American Idol Finals - Week 2 Performances 3/17/09

With the double-elimination over, we are back to normal tonight, and we assume that the show will revert to its standard results format and will bring the bottom 3 contestants to center stage to be gawked at until Ryan reveals who will be going home five minutes before the show ends. Given that it's only week 2 of the finals, we don't expect the "Judges' Save" to be used even if they go through the motions of deliberating about it. They can only save one contestant this season until the top 5 are revealed, and we predict that they'll wait until they get closer to that before they actually use it -- if they use it at all.

Also remember that even though the show selects a top 12 (top 13 this year) for the finals, only the top 10 gets to go on the American Idol concert tour this summer. For tonight's departing contestant, like the two that were sent packing last week, there will be no further participation in the show.

OK, let's look at last night's performances and see if we can predict just who are in danger of being in the bottom 3 and who will be sent home.

(1) Michael Sarver sang "Ain't Going Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" by Garth Brooks. For us, this was just an okay performance. Josh Gracin sang it in Season 2, and it was during this performance that he became the first Idol contestant to take his performance into the audience and interact with the crowd. It may be unfair to compare the two, but we felt that Gracin's performance was overall better and more energetic than Sarver's. We agree with the judges' middling reviews and predict that, in spite of Sarver's likeability and charm, he will land in the bottom 3. We predicted this last week, and he didn't go anywhere near the bottom, but we just don't think this performance really stood out that much to save him this time. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(2) Allison Iraheta sang "Blame it on Your Heart" by Patty Loveless. Iraheta is a favorite of ours, delivering spunky, energetic performances week after week. Last night was no different, and it was smart of her to choose a country song with an uptempo rock edge, which suited her voice perfectly. The crowd roared its approval, and with good reviews by the judges, we don't feel Allison is in any possible danger tonight. PREDICTION: SAFE

(3) Kris Allen sang "(To) Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan. This Dylan classic has been covered by over a dozen other artists including Billy Joel and Idol alums Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks. Kris gave credit for his performance to the Garth Brooks version from the Hope Floats movie soundtrack. Kris gave one of the more memorable and best-reviewed performances of the night with his stripped down version, and his gamble paid off. As the judges said, just sitting dead center stage and not hiding behind his guitar allowed us to focus on his vocals, which navigated through the more difficult parts of the song with seeming ease. In no danger of being eliminated or even being in the bottom 3, this may be the highest vote-getter of the guys' performances last night. PREDICTION: SAFE

(4) Lil Rounds sang "Independence Day" by Martina McBride. Simon doesn't even understand that "Lil" is Ms. Rounds' real name, and is not short for "Little" or "Li'l." After the last two weeks of being the belle of the ball, she received her harshest criticism last night. We kind of agree with Paula in that the song might have suited her powerful voice better if she just sang one verse and repeated the chorus so that her voice would have more time to open up and hit the soaring notes that are her trademark. In spite of all that, we liked this performance, but do feel that she is potentially in danger of landing in the bottom 3. However, given that she's the only R&B singer left in the competition now that Jasmine Murray was sent home last week, we don't feel that she would end up going home if she did land in the bottom 3. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(5) Adam Lambert sang "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. The low first verse started off a bit rough, but once he hit the chorus, the song took off wonderfully. Hands down the winner of the most daring reinterpretation of a song in American Idol history (even moreso than Blake Lewis's Bon Jovi or David Cook's Lionel Richie in seasons past), we were left a little speechless while the song was unfolding, but Adam's take quickly won us over. While acknowledging his popularity with the audience, we haven't always been Adam's biggest supporters here, but there's no question he made this song his own -- in a good way. We agree with Paula and Randy Jackson in that it had a Led Zeppelin or Nine Inch Nails feel to it. Adam held back on his typical over-the-top shrieking and delivered a really great nuanced vocal that will undoubtedly remain one of the most talked about Idol performances going forward. This is one of the few performances of last night that stands up to repeated viewings. However, taking a big risk doesn't always pay off on the American Idol stage, and after some harsh criticism by Simon, Adam could land in the bottom 3. We're going to bet that Adam's fanbase is still in his corner such that, at this point in the competition, it really didn't matter what he sang and that he'll make it into the top 10. PREDICTION: SAFE

(6) Scott MacIntyre sang "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride. This was a solid performance by Scott, but we'd agree with the judges in that it was a little safe and didn't really offer us anything new from what we've seen of him so far. We agree with Paula in that it would be nice to see him away from the piano and try something like Kris Allen did tonight. However, Scott is one of the more popular contestants, and should have no problem sailing into the top 10. PREDICTION: SAFE

(7) Alexis Grace sang "Jolene" by Dolly Parton. For us, this was an uneven performance. Alexis has some power to her voice, but overall her vocals seem thin and depthless. After the ambivalent criticism by the judges, we do feel that, especially given the number of fan favorites that have already emerged, she is in the most danger of landing in the bottom 3 this week and in the most danger of being eliminated. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(8) Danny Gokey sang "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. When it was announced before the break that Danny would be singing a Carrie Underwood tune, we knew instantly that it would have to be this one given Danny's background in church music. The crowd roared its approval pretty much non-stop during the performance, cementing Danny's status as odds-on favorite. Afterwards, the audience was still cheering to the extent that Kara was barely able to get out her response. We agree with Kara and Randy that he should have done more to make the verses more interesting on the way up to that soaring chrous. The chorus of a song is typically where the biggest hooks are to the melody, so that's always a gimmie in terms of selling the song to the audience, but the journey to that chorus does have to be worth the trip. Danny fell a little short in that regard, but he is in absolutely no danger of falling anywhere near the bottom 3. PREDICTION: SAFE

(9) Anoop Desai sang "Always on My Mind" by Brenda Lee. Like Kris Allen's Bob Dylan song, Lee's song has been remade a few times (including by Elvis Presley), and Anoop gave credit for his version to Willie Nelson's 1982 remake. Anoop's rendition went over so well with both the studio audience and the judges that Simon took back his comment that Anoop didn't deserve to be in the top 13 -- going so far as to proclaim it one of his favorites of the night. For us, we weren't quite so overwhelmed as the judges were, but we do feel that Anoop vindicated himself and should remain safe this week and land in the top 10. PREDICTION: SAFE

(10) Megan Joy sang "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline. Megan has now seemingly dropped her surname, Corkrey, from her stage name, so we'll go along with it, what the heck. In spite of her having the flu, Megan gave a decent performance of it, but we do think she could be in danger given the sheer number of well-received performances and the possible unfamiliarity of this 1957 Cline ditty to the young Idol audience. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(11) Matt Giraud sang "So Small" by Carrie Underwood. Matt closed the show on a strong note and won universal praise by both the studio audience and the judges, making him a lock for the top 10. We weren't quite as bowled over as they were, but we do feel he deserves to be put through. Like Simon, we did pick up on the Michael Buble vibe, and feel Matt does add a unique style to the competiton that is much needed. PREDICTION: SAFE

To sum up, we feel that those in danger of being in tonight's bottom 3 are among these four contestants: Michael Sarver, Lil Rounds, Alexis Grace, and Megan Joy. Of these, we feel that Alexis would be the one to be sent home. Who will it really be? The results are tonight at 9pm Eastern, with the lowest vote getter being revealed at 9:55, of course.