American Idol Finals - Week 4 Performances 3/31/09

We're at the top 9 now, and we are beginning to see the separation between the men and the boys and the women and the girls. With each passing week, it becomes clearer and clearer who will end up among the top four where, if prior seasons are any judge, any one of those in that upper group could potentially win.

Last night's oddly-named category, "the contestants can choose any song they want as long as it's a popular download on I-Tunes," allowed more freedom in song choice but, as in prior seasons where the contestants got to choose their own songs, led to some mediocre performances and the realization that sometimes the contestants aren't the best judges of what songs they should be singing.

The results will be revealed tonight at 8pm. Who set themselves apart from the pack? Who will go home as an April Fool? Let's review the performances, where we once again give our thoughts as to whom is in danger.

(1) Anoop Desai sang "Caught Up" by Usher. Anoop wanted to sing a more uptempo song this time as well as choose something in the R&B genre which he feels is the type of record he would want to make. Vocally, his smooth renditions do fit very nicely in the R&B style, but in order to be achieve success as an R&B artist, stage charisma, dance moves, and sex appeal is crucial -- maybe moreso than in any other type of music. This is the area where Anoop falls short. He came across, as the judges alluded to, a frat boy pretending to be Usher. Based on the judges' severe critiques, we'd place him in the bottom 3. However, he's never appeared here before, not even when he really deserved it (his performance of "Beat It"), so we wouldn't be totally shocked to see him escape once again. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(2) Megan Joy sang "Turn Your Lights Down Low" by Bob Marley. Megan gave the one real lackluster performance of the night, and it's the second week in a row where she came up short. Her take on Lauryn Hill's take of this Bob Marley song was panned by all the judges, and we'd have to agree. Kara hit it right on the head when she said that "Chasing Pavements" by Adele would have been the perfect song for her. We've felt the exact same way, as the two ladies have many similarities to their voices. The song Megan chose did her no favors and, coupled with last week's performance, perhaps not even her fans can save her this time. Still, Megan has charisma to spare, so we're not counting her out just yet. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(3) Danny Gokey sang "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts. We weren't quite as enthusiastic about this performance as the judges were, but it was clearly the best up until that point, and one of the better ones of the night. However, his voice did flatten out in a couple of spots, making this performance one of our least favorites of his in recent weeks. In general, Danny is so solid and dependable, that even an average week for him is still head and shoulders above most of the others. PREDICTION: SAFE

(4) Allison Iraheta sang "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Interestingly enough, we liked the soft vocals on the opening of the song, but once it kicked into the chorus, we found the power in Allison's voice to be somewhat lacking, and that's the first time we've ever felt that she did not successfully belt out a number. For whatever reason though, the judges decided to focus on her clothes to an unnecessary degree, and all those negative comments may have an influence on voters. We don't think she deserves to be in the bottom 3, but wouldn't be surprised to see her land there. PREDICTION: SAFE

(5) Scott MacIntyre sang "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel. For us, this was Scott's best performance of the season, and it should successfully keep him away from the bottom 3 this week. Scott wisely did a stripped down rendition without the band or backup singers accompanying him, and it paid off nicely. PREDICTION: SAFE

(6) Matt Giraud sang "You Found Me" by The Fray. Matt tried to do a current song that would keep him out of the bottom 3 again this week, but, as Paula said, we felt this was a creative misfire on the level of his Coldplay performance during the Top 36. A more appropriate choice for Matt's voice might have been something by up-and-coming artist Jon McLaughlin, but Matt's choice did him no favors, and while we, like the judges, enjoyed his performance of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," we agree with the judges that this was the wrong song for him. PREDICTION: BOTTOM 3

(7) Lil Rounds sang "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. Lil is a good singer, but she couldn't quite wrap her voice around this difficult Celine Dion hit. It wasn't a bad performance by any stretch of the imagination, and the judges may have came across as too harsh given how overall solid it was. Although Lil has never been in the bottom 3 thus far, we can't help feel that she's in some danger given how hard the judges came down on her. PREDICTION: SAFE

(8) Adam Lambert sang "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry. Adam is clearly in his own zone when it comes to this show. He has a very clear identity both visually and vocally, as opposed to many of the other contestants, that has made him a lightning rod for audience attention and commentary. Adam's greatest strength is that he successfully morphs each song to fit within the context of who he is as an artist rather than trying to morph himself to fit the genre of the week. We never know what to expect from him, and we don't always like the results, but we do look forward to seeing just what he's going to unleash on the audience. We'd call this performance a big success because, as Randy said, this song unfortunately lends itself to being performed in a corny, karaoke manner, but Adam, accompanied by Idol band leader Ricky Minor's arrangement, really knocked it out of the park. PREDICTION: SAFE

(9) Kris Allen sang "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Kris said right up front that he wanted to do a song and play the keyboards to have "one of those moments." From the reaction of both the studio audience and the judges, he did just that. For us, Kris gave his best performance of the season, delivering vocals that veered successfully between powerful and tender. Kris ended the night on an exceptionally strong note, and even stole some of the heat and spotlight from Adam, who is always difficult to follow. Kris has been overshadowed a lot by fan favorites Danny and Adam, but as the contestants keep getting whittled down, he's beginning to emerge as a very strong contender. Assuming he keeps up this level of performing, we feel confident in saying he's a lock to land in the top 4 of the season. PREDICTION: SAFE and may be the top vote getter of the night.

Our record at predicting the bottom 3 each week is a little uneven. There always seems to be a surprise among the lowest vote getters that we just didn't see coming. However, we've successfully predicted each of the eliminated contestants in the last 2 weeks, so let's see if we can do it again.

For the bottom 3, we'd think that Megan Joy is a sure thing, and we've also selected Anoop Desai and Matt Giraud. However, if Allison Iraheta or even Lil Rounds ended up there, we wouldn't be completely shocked.

We do think it's Megan's time to go, but she is one of the more popular contestants and that might keep her in the competition past her expiration date.

Given that, we have to select a backup loser, but we feel that each of the other possibles are too evenly matched so an alternate loser doesn't clearly emerge. Our gut is telling us it could be either Matt Giraud or Allison Iraheta. As we stated above, we think Allison should be safe, but that doesn't mean she will be. We'll find out tonight at 8:55pm eastern.