Not So Disco Night on American Idol
The Top 7 Performed their Versions of Disco's Finest
Since the American Idol judges bestowed the new "Judges' Save" on contestant Matt Giraud during the first go round of the Top 7, this week was do or die for the contestants to land a spot in the Top 5, as two contestants would be eliminated.
Adam Lambert Delivers Again
Adam Lambert surprised the audience with a toned down version of Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You". With his hair high and the lights low, Lambert delivered another solid performance, moving judge Paula Abdul to tears.
"Tonight, you chose to pick a disco song and not make it cliche and up tempo," Abdul said. "I felt your pain, I felt your vulnerabilty, which was beautiful. It was like you tore your heart out and left it on the stage."
Allison Iraheta And Danny Gokey Get Mixed Reviews
The youngest contestant of the season, Allison Iraheta performed a edgy, rocked out version of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff".
Iraheta's interpretation was not a hit with all the judges.
Judge Randy Jackson said to Iraheta, "For me personally, I didn't love the arrangement, it was a little overindulgent for me."
Contestant Danny Gokey performed the Earth, Wind and Fire classic, "September".
Gokey managed to pull off a decent performance, even after botching a few of the words in the song. In the past, that would have been a faux paux that the judges would have mentioned in their critiques. In Gokey's case, he received praise from three out of the four judges.
Jackson told Gokey, "You turned this into something that really worked for you tonight."
Judge, Kara DioGuardi told Gokey that he is "an incredible vocalist".
However, it was Cowell who was not thrilled with Gokey's performance.
"As a performance, I didn't really get any star power," Cowell said.
Matt Giraud Keeps It Disco
By the time Matt Giraud performed (second to last), the Idol audience has heard anything, but disco-like melodies. Giraud's version of the BeeGee's hit, "Stayin' Alive" was still in line with the original melody and had a dash of Justin Timberlake-flair to make it slightly more current.
Due to the judges using the save on Giraud at the previous elimination, he had the additional pressure of having to prove that he was worthy of being saved.
The comments about his performance from the judges were a mixed bag.
DioGuardi told Giraud, "I really like to see you move, Matt. The vocals were good, it was a solid performance."
Cowell had a difference of opinion.
"I actually didn't like that performance," Cowell said. "That came over as a bit desperate."
Kris Allen Wins The Night
Kris Allen stayed true to form, turning the Donna Summer hit, "She Works Hard For the Money" into a stripped down, mellow vibe, complete with acoustic guitar and bongos.
Before Allen performed, he told host, Ryan Seacrest, "I thought it actually had something to say."
Allen's interpretation of the song had the judges singing his praises.
Cowell told Allen, "It was original, it was well thought out, that was not karaoke. It was a fantastic performance."
The Results
The first of the double elimination took place a couple minutes after the group performance. Host, Ryan Seacrest gave contestant Lil Rounds the bad news.
Rounds, who had been in the bottom three previously, had performed Chaka Khan's hit, "I'm Every Woman" leaving the judges uninspired.
DioGuardi told Rounds, "You've been every woman on that stage during this competition. Every other woman, but yourself."
Later on in the broadcast, it would come down to young Iraheta and Anoop Desai in the bottom two. Desai was eliminated after performing more than a decent performance of Donna Summer's "Dim All The Lights" .
Cowell decided to knock the air out of Desai by saying, "That was mediocre, at best." He continued to tell Desai, "Genuinely, that was your worst performance by a mile."
The Top 5
The Top 5 contestants left on Idol will be singing songs made famous by The Rat Pack. American Idol airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Fox.
Top 7 Disco Night
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Season 8 Top 5
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