Idol Worship - The Fantastic Five Go Rat-Packin'

We're down to the Final 5 Idols and at this point in the contest, it's anyone's game to win....wait, scratch that, we all know we are but three weeks away from crowning Adam as the Season 8 American Idol. But since Fox has already sold ad time for the next three weeks, we will continue to be entertained by the Idols as they sing for second place.

Tonight the Idols selected songs made famous by the Rat Pack--Frank, Dean, and Sammie. To help the Idols capture the era and sound, Idol asked Jamie Foxx to mentor the Top 5. Foxx's resume is filled with comedy, big screen, and music, so he was a great choice to help the kids this week.

• Leading off the show was Kris Allen who donned a skinny tie and steel blue suit. Kris chose a wonderful Frank Sinatra classic, "The Way You Look Tonight" and without hearing him sing a note, I knew it was going to be a great selection. Kris slowed the tempo a bit in the beginning which allowed the audience to hear and enjoy every run. About half-way through, he picked up the pace and he sounded simply awesome. Randy said it was his best performance of the season; Kara keyed in on his technical capabilities; Paula called him a "sophisticated gentleman" and a "crooner"; Simon thought it was "a little bit wet" (which we learned is the opposite of being dry) and compared him to "taking a well-trained spaniel for a walk" and then went on to say he didn't think Kris could win the competition. Duh! If you read my intro, Simon, you'd know Adam is going to win; the rest of the Final 5 are just trying to not spike themselves and get a recording contract.
• Allison, who turned 17 yesterday, selected "Someone to Watch Over Me". Jamie noted that Allison is too young to be in love, so he gave her a tip on how to perform the song and remain believable which would be a challenge if Allison didn't sound like a 40-year-old lounge singer--and I mean that in a good way for all of your Allison fans. Randy said Allison looked like Britney Murphy, sounded like Pink (but with more octaves), and was dope to boot! Kara rambled on about who knows what and then said Allison deserves to be in the finals--really, Kara?! Simon wasn't convince either because he asked Allison if she thinks she could win and then predicted she could be in trouble tonight--primarily because he didn't feel she was commited to the song. Kara and Randy stood up for her, but I am going to side with Simon--Allison has been in the B3 a number of times and she will likely find herself there again come tomorrow night, which isn't all that shocking since 60% of tonight's performers will make up the B3. The big question is whether she will get enough votes to live to sing another day...stay tuned....
• Matt Giraud, aka the Cat with Nine Lives, was next and went with the Jazz standard "My Funny Valentine". Before hitting the stage, Matt told Ryan that he has been waiting for this week because of his love of Jazz--a class he got a B in while studying music at Western Michigan. When he hit the stage, Matt was wearing his trademark JT lid and dudded out in a nice blue suit and tie--he looked the part and sounded like he walked off a Vegas stage with The Pack. Randy didn't think it was a great performance and gave him a "6 out of 10"; Kara said he lacked the emotional connection to the song--Matt didn't agree with her assessment and neither did Paula. For his part, Simon disagreed with Randy which shocked everyone--including Matt! He said it was the only truly "believable, authentic" song of the night; he even said he "heard a little Nat King Cole" in the performance. Sounds like Simon wants Matt to stick around another week which would justify the controversial Judge's Save from a couple of weeks ago.
• In the penultimate position, Danny Gokey sang "Come Rain or Come Shine". Jamie got all up in Danny's grill during their session together which helped Danny really feel the song. But would it translae to the stage? Looking quite slick in a black suit, skinny black tie, and french cuffs, Danny was welcomed to the stage with the help of one of Ricky Minor's trombone players. As has been his style, Danny started the song in a somewhat mellow fashion and built the song over the 90 seconds, finishing with the power that we have all come to love during these finals. The crowd loved it and kept the Dawg from getting his comments out, but when the crowd finally settled enough for him to be heard, Randy said Danny is the only one (so far) who could make a record of standards. Kara complimented Danny's creativity with the melody. Paula called it "stellar". And Simon echoed Kara's comment about Danny having a "Rat Pack swagger". He called the performance "outstanding", the arrangement "superb", and offered a "special thank you" to Jamie Foxx for bringing out the best in Danny.
• And the performance that all of America has been waiting for is finally here. Adam Lambert went with "Feeling Good" and promised to give it a bit of a Rock edge. One week after performing a song from the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, Adam was wearing a white suit remenicient of that worn by Tony Manero. Adam started out the song walking down the Idol steps which were aglow in red. When he made his way down to center stage, the audience was all fired up and loving every second of the performance. When he finished, the audience (and Paula) were just getting started. Randy thought it was a "little too theatrical"; Kara thought it was "sleazy" and "over the top", but she really liked it!; Paula called him "our Michael Phelps"; and Simon took exception to Randy's comments about it being too theatrical, comparing it to complaining about "a cow mooing". He pretty much gave the crown to Adam--as have the rest of us and then said Adam's entrance was the best of the season and then forbid Ryan from using those stairs again.

With all five performances in the bag, it is now time to predict who is going to find themselves in danger of going home tomorrow. I've already said that Allison will be one of the three members of the bottom three--the others will be Matt and Kris, but only because Danny and Adam are likely untouchable until the finals when one of them is going to have to go. And speaking of going home, I believe Allison has performed for your votes for the final time.

And with that, I bit you adieu. Tune in tomorrow when we find out who will make up the Fantastic Four. Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to...

Peace!