OK, last week, we ended up with a top 13 because the judges couldn't narrow it down to 3 picks in the Wildcard show. Looking back over what we ended up with, we'd like to see the show revert to the previous method of selecting the top 12: the top 12 men and women each get to sing for 3 weeks, with the bottom 4 each week being eliminated. The way it was done this year allowed some people in the top 12 who should not have been there (Alexis Grace, Anoop Desai) and locked out those who should be there (Von Smith, Kristen McNamara). But that's water under the bridge. Let's take a look at last night's performances and try to determine who should be left standing after tonight's double elimination. After some passive-aggressive bantering by the judges, Michael Jackson week began.

(1) Lil Rounds sang "The Way You Make Feel" from Bad. She gave a strong performance, but didn't knock it out of the park quite the way she did during her semi-final performance. Still, it was a great, energetic way to start off the evening. There's no chance of her being in the bottom 3. PREDICTION: SAFE

(2) Scott MacIntyre sang "Keep the Faith" from Dangerous. Scott accompanied himself on the piano with this album cut from Dangerous. Michael Jackson songs are hard for anyone else to interpret, so it might have been a smart move for Scott to select a song that most people were not familiar with in order to avoid the dreaded comparison to the original. We liked Scott's performance, and even though we agree with Simon's offhanded comment that being artistic on American Idol doesn't really pay dividends, we see no reason why Scott would end up in the bottom 3 tonight. PREDICTION: SAFE

(3) Danny Gokey sang "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" from Thriller. When Danny's song choice was announced, we cringed because this is one of those MJ songs that can easily end up being an embarassing trainwreck. When Danny began singing, we thought he was going to do a ballad version of the song, which we thought was a good choice. When he went uptempo after the first verse, we started to cringe again, but, to our complete surprise, we really enjoyed his muscular, agressive performance of this slight ditty. He pulled it off, and in spite of his dancing, which we really didn't have a problem with, he never veered into the corny mannerisms of a white boy trying to "get funky." Bonus points to Danny for color coordinating his glasses with his shirt. Paula's already crowned him the winner of the season. We wouldn't go that far, but we do think he's a lock for the top 3, and he will undoubtedly end up with a record deal even if he doesn't win the season. PREDICTION: SAFE

(4) Michael Sarver sang "You Are Not Alone" from HIStory. It was a nice performance, but we do feel that he can easily get lost in the crowd of the better performers in this top 13. The fact that, in the recap at the end of the show, they showed his rehersal footage where he was off key, did him no favors. We think this was a solid rendition, but nothing special enough to make it memorable and really jump off the screen. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(5) Jasmine Murray sang "I'll Be There" from Third Album by the Jackson 5. We really liked her vocal, but unfortunately Randy got off on a tangent by comparing her to Mariah Carey's remake. The rest of the judges followed suit, and ended up damning her with faint praise. We were much more enthusiastic about her vocals than the judges seemed to be, but we know that what the judges say can often make or break a contestant. She should be safe, but after the judges critiques, we do feel she's in some danger tonight. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(6) Kris Allen sang "Remember the Time" from Dangerous. Just as in the semi-finals, Kris gave another good vocal. With his guitar in hand, he delivered a rousing, energetic performance that proved to be a crowd-pleaser. After the lengthy judges' critiques, which included some Simon-Paula buffoonery, we'd agree with Randy, "very well job done, baby." PREDICTION: SAFE

(7) Allison Iraheta sang "Give in to Me" from Dangerous. While a hit song in other countries, this song was just an album cut from Dangerous here in America and never released as a single. Just as with Scott McIntyre also choosing an unknown cut from the same album, we think it yielded great results and further solidifed Allison as this season's rocker-chick. As the judges stated, at only 16, she does have great stage presence and we can see her going far in this competition. She's exceptionally memorable, and we have no doubt that she'll amass more and more fans as the weeks progress. PREDICTION: SAFE

(8) Anoop Desai sang "Beat It" from Thriller. A lock for the bottom 3, this was the worst-reviewed performance by the judges of the night, and we'd have to agree. The vocals weren't terrible, but when you choose one of the most well-known songs in the world, you really have to take steps to make significant changes so that the song becomes yours and doesn't suffer by comparison. David Cook did that last season with his take on "Billie Jean." We didn't think there could be anything less convincing than Michael Jackson trying to be "gangsta." Then came Anoop. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(9) Jorge Nunez sang "Never Can Say Goodbye" from Maybe Tomorrow by the Jackson 5. We actually liked his vocal much better than the judges did, but their near-universal panning of his rendition does put him in serious danger. We think it's more fair to rate this performance in the middle of the pack, but we wouldn't be surprised to see him land in the bottom 3. However, we're going to go out on a limb and say that he'll just avoid that fate. PREDICTION: SAFE

(10) Megan Joy Corkrey sang "Rockin' Robin" from Got to Be There. A remake of a 1958 song by Michael Jackson in 1972, we felt this was an odd choice for Megan, and a risk that did not really pay off. The song smacks of a corny-novelty number and doesn't really give one a chance to show off any vocal virtuoso. Megan did what she could with it (although the caw-ing at the end was something we could have done without), but like the judges, we wish she would have chosen something else. With the attitude of the girl-next-door, and the face of a supermodel, we do feel that Megan is likeable enough to both men and women that she will be safe for quite a few weeks, but she will depart by mid-contest if she doesn't get better at song choice. PREDICTION: SAFE

(11) Adam Lambert sang "Black or White" from Dangerous. We weren't as enthusiastic about this as the judges and the studio audience were. They practically crowned Adam the winner of American Idol right there last night. However, although none of the judges called him on it, he forgot the lyrics to the second line. He had no further problems with the song, and his energetic performance probably made people forget about it as the song went on. But we remember, because that's how we roll around here. We're still not sold on Adam's 1980s Heavy Metal vocal stylings, but they weren't as off-putting to us as they were on his rendition of "Satisfaction" during the semi-finals. As this season's designated heartthrob, and after the judges' anointing him to sainthood, there is no question that Adam will be safe tonight. That he performed toward the end only gives him an extra advantage of staying memorable in the minds of the voting public. PREDICTION: SAFE and maybe the top vote getter of the night.

(12) Matt Giraud sang "Human Nature" from Thriller. Matt had a much better fit vocally with this song than his Coldplay choice during the semi-finals. Playing the piano along with his vocals put Matt squarely in his comfort zone, and the results paid off noticably. Having to perform after Adam potentially put him at a disadvantage, but a commercial break and his quite different performing style worked wonders, and we feel that he did not suffer in comparison. Matt has a unique husky quality to his voice, and he can also hit those falsetto notes, so we're interested to hear more of him and see just how far this dark horse can go in the competition. PREDICTION: SAFE

(13) Alexis Grace sang "Dirty Diana" from Bad. Along with Anoop, this was the worst performance of the night. Her voice was too thin to power through one of Michael Jackson's more demanding, aggressive songs. She fell out of tune a few times, and she suffers greatly in comparison to Allison in the rocker-chick category. The show was running long by this point, so the judges were very quick with their commentary. That's to her advantage because if they had more time on their hands, the judges would have surely delivered a harsher critique. Unfortunately, she sang last, which means this lackluster rendition would still be quite fresh in the viewers' minds when it came time to vote. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

So, all told, our bottom 3 is comprised of: Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai, and Alexis Grace. In keeping with this season's tradition, we included a fourth person in the bottom 3, Jasmine Murray. However, that was only based on the effect the judges' criticisms may have on the audience. The judge-effect may also land Jorge in the bottom 3 as well.

We stand by our picks that Michael, Anoop, and Alexis deserve to be the bottom 3, with Anoop or Alexis being sent home. Who is really going? We'll find out 5 minutes before tonight's show ends as usual.