Mammoth Blog

The rundown on Standards Night: Five contestants left. One hyperenthusiastic mentor in Jamie Foxx, who has coined new favorite "Idol" term for me: "The Throat Olympics." One truthful admission from Randy that he sounds like a broken record. Two dinner napkins apparently sitting on the front of Paula's dress. Four faithful, respectful renditions of Rat Pack tunes. One Adam Lambert. Zero clunkers or absolute train wrecks. One pretty entertaining show. Let's break it down.

Kris Allen. I really liked his "The Way You Look Tonight," particularly in the beginning: It was sultry and smooth and, while it wasn't the Throat Olympics, it still proved he has vocal chops. I actually wished the arrangement hadn't gone uptempo in the second half; I found him more compelling when he did the slow ballad.

Allison Iraheta. I'm not exactly sure why Simon's so hard on her, because I find her to be quite likable -- a real, live, not-weirdly-precocious 17-year-old girl who happens to have an incredibly precocious voice. I liked her "Someone to Watch Over Me." I thought it was sweet that Jamie Foxx told her to think about her family. (And this show made me really love Jamie Foxx. He's spastic in all the right ways.)

Matt Giraud. As I watched him sing "My Funny Valentine," I was thinking, a) That's a really tough song, and b) If he were singing it well enough, I wouldn't be thinking about how tough the song is. But then I remembered something famed "Idol" blogger MJ Santilli told me last week: that Matt sounds better on iTunes than he does on the performance shows. (That's the reason she thinks Simon and the producers have been backing Matt. They think he'd sound good on the radio.) So I rewound his performance and listened with my eyes closed. And it was, indeed, better. Maybe it was just because I didn't have to see that hat.

Danny Gokey. I've been bored with him for weeks now, but you know what? Not tonight. Tonight, I actually liked him, especially when he channeled Taylor Hicks at the end of "Come Rain or Come Shine." Kara and Simon said he's needed that Rat Pack swagger, but I actually think they had it backwards. Danny already has that Rat Pack swagger, a slightly-smarmy sense of self-assuredness, so when he sings earnest ballads, they come across as totally insincere. Tonight, he sang like a self-absorbed, uppity, talented guy, and it was good.

Adam Lambert. Wow. They really let him have a grand entrance, and he took full advantage. I was a little apprehensive when he announced he'd be singing "Feeling Good," which is so overused in the audition rounds. But leave it to Adam to do something totally different with the song. Honestly, between the preening and the tongue, he made me think of a vampire, and there seemed a less-than-slight chance that he'd dive into the audience and chomp on someone's neck. But my love for him has not diminished: This was weird, but it was brave, and you have to admit he's the boldest contestant "Idol" has ever seen.

Who's gone? I still think it's Matt's time. And if he manages to squeak through, then Allison might be in trouble, since she's been there before. We're headed to a Kris-Danny-Adam top three, and at that point, anything goes.

Agree? Disagree? Hash it out in the comments, then come back here tomorrow at 10 for our weekly "Idol" chat.
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