American Idol Top 5 Perform - Blogging Live!

Oooo, doesn't everyone look nice in their rat pack attire? Wow, the finale is just three weeks away? Ryan says that because the voting was so heavy there will be two phone numbers for each contestant. Actually, I think they do this every year for the Top 5. The band kicks out some jazzy music to introduce the contestants. Adam is in a white suit. Kris, Danny and Matt in dark suits, and Allison in a nice dress.

Tonight's "mystery" mentor turned out to be Jamie Foxx, actor, comedien and musician. He says he wants to help them understand that the Rat Pack isn't just a genre of music, but a lifestyle of the era. This is going to be a great night. Hopefully.

Kris Allen is up first after the break. He looks very suave in his suit. He's singing "The Way You Look Tonight." Jamie says Kris isn't the kind of singer who isn't trying to "sing the throat Olympics" and says he'd love to do a record with Kris. Jamie called Kris "my number one." Kris' performance only reinforces my prediction. He's a natural and when the song picks up the tempo it's even better. There's no acting with Kris; he's just out there, vulnerable. The crowd is going crazy. Randy says they're looking to see who's in it to win it, and says it was his best performance to date. Kara says that he "set the technical standard so incredibly high for this evening" with is diction, timing, phrasing. She called him a dark horse. Paula says he's transformed from adorable boy next door to sophistocated, handsome man. And she used "quiet confidence." How many times is that this season? Simon says it was good but he's not as enthusiastic. He called it "a little bit wet," like "taking a well-trained spaniel for a walk. It's safe and quite nice." But he doesn't think Kris can win the competition. Ryan asks Simon to explain "wet;" Simon says, "Not dry." Errr, wouldn't that be a good thing? Not dry?

This week, iTunes is offering an autographed photo of an Idol when you download a song. Probably another way to get music fans to buy the music instead of pirating it.

Up after the break, Allison Iraheta. She's the only girl left in the competition; yesterday she turned 17. Yeesh, I forget how young she is! She celebrated by rehearsing for the show and they gave her a surprise party with her family. Allison is singing "Someone to Watch Over Me." Jamie Foxx says she's leaps and bounds ahead of her time. Allison says she's too young to have a boyfriend, so to sing this love song she's thinking of her family and the way they watch over her. Jamie called her "incredible." Good grief, she's got a great voice. I think this is one of her best vocals. She brings so much emotion to the song, despite her young age. And I like her without the whole rock look.She's still funky, but toned down and more natural. Beautifully done! Randy says he thought the genre might be tough for her at her age, but she looks "dope", sings "like Pink but with 9,000 more octaves" and he loved it. Kara says she's not nervous for her anymore and she converted some new fans, calling it a gut wrenching, way beyond your years performance. Paula says she's been waiting to see her sing a ballad, and this was alluring and tender. Simon asks her if she thinks she can win the competition, and Allison says she thinks she can, and that "all of us have that chance right now." Simon says he doesn't feel that belief, and maybe she's been overshadowed by some of the other personalities. Simon thinks she might be in trouble. Kara says to Simon, "I love you but you are CRAZY!" I can see where Simon is coming from. She doesn't come across as having that artist's swagger and confidence; I think that's because of her age. Then again, neither did Jordin Sparks. So we'll see. I don't think that performance will send her home ... then again, we haven't seen Matt or Adam. They might blow her out of the water.

After the break, Matt Giraud with "My Funny Valentine." He looks like he stepped out of a Rat Pack photo. He should excel this week, and Matt tells Ryan he's stoked about this week. He studied jazz in college and he's been waiting for this week for a long time. Jamie says it's a big song, and tells Matt he has no suggestions. After they're done filming, he called Matt back in and tells him to change the key of the song, and says if he does that, "he might nab number one." Hmmm, it's a rough start. Why is that? Is it a little too low for him? Randy says it was one of the hardest songs to sing, and while it was good it was a little pitchy and it was 6 out of 10. Kara says he needed to be the leader of the pack but he wasn't emotionally connected to the song. matt looks dejected. Paula says she loved it and thinks lowering the key was good advice. Simon disagrees with Randy. For him, he says it was the only believeable, authentic song he's heard tonight and thought it was "absolutely brilliant."

After the break, Danny Gokey. Standing there in his suit he looks like he's getting ready to preach a sermon, LOL. (Wait, can I use "LOL" in a blog post? Does it make me unprofessional? I guess if I can write about ice cream I can LOL.)

Danny's singing "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and he says he isn't going to change it up much, just make it a little jazzier. Jamie invaded his comfort zone and says that Danny was at his best in that moment. OK, the crowd is nuts when he steps out onto the stage. He's got such a great voice and it's a high energy performance- although the cameras didn't catch the best shots of him. My husband said before the show started he thought Danny might be in trouble; I didn't see last week. But Randy says he's the only one so far tonight who could actually have an album of songs like this. (But does the Idol put out an album of these songs?) Kara says she's been missing the Rat Pack swagger for him, and tonight he's the most creative he's been with a melody. Paula says "Stellar, stellar performance." Simon Kara is 100% right, and proves his point, that tonight Danny came out to prove a point, which were the best Simon says he's heard in weeks and the arrangement was superb. Simon also says what Jamie has brought out in the contestants has been fantastic. Wow, does tonight's performance change my prediction? I'm still saying final three Kris, Danny and Adam. But this performance by Danny is the best I've seen from him in a long time; till now I thought he was kind of coasting with the same old same old. Just when I think I know what's going on, the contestants throw me a curve ball!

Up next, Adam Lambert. He's singing "Feeling Good," with a rock edge. Jamie says he's "going to knock everybody's head off." He says, "You don't care about who I am at all" and says "He can sing with the best of them." Adam comes down the stairs, standing backlit halfway down. It looks and sounds like a Vegas show meets a rock concert. Like many of Adam's performances, I'm torn between the fact that he's got an amazing voice and he's always just a foot over the line. Definitely not a "Rat Pack" performance. David says, as Adam stands here while the crowd is on their feet, "He looks particularly full of himself." Randy says that its a little too theatrical but fantastic. Kara says his performance was confusing and shocking and sleazy and way over the top but "I like you". Paula says, "You make me feel better than good," and likens him to the Michael Phelps of music. Simon says that Randy complaining that Adam is theatrical is like complaining that a cow moos."It's what he does," Simon says. He says that he loves that Adam wants to prove a point, and that his entrance down the stairs was the best of the season. David and I agree; I don't know if Adam won any new voters with that performance; if you loved it, you probably already love him. if you don't, you're not changing your mind tonight.

My favorite performances of the night? In this order: Kris, Danny, Allison, Matt, Adam. Who's going home? I think it'll be either Matt or Allison, and not because either of them deserve to go home but because someone needs to go home. I think the people who had been voting for Lil will probably vote for Danny or Allison, and the people who've been voting for Anoop will probably vote for Matt or Kris. So I have no idea who's going home.

RELATED POSTS
American Idol Winner Prediction - I'm Going Out On A Limb With Kris Allen
4 Reasons Why There Are So Many Christian Contestants On American IdolMore on American Idol contestant Danny Gokey and wife Sophia
More American Idol Posts

Get the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. Just sign up for the RSS feed by going to the "Subscribe" box on the right hand side of this blog and entering your email address. And follow me on Twitter!