'American Idol' Rat Pack Night -- Everybody Feelin' Good (Except Maybe Matt Giraud)

Tune in here at 8 pm/7 pm central for your weekly "American Idol" live-blog. Will anybody sing the songs I chose for them? Is this the week we start two performances for each Idol? Can Allison crack the seemingly impenetrable Idol Boys Club? Find out below!

Right from the get-go, I love how everyone is dressed. Very genre-appropriate. Matt is even rocking a fedora, which is awesome. I didn't get a good look at Allison in the low lighting; let's hope she's not dressed like an extra from the "Borderline" video.

The band keeps encroaching farther onto the stage with every passing week. This week they are surrounding the contestants on both sides. By the finale, it'll just be a small stool in a sea of instrumentalists.

There's video of the contestants waiting for the guest mentor in the mansion while the Pink Panther Theme plays. It turns out to be Jamie Foxx! Woo hoo! He's great, I'm really looking forward to his new movie with Robert Downey Jr. Also, this is probably about as close as they could get since the last Rat Pack member, Joey Bishop, died two years ago.

A lot of people don't know the original Rat Pack was Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and others in the 1950s. It's too bad they couldn't get Ms. Bacall. What a dame. Love her. Kris "Baby Face" Allen, looking quite dapper in his gray suit and blue tie, is up first... after the break.

Kris Allen, "The Way You Look Tonight" originally sung by Fred Astaire
Jamie very astutely says that Kris does not try to perform in the "throat Olympics." That's a perfect critique of Kris, he just sings beautifully without trying too hard (coughMattcough). Tonight, he sounds just lovely. He's carrying the mic stand, which is kind of weird and awkward, but I enjoy the arrangement kicking up the jazz at the end. He tries some falsetto that is a touch weak, but his big brown eyes and crooked smile and emotional singing will have the female (and some of the male) audience melting into a big ol' puddle. Very nice, though I wish he had ended on a low note instead of a high one. It fits the song better.

Randy says best performance to date, telling a story and implementing some R&B stylings. Kara, looking a dish in a blue dress and curly hair, says he had impeccable technique and calls him a "dark horse." Paula, also a dish tonight in red, calls him a sophisticated gentleman and a contemporary crooner and tries not to slip him the tongue. Simon says, "a little bit wet" and likens him to a well-trained spaniel. He thought it was safe and nice, but not incredible. That's fair. It could've blown me away and instead it was just "nice."

**I just saw a local commercial for Lasik surgery by "Ryan SeeBest." Sigh.**

Allison Iraheta, "Someone to Watch Over Me" by the Gershwin Brothers
Allison looks beautiful tonight in a black dress with a frou-frou skirt and pretty hair. She also celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday, so Happy Birthday, Allison! She blows Jamie Foxx away with her voice, he can't believe she's 16 years old. You and me both, Jamie.

Her smokey voice is just PERFECT on this song.  And I guess the theme is "Rat Pack Era" because neither the first two songs is actually a "Rat Pack" song. Anyway, the bridge is nice for Allison but she hasn't blown me away yet at all. Blow me away, please! And then her ending is spectacular. She's doing such a bluesy version of this, as opposed to the sweet, simple version, like in Mr. Holland's Opus. Her ending is just heartrending. Yay Allison!

Randy thought the theme was going to be tough for Allison, then likens her to Brittany Murphy and Pink, and then says it was the bomb. He loved her rough, kinda gruff kinda style. Kara says, "I ain't nervous for you anymore, let me tell you." She says Allison is not a one-trick pony and that her rendition was gut-wrenchingr. Paula says she's been waiting to hear Allison do a ballad and she loved her innocent sensibility and calls her both alluring and tender. Awww, Paula! Simon liked it, but wants to hear her really WANT to win the competition. He then says he has a horrible feeling that she's in trouble tonight. I bet that's his ploy to motivate the voters. I'm on to you, Simon Cowell.

Oh god, y'all. Matt Giraud is doing "My Funny Valentine." CONSTANTINE FLASHBACK, CONSTANTINE FLASHBACK! I NEED AN ADULT!

Matt Giraud, "My Funny Valentine" by Rodgers & Hart
I love Matt's fedora (as I said earlier) and not entirely because it hides his scary mole. Jamie tells us that it's a big song and gives Matt some belting vs falsetto notes and lowering-the-key advice. I wonder if he'll listen, or if he'll just ignore the advice like a certain spectacled contestant I know.

Matt is rocking the Anthony Fedorov Stool and vocally is doing well on a hard song. He's doing something weird on the low notes, though. He sounds like Ethel Merman on those. I expect him to launch into "Everything's Coming Up Roses" in that voice. On the big notes at the end he sounds nice but honestly... it was a little meh for me and those low notes were distracting.

Randy cites the difficulty of the song but says it was a little pitchy and some of the runs didn't work. Kara was missing the emotional connection. Yes. Paula loved it, calls it excellent. Because her job is to shoot unicorns out of her butt. Simon says it was the only believable, authentic song he's heard tonight. Really? I thought the first two were both better. Hmmm.

Danny Gokey, "Come Rain or Come Shine" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer
In their session, Jamie gets right up in his face and it's cute and funny. In the actual performance, there is some great trombone lead-in and then Danny takes the stage like he's freakin' Elvis. He's also dressed like the bride's little brother who got stuck in the wedding party to make the sides even. Hmph.

Vocally, this is very typical Danny. I do like the bridge, he gets to show off some jazzy chops on the bridge. This song seems to have about 6 notes, I think he could've picked something showier but overall it's good. There's a big stripper-music ending, I wish he had a glove to strip off a la Gilda. I am loathe to admit it, but I actually like this quite a bit.

Randy says he's the only one who could have an album of songs like that. Well, that's not true. Kris and Matt both fit in that box too, Randy. Guh. This Gokey love is kinda gross. Kara liked his "Rat Pat swagg-ah." She loved his creativity with the melody. Paula calls it stellar. Simon liked his confidence and says it was "outstanding." Is Simon padding his Finale Picks? Perhaps.

Adam Lambert, "Feelin' Good" by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse
Adam's doing this with a "rock" feel, which I think is such a cheat. I wanted to hear him to a jazzy standard, dammit! [stomps foot] For the first 30 seconds, we can't even see him because the lighting director has gone bat-crap crazy with the backlighting. Then the trumpets kick up and he swaggers down the steps like a friggin' Vegas Showgirl. Seriously, the arrangement and the staging and the white suit are very cabaret.

Vocally, it's sultry and strong, until a giant screamed note. I admire his range and his breath control to do that note, but it was a tad screamy. Also, the whole performance just screamed cabaret to me. It was kind of uncomfortably gross, like a sleazy used car salesman trying to sing stripper music. Hmm. He'll be safe, of course.

Check out a video of Adam's "Feelin' Good" performance.

Randy calls it on its Broadway and theatricality. Yes. Kara says her mouth drops open every time he performs. Oh the jokes... too much... head hurts. She also drops the word "sleazy," which... yes. Paula says he makes her feel better than good and compares him to Michael Phelps. Simon likes that Adam obviously wants to win, week in and week out, and loved the entrance.

Recap: Kris slipping my mind but being so wholesome and cute upon second sight, Allison breaking my heart, Matt being very much the weakest and he BETTER go home, Danny having a performance I actually like [shudder], and Adam going past the point where I love him and to the point where I'm frightened of him. 

Who is going home tonight, guys?

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