Idol Worship - The Final Four Get Their Rock On!

A week after seeing the season's favorite land in the Bottom 3, the remaining four Idols get to work with Guns 'n Roses guitarist, Slash, as they add their special brand of pop singing to some rock classics.

In addition to singing as solo artists, tonight the Idols will do something never seen before on the Idol stage--they are going to sing duets! I'm not sure what the Idol producers are thinking, but upon first hearing Ryan tell us of the plan, I was a bit surprised that they would do something so un-Idol like. But then again, this is Season 8 and they need to do something to set this season apart from the previous 7. So let's see what Slash can do with the Idols as they duet for your votes and a chance to be in the Final 3.

• Leading off the show was Adam who chose "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Adam hit the stage with his trademark black nail polish and eyeliner and dressed in black jeans and black studded leather jacket. He looked the part of a rocker and he sounded like one as well. You might say that putting him in the B3 last week woke the sleeping dog--something the other contestants might not be so thrilled to learn. The Dawg called the performance "hot"; Kara went on and on about him making a rock album with classics from the '70's and the glam-rock of the '80s...you get the idea. Simon thought his stage presence was "a little understated"...kidding! He loved it as did everyone who heard it.
• 17-year-old Allison, with a fresh 'do courtesy of Adam's stylist, went with the Janis Joplin classic "Cry Baby"--a song that seems well-suited for her voice. One note into the song, I was convinced that she deserved to remain in the competition, but it will be up to the voters. Want to hear what the judges said? Well, off the bat, Randy said he didn't "love the song choice" whereas Kara thought Janis was the right artist, but "Piece of My Heart" would have been better. She also asked Allison if she was nervous--to which Allison said, "I'm always nervous". Simon liked the performance, but thought it was very much a "sound alike". After Simon finished with his critique, Allison started defending her song choice--to which Simon said, "just beg"...sounds like someone doesn't think she will make it to next week. As noted earlier, it's up to the voters--pick up the phone if you want to see her remain as the only girl left in the competition.
• The first ever Idol duet featured Kris and Danny singing "Renegade" by Styx. They started acapella before the band kicked in and then the rocking began. Both Idols sounded good in the beginning, but when they sang together, it was clear that Danny's voice was more distinctive as well as more powerful compared to the vocals of Kris. Randy thought it was a good collaboration especially the harmonies. Simon said Danny was better than Kris which wasn't a popular comment for either singer. Not that anyone asked me, but I'd have to say that Idol duets aren't a good idea--I say give the Finalist the opportunity to sing two songs alone, cut out the pre-song packages, and they will still be able to get the entire show in the hour allotted by Fox.
• With a chance to redeem himself (based on Simon's comment), Kris Allen channeled his inner Beatle and sang "Come Together". During his mentoring session with Slash, Slash loaned Kris his guitar which was a thrill for the Arkansas native. By the time he made it to the stage, Kris had his own guitar with him and commenced to jam with the band. Kris did a nice job with the song, tweaking it a bit to make it more "Kris-like". Randy picked up on it not being something from Kris' wheel-house, but he was impressed with the guitar playing. Kara didn't feel the performance, saying he appeared to be "trying too hard". Paula said the song had his "signature all over it". Simon didn't like the performance, he compared it to "eating ice for lunch...quite a boring song and a bit of a jam" session (I guess Simon is channeling a bit of me in his comments!). Things are not looking good for the Idol dark horse, but as mentioned before, it's your votes that put them through to the next round, not Simon's critiques.
• Rounding out the solo performances, Danny Gokey went with Aerosmith's "Dream On". The song is a fairly obvious choice for Danny's style because of how it builds naturally--which has become a Danny signature. Sporting yet another pair of glasses, a purple shirt, and pinstriped black pants and matching vest, Danny got the crowd going with his vocals. There was one part of the song where it sounded like he was doing a little scatting and his final note was a little scary, but otherwise it was a typical Danny performance--strong vocals. Randy thought it was just "awright" and credited him with a "valiant effort". Kara thought he tried a little too hard to add swagger to his act. Paula didn't think it was the right song, but did a little cheer leading for him just the same. Simon agreed with the other judges plus compared the final note to something you might hear from a horror film. But he finished by saying that Danny should be safe. Before giving out his numbers, Ryan reminded everyone that Danny is the only Idol who hasn't been in the Bottom 3 this season--a statistic that pretty much will be thrown out tomorrow as there will only be one Idol NOT in the B3 whether they share voting results in that manner or not.
• With time running out on the show, Ryan welcomed Allison and Adam to the stage to duet on Foghat's "Slow Ride". Allison started things off and sounded good...until Adam joined her on stage and reduced her to little more than a backup singer. Don't get me wrong, Allison certainly has the chops to sing this genre of song, but Adam is just so much better than her and everyone else left in the competition. As they ended the song and the crowd went wild, the judges offered their thoughts on the performance. Randy suggested they duet on their albums after Idol. Kara said they "pushed each other to be better". Paula said they "were in sync with each other" and agreed they should do a song together. Simon said they won the battle of the duets tonight...and then the recording ended! But never fear, I learned my lesson and set my DVR to record Fringe, the show that follows Idol. Fortunately, the only thing that you missed if you didn't think ahead was the recap of the performances with their phone numbers.

So it's time to make some predictions. Let's start with the easy one: Adam is safe! The other three will be in jeopardy of NOT being safe--even Danny. But the one Idol who will not be invited back to sing for you next week will be...Kris Allen. He was weak in the duet with Danny and his solo wasn't strong enough to punch his ticket to the Final 3.

Tune in tomorrow to see what happens to our Idols and to enjoy a performance by Chris Daughtry. It promises to be an exciting night filled with drama.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to...

Peace!