American Idol: Kris Kills it with Kanye

Top Three Night on American Idol was really nothing more than lackluster. On a night when I expect all the finalists to bring their A-game, I found a majority of the performances disappointing.

Judges' Picks

Danny - Paula picked some unknown 80s ditty by Terence Trent D'Arby, who's had one or two minor hits before changing his name and falling off the Earth. I can only guess that he's an old friend of Paula's, and she must owe him a favor. Danny did better than I expected, and I like the upbeat sound for him better than his traditional ballads. However, the song was too stuck in the past and didn't give Danny that modern edge I was hoping for. Granted, this is a reflection of Paula, and not Danny, so I give him props for making do with what he was given. And after listening to the original, Danny's version was much more tolerable.

Kris - I hate to say it, but I agreed with Kara on this one. He sang the song exactly as it was written and did nothing to change it up. I was a bit underwhelmed because Kris has been known as the "true artist" and failed to take advantage of this position. After his second performance, I understand why he chose not to do two acoustic guitar songs, but I feel like he owed it to himself to try something different.

Adam - Simon picked U2's "One" for Adam, but dare I say I didn't like all the liberties he took with the melody. He sang it alright, but it was hard to even discern what the song was after he messed with it so much. Once again, I wasn't a fan of the song choice - I would have given him a song by the Killers or White Stripes or something - modern classic rock that he would knock out of the park.

Contestants' Picks

Danny - I knew Danny would pick something old, lame, and boring, and he delivered. He could have at least sung it with just a guitar or piano accompanying him, but he went all out and gave it a gospel feel. By this point in the show, I was only half paying attention.

Kris - That is, until Kris came on and sang an acoustic, stripped down version of Kanye West's "Heartless." I really loved what Kris did with the song and agreed with Simon that this performance redeemed him. I could definitely hear this song on the radio tomorrow.

Adam - Adam chose 'Cryin', although not the song I would have picked for him. I love Aerosmith and I would chosen "Love in an Elevator" (and "Crazy" for Danny) But I'm just an innocent viewer, so what do I know? :) I thought the background vocals drowned him out a little bit, and overall I was not too impressed by his performance. It sounded very karaoke to me, but I still think Adam is the one to beat based on his past performances.

So that's it folks, who do you think will be final 2? Who should it be? Do you miss Allison as much as I do?