American Idol: Week Nine; The Top 4 Compete

I will say this much about last night's American Idol; I never, in a million years, thought Slash was as eloquent as he was.

If you haven't guessed it, it was rock week, and the guest mentor was none other than former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. I think American Idol would have been the last place I would ever see someone like Slash on, but he really was a pleasant surprise. And I will say this for the contestants; they stuck to real rock. I'm talking about rock such as Led Zeppelin, Janice Joplin, Aerosmith and the Beatles. This was a great foray into a genre that is often not used to its full potential on Idol.

I was a little disappointed in my favorite's song choice tonight, but I will admit this; much as I love Kris, Adam showed not only is this his niche, but he was by far the absolute best performer last night. Hey I have to fair right? The screeching that I often complain about that Adam is notorious for worked perfectly for the song he chose. (but more on that later)

A new highlight to the Top four performances is duets. Yes, that's right, the top four are also doing a duet with a partner, in addition to the song they chose to sing for their individual performances. Danny was teamed up with Kris, and Allison teamed with Adam. I have to say, I really enjoyed this new dynamic to the show, because it shows a versatility to the contestants. It gives them an opportunity to work out how to mesh their own personal sound to a partner. I think both duets sounded pretty good, but of the two Adam and Allison had the better performance.

If it seems my reviews are getting shorter and shorter, it's because obviously the contestants are dwindling. I urge you all again, if you want me to review another show once Idol wraps, now is the time to speak up! You have choice, such as So You Think You Can Dance, the next season of Dancing With The Stars, (though I'm not sure when the next one begins since the current one is about to wrap up in the next two weeks.)...or any of the Bravo reality contests. (Shear Genius, Top Design, Top Chef, etc) Let me hear you in the comments what you want to read from me next!

So it's time to break down our final four. For obvious reasons, instead of a Bottom Three, I'll be choosing a bottom two, since I'm pretty sure that's the way Ryan will break it down. Who will we see in next week's semi-final round?!
I think one of the obvious choices we will see next week is:

1) Adam Lambert – sung "Whole Lotta Love” – By far, in my opinion, this was the best performance I have ever seen by Adam. Many people have criticized me for saying that Adam screeches parts of his songs (he does, and I'm right. Remember the name of this blog? Besides you love my honesty. I'm like Simon, except I wear looser t-shirts.). But I have to say upfront, he finally picked a song where it fit perfectly. The original Led Zeppelin song was a classic staple that I've heard many times, and Adam turned into something new, without negating the classic riffs and music the song is famous for. It's a testament to Adam's strength as a performer that this turned out to be as good as it was. One of the judges commented on how this song could have gone terribly wrong, since it is one of those "untouchable" songs, but Adam proved that he is a true rocker. Kara was right when she mentioned that Adam could sing classic, glam rock, any rock and he could make it work. Much as I've been picky with Adam, I will give the man his props; that performance was flawless, and I truly could not find a thing wrong with it. If song choice is everything, as we get told time and time again on Idol, then Adam truly made one of the best choices for his career. Everyone will remember this performance the most out of all the performances last night, so I will stand and give Adam the standing "O" he deserves. Prediction: SAFE

2) Allison Iraheta - sung "Cry Baby” - I am LOVING Allison's new hairstyle. What is with Idol's stylists? She had to use Adam's personal hairstylist to perfect a rock look? Her hair looked hot, and her performance, despite the judges not being 100% happy with it, gave her mostly positive reviews. The problem with the song she chose is it's very repetitive. (one of the judges pointed this out too). It didn't show Allison's range and the great melodies her voice is capable of. Even though Allison pointed out it's been done a million times on Idol, I still think a better choice for her to sing would have been "Piece of my Heart", also by Janice Joplin. Allison's voice suits Janice's song perfectly, however, Allison made the wrong choice when it came down to choosing which Joplin song she was going to take on. I'm a little worried for Allison, because although her performance and duet were very good, when compared to what Adam accomplished, it sort of fails. But I look at it this way; this girl has a ton of talent, and though a bad song choice may or may not send her home tonight, it won't diminish how far this 17 year old has come. She will have a career regardless, but for now, based on the judges' comments and her overall performance, I think Allison is one of the contestants who should be worried tonight. Prediction: IN THE BOTTOM

DUET - Danny Gokey & Kris Allen - sung "Renegade" - Oh my God, they BOTH looked so out of place and out of their element during this performance. That's not to say it wasn't a good performance, I'm just saying they looked uncomfortable singing it. If I had to pick who sounded better, (and as much as it pains me to admit it), it has to be Danny. His voice suited the rock edginess of the song better then my boo Kris. It almost seemed to me like Kris spent most of his time trying to catch up to a speeding rhythm. All in all though, not a bad performance, but it didn't blow me away.

3) Kris Allen – sung "Come Together” – Ugh, Kris, you made it so hard to root for you last night. This song smelled like "bad song choice" from the moment you said you were singing it. The only good version of this song I've heard (besides the original), is the version sung by Joe Cocker on the Across the Universe soundtrack. (check it out if you haven't...good movie...remade Beatles music....but I digress). It was bound to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping maybe it wouldn't happen to Kris. Kris finally made a bad song choice, and though I didn't think it was horrible, or a train wreck, it just did not fit him at all. I felt he had no connection to the song, and there was none of the that emotion-infused enunciation that I come to expect from him. But that was to be expected, because as a couple of the judges pointed out, this is not his niche at all. Kris did the best with the genre he was given, so I don't completely think it was a disaster. I think most of the time during his performance, the band was overpowering his voice. With all the somewhat negative critiques that he was given, I don't expect Kris to be safe this week. I do NOT think he should go home, because, as Simon puts it, "If I'm going to be honest", Danny's performance was worse. I hope Kris is safe, but for now he is definitely in danger tonight. Prediction: IN THE BOTTOM

4) Danny Gokey - sung "Dream On” - Okay, maybe I'm in the minority here. (I usually am, even though I'm right), but this had to be the worst performance from Danny I have ever seen. On top of that, Simon has the nerve to tell him despite that being a "horrendous" performance, he thinks he will be around next week?! Sigh. I hate it when Simon is right. Much as I want to say that Danny should be voted off tonight based on this performance, I know he won't be. Danny is just too popular at this point, so it will be very hard for him to be kicked off. ( I can dream can't I?) I thought Danny handled the beginning of the song pretty good. He played with the melodies a little, but it worked. Once he started to get to the screaming in the song, it was all over. There is such a thing as "a singing scream" and a "Halloween scream". Steven Tyler (Aerosmith front man, and original artist of this song) can "sing a scream", as is proven when you hear the original song. Danny's version? It sounded like he was being tortured to death. It all went very wrong once the screaming started, and the song went from being a decent cover to train wreck. It's killing me to say this, and who knows, maybe by some stroke of luck, Danny will be in the bottom for the first time this season...but for now, I have a gut feeling we'll be seeing him again next week. Prediction: SAFE

DUET - Adam Lambert & Allison Iraheta - sung "Slow Ride" - Now this is a proper duet! I don't know if it was the fact that both Adam and Allison are "rock" oriented, or they had a better song choice, but this worked extremely well. Both of them sounded amazing on this duet, and they both played off each other perfectly. If you closed your eyes, you could swear you were hearing two seasoned artists singing together. If I had to pick a better performer out of the two, I would say Adam got the edge. But then again, I'm beginning to see Adam's place in the finale, and depending on who he's up against, it may be an easy win.

And so we close one more week of Idol, my loyal readers.

What did all of you think? Do you like the new "duets" feature with the Top Four? Was I being too harsh with Danny? Was he not as bad as I thought? Call me out if I'm wrong people! I want to hear from you!

Like last week, my predictions this week only get a bottom two:

IN THE BOTTOM: Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta.

My pick to go home tonight: God, really don't want to choose him, but I think Kris' choice last night has cost him. And though I choose Kris Allen to go home, he could easily be replaced by Allison Iraheta. The only thing that could possibly save her is that duet with Adam. (which was fabulous)

Remember, if you disagree, or even agree with me, let me know in the comments! Let’s chat it up! (and don't forget to suggest what you might want me to blog after Idol comes to an end! Come on ,people! I know you're out there! )

Don't forget to take the poll below! Until next week, faithful readers, I’m out for now!