//American Idol Recap: Kris Allen Delivers A “Moment”, Anoop Desai And Matt Giraud Take A Step Back//

It’s getting down to the wire on American Idol. The nine remaining contestants all need to pull out all the stops if they want to stick around.

Last week’s Motown theme proved many of the guys came to win, but no one shined like Adam Lambert. His performance of Tracks of My Tears became one of the most talked about Idol performances ever — and for good reason.

Now that Adam has delivered his “Fantasia-performing-Summertime” or “David Cook-performing-Billie Jean” moment, it’s time for everyone else to step their game up that much harder.

At least one guy managed to get his moment last night. The night’s theme was “top downloads,” so the song options were wide open. Kris Allen took an old familiar song and remixed it just enough to make his performance stand out — for seasons to come.

Let’s take a look at how everyone else fared:

Anoop Desai – Caught Up: Anoop took top downloads week as a chance to bring back his personality. After a couple week of remarkable vocal performances that were “boring” to the judges, he chose a song that, in theory, would bring back the balance: Usher’s Caught Up. Unfortunately, Anoop got ‘caught up’ on pleasing the judges too much. He sounded good and did add something different to the song (Kara can eat poo! She must not know the original well if she thinks he copied Usher’s style), but it was definitely not his best performance. His position as first and the not-so-great feedback from the judges has got me worried for Anoop’s Idol future.

Megan Joy – Turn Your Lights Down Low: Megan decided to tackle two beloved artists with her song selection: Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill. The song would allow her space to show off her unique voice as the judges had hoped for weeks. She even said she absolutely loves the song and thinks people will feel her when she sings it. Wrong. Again, her performance was all over the place. The vocals were cold and emotionless. The one good thing: Megan kept the horrible dancing at bay. Woohoo! The judges didn’t feel Megan either. Kara thinks Megan will be in trouble and Simon called the performance “indulgent.” There was still way too much blaming the song for her bad performance. It’s a great song that someone with skill could deliver a “moment” on. Megan just doesn’t have it. Give it up!

Danny Gokey – What Hurts The Most: Danny Gokey took the judges advice and decided to perform a song that would allow him to just sing: Rascal Flatts’s What Hurts The Most. That song is great so if anyone could pull it off, it has to be Danny, right? So right. Danny did just enough changing to make it different, but where it might have lacked in originality, he made up for in awesome vocal chops. And of course the judges adored it. Simon called it his best performance and compared his performance to Anoop’s and Megan’s saying it was like “two snails competing with a race horse.” Ouchisms!

Allison Iraheta – Don’t Speak: Allison whipped out a talent many had no idea she posessed: the ability to play the guitar. Whether or not you can call it guitar playing is subjective. She wasn’t very good at it. But it’s OK. She totally rocked No Doubt’s signature song with a sweet vocal performance, though the arrangement of the song wasn’t all that great either. Her new look was also really distracting. The white platforms and Adam Lambert hair made her look like a complete rock poser. Kara called her out for it but the judges still liked the performance.

Scott MacIntyre – Just The Way You Are: Scotty the Body brought out the big guns this week. He chose a song that was perfect for him by an artist that he should be emulating (Billy Joel) and not only did do the song justice, he murdered it! His voice was super controlled and his piano playing was stellar. The judges called his performance one of the best of the night and commended him for stripping his performance down; it was just him and his piano. And his new look? Hawt!

Matt Giraud – You Found Me: Matt’s performance had to be one of the most disappointing of the night. Matt took a step back to the semi-finals where he performed Viva la Vida by Coldplay and said that was the type of artist he wanted to be. He picked The Fray’s You Found Me with the same reasoning. The problem is, Matt doesn’t shine as an rocker. His performance was forced, phony, and pitchy. The judges hit the nail on the head when they critiqued his performance. He’s starting to become too many people. If he can’t decide on a direction soon, he’s not going to make it much longer.

Lil Rounds – I Surrender: Lil Rounds had a hard week last week. She just knew Motown week would be hers, but she had to take a backseat to Adam. She took the judges’ advice and chose a song she thought would allow her to sit back and show off her voice. The only problem: she chose a song by Celine Dion — and it was a song she couldn’t pull off. It was way too big for her. Clearly disappointed, the judges were forced to give her bad feedback again. Lil didn’t take it well. She began the waterworks. Thankfully, Ryan Seacrest conducted an adorable interview with two of Lil’s daughters that is sure to buy her some sympathy votes.

Adam Lambert – Play That Funky Music: Adam’s performance last night was one to anticipate. After last week’s epic showing, could he keep it up? Eh. It didn’t live up to last week but at this point, does it matter? Adam is in a league all his own. Even when his performances are down-right weird, they’re so entertaining, you can’t really judge it negatively. His big, amazing voice played well against the funky arrangement of the song, though at times it was a bit corny. And of course! All the judges loved it. Adam is going nowhere.

Kris Allen – Aint No Sunshine: As mentioned earlier, Kris brought it all tonight. He’s been consistently delivering great performances but it was time for him to take it to the next level. And boy did he. He’s performed with his guitar a few times now but he whipped out the piano last night. Epic. His tender vocals against the perfectly arranged song brought new life to the classic. The awesome dramatic lighting also helped to make Kris Allen’s performance a real “moment.” The judges swooned for it calling it his best performance to date. Totally agree!

Predictions: If things are right with the world the bottom three will be Anoop (sad!!), Matt (sad!!!), and Megan (yes!!) with Megan packing it up.

Tune in tonight for the results show to see if I’m right and to see performances by Lady GaGa and season 7 champ David Cook.

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