Now usually, the Top 5 gives us two songs. This season, the singers only give us one song. The good news is that Idol should have no problem ending on time. The bad news is that we're going to be seeing a lot of space filler. Helping us fill said space is Jamie Foxx, who won an Oscar in his portrayal of Ray Charles. Foxx, a classically trained musician, also has a Double Platinum Album and has been nominated for 5 Grammys. Starring in a movie with Idol Favorite Jennifer Hudson (Dream Girls) doesn't hurt, either.

Kris Allen starts us off with 'The Way You Look Tonight'. How does America look at him tonight?
The Good: Kris didn't do anything wrong. It was a capable song, and he hit both the notes and the pitch. From a technical standpoint, this was a very good job.
The Bad: But from a musical/emotional standpoint, this was a clunker. Can we change the song to the 'The Way I Sleep Tonight?' Because that was as boring as I've heard from Kris this season. And that's a shame, because what made him different was his unique takes on songs, and this was just a pretty performance that I'm going to forget about once Danny and Adam take the stage.
The Jason: I liked the performance a lot, but I had a problem with him moving the mike stand. He needed to stand still and just sing the song, and not be a rock star pretending to sing a standard. That being said, good job.
The Verdict: When you are at this stage of the show, you can't afford to be safe. The performance was 'safe', meaning that he wasn't singing to win, just to not lose. When you play to not lose, you usually wind up losing. Kris better hope that Allison does the predicted stumble out of the gates and Matt doesn't grab lightning out of a bottle. Because if they do, he could have some serious issues this evening.

Speaking of which, Allison Iraheta gets to hit the stage with 'Someone To Watch Over Me'. Will America watch over her on her birthday week?
The Good: She surprises me with this genre. I couldn't imagine rock chick nailing this genre, and amazingly enough, she does. She accounts for herself quite nicely in this genre.
The Bad: Notice I say genre, and not song. She needed someone to help her watch over those lyrics, which a number of times were missed or mutilated completely. And the dress was so poofy that I was expecting it to flop over her head ala Marilyn Monroe's 7 Year Itch.
The Jason: Sorry Allison...you didn't do it for me tonight. You mumbled the first half of the song, and the rock chick vocal styling didn't work for me. I thought the judges were way off tonight.
The Verdict: Kris got the break he was looking for. It's an OK performance, but I don't think she did enough to surpass the front-runners.

This could be Matt Giraud's Week. Jason and I think it is. He went to class and got...A B. A B? He needs to get an A tonight. Jamie Foxx wants him to change the key on his song, 'My Funny Valentine'. Will he?
The Good: He gives a B+ effort. For the most part, he hits the pitch. There were some flat runs but he hits the main part of the song.
The Bad: He did NOT change the key, and it shows. It's falsetto, falsetto, falsetto. I wanted to hear him BANG out the notes - especially the money note. I wanted a powerful sing from the chest effort and instead all I got was a wimpy head voice. I was thinking about Constantin Maroulis'/Melinda Doolittle's performances of this same song and how they nailed it. This version left me bored.
The Jason: I disliked this performance as well. I didn't like the vocals and I thought his voice is off somehow. Jamie Foxx was correct to lower the octave and it's stupid that Matt didn't take his advice. I can't figure out what went wrong.
The Verdict: As much as Kara has been ridiculed this season, she absolutely nailed this one. Matt has a lack of emotion and passion in his singing that Kris, Danny and Adam all have. That could cost him tonight.

Jamie wants Danny Gokey to get up in his grill. For those of you that don't speak Jamie Foxx, that means get up close and personal with the audience when he sings 'Come Rain or Come Shine'.
The Good: You see all that emotion that Danny is putting into that song? That's why he is a front-runner and Matt isn't. Danny just left it all out there and nailed both the pitch and the money notes.
The Bad: And it's a good thing, because the song, although a standard, is not one of the more well-known songs. Danny could have had a major issue if he suffered the same disconnect as Matt did.
The Jason: This is how you tell a story. Simple and classic at the beginning, with his own personal style at the end. He hit the money notes, and his theatricality made sense, while Kris Allen's didn't.
The Verdict: This is the first time we saw emotion and swagger. Easily the best performance of the night, and maybe his best performance to date. This could be Danny's official notice that he's turning it up a notch and attempting to win the whole thing.

Finally, it's Adam Lambert, who does Muse's version of 'Feeling Good'. Can he make us feel good?
The Good: I really like the edge that he brings to the song. It's a standard, but he rocked it out and hit you hard with it. The Shofar-like money note (which sounds like someone playing Tekiyah-Gedolah with his vocal chords) was inhuman in a good way.
The Bad: What was human in a bad way was the start of the song, where he screwed up the spacing of the opening lyrics. He then compounds it by being sharp throughout the song and for the third straight week, it felt like he needed the money note not to accentuate his performance, but to bail himself out of it.
The Jason: With ths Supertramp organ and the Broadway theatrics, this song was the perfect example of what Adam Lambert is. Big, theatrical, original, and simply fantastic.
The Verdict: If you took out the money note, Danny was the best performance tonight. However, that money note was astounding and he could have edged Danny out. Either way, he's safe without a problem.

Overall Verdict: For the second straight week, we had a really good night. No one stunk up the joint, and everyone sung well. As in the past, when everyone sings well, we go to the track record, and America's voting history means that we will be seeing these 2 people at the bottom:

Trouble: Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud

If there's an upset, Kris shows up at the bottom (and I think he should be there with Matt and not Allison), but I think he has enough of a fan base to avoid it. I thought Matt would have a benefit of grabbing Lil/Anoop's R&B Fan Base, but I think it's going to go to Danny, who sang Matt into the floor. Add Allison's fan base knowing that they have to save her - again - and Matt's reprieve thanks to the judges will last for two weeks.

OUT: Matt Giraud

The Jason: Everybody in this competition right now did step up their game and improved this week. However, at this point, you can't just be good. You have to be great. Adam, Danny, and Kris were different shades of great.

Trouble: Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta

So who was the least good? I have to give it to the person who was the least confident up there and didn't connect with the audience. And that is the person who was saved by the judges 2 weeks ago.

OUT: Matt Giraud

Join us in 24 hours to see who's Big Band experience will end in a not so big bust.