of the song isn't fit for a family show, Kris really put on a good show! He kicked it back acoustic style with his guitar. Box Drum guy was there, Conga drum guy was there, and Ricky Minor rockin the Bass (okay, well that part was electric!). But that arrangement, the changing up of the song was really good! It's not just the changing of the song. It's the song he chose to do it too. I mean it's a Donna Summer tune. And he totally changed it up. Gotta give the man props. I had him counted out the minute he got voted into the Top 12 (errr 13). But he really has turned things around. If I had to rank these guys, I probably have put him a notch above Danny at this point (if you're keeping track Adam and Allison are fighting for top spot on my mental list).

3.) Danny Gokey

"Can I get an AMEN!!!??? HEYYY!!!!!!! Am I hyper enough for you!? YESSSAAAAA!!!!!"

Song: "September" by Earth Wind and Fire

Oh Danny Danny Danny. Why can't I find good things to say about Danny anymore? I really did like the guy. Maybe the over-exposure caught up to him. Maybe it's the fact that he still is DANNY GOKEY every week. And why you are supposed to bring yourself into every performance, every performance of Danny's just seems to be a repeat! Can't knock the voice. He's got one and it's great! He has a ZEST for life on that stage, he works it! But on a show where Adam, Kris and Allison are changing things up every week and succeeding at it for the most part? Yikes Danny, you have to do something to step up your game! Or maybe he doesn't. There are tons of Gokey supporters out there. And they will be with him until the end. Paula seems convinced that he will be in the finals. Then again, if we're keeping count, I think she has predicted 3 or 4 people to be in that final 2 this year. So, can't say much. Bottom line, Danny is totally safe for this week and probably next week. But after we're into the top 4? Anything can happen.

4.) Allison Iraheta

Song: "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer

Interesting arrangement definitely. But I have to agree with Simon on this one. Allison was probably an underdog coming into DISCO week. She was born in the 90's people! Wow, that is scary to think about. Let's move on! I don't think the arrangement matters as much as it mattered that she differentiated herself from the group. And her voice is still unbelievable. Do I wish she could pronounce those S's a little better? Yeah, especially when she keeps repeating "HOT THUFF!" Do I think that's going to hurt her? Probably not. I really think I am the only one that hears these things! Hopefully her good singing, and change up of the tune will be enough to help Allison continue to avoid that bottom 3! (or 4 or however they're going to do it this week)

5.) Adam Lambert


"Jazz hands are so last week. I'm back to emotionally move you!"
Song: "If I Can't Have You" by the Bee Gees

So folks, I believe Simon owes me $10,000. And it couldn't come at a better time! Everyone was making their predictions in the comments of last week's postings and I believe my prediction went a little something like this: "I can't imagine Adam doing anything BUT the Bee Gees! lol I mean that High Pitch voice.....he's the new Barry Gibb!" Simon insisted that he would have put money on the fact that Adam would do a Donna Summer song as well. Simon, the money could not come at a better time with my wedding creeping up. FORK it over!!

Okay, all kidding aside, how can you not love Adam's performance? It was inspiring. When he drops the pizazz and spectacle and scales things back, the guy has an unbelievable range and an amazing connection with his tunes. If he could do something like this every week, I wouldn't even be questioning that he was going to win. (It's still a slim to none chance that he won't win but still) My only drawback on Adam, I am still getting that theater vibe from him. Not that this is a bad thing. There have always been successful theatrical pop stars. But, just imagine you are on Broadway seeing "BEE GEES The Musical" and it's time for the lead's big SOLO. The lights dim, the spotlight comes out and BAM...Adam Lambert begins an emotionally charged performance as BARRY GIBB. That's just it. I don't feel like I am getting Adam Lambert on stage with each performance. I feel like I'm getting the character he is playing that week in the musical of his life. And maybe that just goes into what we know about Adam's extra-curricular activities that are splashed all over the Internet. Maybe that makes it hard for me to buy that this suited up Adam is the real deal. That this is who he really is. Because, I really don't think it is. After all, we do know how he loves to play dress up. The key word in that sentence being DRESS! But I digress. Brilliant Performance from Adam, and I just can't help but nitpick!

6.) Matt Giraud

"If this gig doesn't work out for me, I really could just be a hat model. Because man can I wear them!"

Song: "Stayin Alive" by The Bee Gees

Like I said above, it took me awhile to pick up on the song choice. Ha ha Matt! You got saved last week so you're.....wait for it.....STAYING ALIVE! Woooo that slays me! Whew, yes so did the performance. Using the save to get THAT performance was totally not worth it. It was a throwaway performance on the most predictable of song choices on a theme week entitled DISCO WEEK. No one wants to hear that crazy song without seeing some cheesy 70's version of John Travolta struttin down the street to the beat. Giraud is no Travolta. And, his attempts at being Timberfake aren't really working for him either. He should have went back to the piano this week and did what he does best. Not like it mattered though. He wasn't going to win this thing anyway. Simon pretty much agreed to bring him back for the fun of it anyway. The big question is, will it be him or the next contestant that goes home with Lil this week?

7.) Anoop Desai

"For my next selection, I would like to bore you to sleep!"

Song: "Dim All the Lights" by Donna Summer

Well, if I'm being honest (my best Simon Cowell impression), I'd like Anoop to go home just to have a good title for my next post! What a perfect Swan Song title! Now, maybe Paula is right. Real men know how to wear pink. And Anoop was really rocking the pink sweater and the scruff for his performance. But man, what a snoozefest! For the first 30 seconds of the song, I was thinking about him being the balladeer again. But even when it picked up, it was just a tad on the cheesy side. Usually you expect the last performance of the night to really blow you away. And this kinda just whimpered us into the closing credits. Still, going last has its perks. Can Anoop save himself yet one more time? He's avoided it for so long now. I just don't know!

The Picks

Which performances were great tonight? Adam, Kris

Which performances were pretty darn good? Allison, Danny

Is she still here? Lil

Is he still here? Anoop

We saved him for what? Matt

My Bottom 3 Picks: Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud Bonus Pick: Allison Iraheta

My Elimination Picks: Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai

Matt was saved folks. Here's my philosophy. There will be more people than ever voting for him because his fans got one more chance to vote him through. Meanwhile Lil and Anoop? No thanks! I think everyone has seen enough of them. This was the exact bottom 3 as last week, so it may not play out this way. But based on the performances, that's really the only way I can go!

And with that said, that is all I have left for this recap. Oh right, one more thing. Someone out in the programming world must really like me because they're bringing back my favorite contestant to pick on in American Idol History! Yes, that's right folks. DAVID "THE ARTICHOKE" ARCHULETA is coming back to the Idol Stage for the results show. If you weren't reading my recaps for season 7, you might want to treat yourself to the year-long Archie bashing fest that I had on his behalf which concluded in a sweet triumph of my victorious prediction of David Cook defeating Little Davie (which I had maintained for many weeks leading up to the awesome night). Ohhhh good times.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you after the results!

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