Danny kicked off the night with his judges' pick: Terence Trent D'Arby's "Dance Little Sister," selected by Paula Abdul. Randy Jackson gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Lots of energy. Performing like crazy. Dude, that was dope for me." Kara liked the vocals, but not Danny's moves. She said, "I like that Paula picked that song, but the dancing was a little too gyrating for me. You are a great singer, but am I going to remember that performance?" Paula disagreed, pointing out, "I am a choreographer, and I think you did really good. And what is great, you let the magic part of your voice carry out throughout the song." Simon chastised the ladies, reminding them that "American Idol" is a singing show, not "that funny little dancing show." As for Danny's performance, he said, "I agree with Kara, I thought the dancing was desperate. Vocally very, very good. I think Paula was on the right track with Terence, but chose the wrong song."
On his hometown visit, Kris received a text from Randy and Kara telling him their song selection for him was "Apologize" by OneRepublic. Randy explained that they picked that song for him because it is a big song and they felt he needed a big moment. "I know that right now, it is about who is going to win this thing. Here is what I love about you doing this song. You can have a song like this sell millions of records. It shows us who you can be in the future of the music business. Nice," Randy reviewed. Kara added, "I thought it was a competent performance. At this point, you have to be swinging it out of the park. I know you can interpret songs in such a unique way. I wanted you to make it your own. Take more chances." Paula felt that Randy and Kara had picked an appropriate song, saying, "It does sit in the right place of your voice. I am used to you taking artistic license. There was a bum note there that was loud, but I am so proud of you. All three of you are worthy to be in the top two spot." Simon chastised Kara saying, "That is a cop out. You can't chose a song for him and then blame him for doing the song. It was a competent version of the original, but not that different from the original."
That left Simon to make the song choice for Adam. He picked U2's "One," saying, "It is one of my favorite songs in the world. I had to get permission from the band. I had a call from Bono saying it would be their pleasure for Adam to sing this song." Randy raved, "Dude, let me just say this. You are still in the zone. You are one of the hottest of the three. You have been hot since day one. It was a little off the melody, and I don't know that I like it like that. It is a great song and you are a really talented guy." Kara pointed out, "You are a strategist. You just proved you can take a song, do it in a completely different way and make it unbelievable. You didn't just sing it the way U2 or Bono did it." Paula enthused, "It was one brilliant song, one superb performance and one 'American Idol' that I am staring at right now." Simon said, "It may sound a little biased, but I thought that was a brilliant song choice. This is the point that I was trying to make: You find a great artist, a great song, and you work out what you are doing with it. If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets."
The second half of the show was songs chosen by the finalists. Danny was first up again. His song pick was "You Are So Beautiful," and he patterned it after the Joe Cocker version. Randy was impressed. He told him, "Amazing song written by the late, great Billy Preston. I don't think the arrangement was different, but you showed that you can really, really sing. Mad vocals." Kara praised, "Everything you didn't do in the first performance for me, you just did. That was stunning. There is nothing else to say." Paula said, "You left all of us breathless. I love songs like this because the structure is there but it allows you to make it your own. You nailed it. It was a beautiful performance." Simon added, "I love the song. I wouldn't have done that arrangement. It would have worked with you and a piano. Having said that, I would call that a vocal master class."
Kris made an unusual song choice: Kanye West's "Heartless." Randy declared, "This is going to be one of the toughest voting nights in the whole year of this show. I like this version better than the original. You are in it to win it." Kara asked, "Why didn't you do that with 'Apologize'? It was bold, it was brave and it was fearless to stand on that stage with an acoustic guitar. The tone, the pitch, the phrasing: 100 percent." Paula told him, "You are the bravest artist because you sang a song that is about Simon Cowell. Having said that, this is what keeps you relevant. I commend you." Simon said, "I am going to be honest with you, after what I thought was a lame song choice, I had literally written you out of this competition. That, however, has all changed after that performance."
The final performance of the night was Adam Lambert, singing Aerosmith's "Crying." Randy complimented him, saying, "You are one of the best we have ever had on this stage; one of the most charismatic. I love this even more than 'One.' You should be a rock star. That is who you are, baby." Kara wondered, "How do you hit those notes and still talk the next day? It was amazing. What can we say but we will see you at the finals." Paula said, "If Steven Tyler was a mentor, I don't think he would have anything to say. You set the bar so high. Adam, as I said from the beginning, we will be seeing you next week and many years after that." Simon cautioned, "I am not going to suck up as much as the other three. It is easy to assume that you will sail on through to the finals. This show is about finding a star, I want everybody to not assume you will be there, but to vote for you."
"American Idol" returns tonight at 9 p.m. on FOX, when the Final Two is revealed!
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