About last night: Weird arrangements and nice surprises on GOO night

With such low expectations put in place for Grand Ole Opry night, it was hard for anything to come off seeming awful last night. That's not to say that there weren't a few near misses, though.

In what can only be described as a weird assortment of attempts at doing country music right, Matt, who took a major risk by singing a Carrie Underwood song (something no one on this show should ever do), led the 10 others with the best offering from the bunch. What helped Matt out was the stripping down of "So Small" so that it was just his soulful vocals, the piano and the song's inspirational lyrics that left an impression on the judges. Paula standing up, rocking to the song mid-performance was a head-scratcher, though (as was Simon's covering of Paula's mouth before Matt's pre-performance package was shown).

A note to Simon, though: Matt is nothing like Michael Buble. I can see the Justin Timberfake comparisons as well as the Jason Mraz ones, but I could never picture Matt singing the standards. It just wouldn't work. So no more "Matt Buble," please.

Following right behind Matt in terms of solid performances was Anoop. The positive feedback he received from the judges for his tackling of Willie Nelson's "You Were Always On My Mind" was definitely warranted and proved why he is still around after last week's disastrous performance. His smooth R&B vocals glided over the subtle string accompaniment, something that had not happened with the 'noop dawg until now.

There were again a few overrated performances, as Megan's hokey "Walkin' After Midnight" (in between coughs) was just barely listenable at best. Yes, it is true that Megan has the flu, as Paula pointed out so viciously, but that happens in real life. And this is supposed to be sort of like real life...so she might as well get used to it, suck it up and go on with the show. And Kara needs to stop with her lovefest over Megan. It's getting old really fast.

Michael and Scott were probably tied for weakest performance of the night, but Scott at least injected humor into his delivery ("we could always move the piano closer!") despite his snooze-a-thon on Martina McBride's "Wild Angels." Michael was just...there...and even though Garth Brooks was probably the perfect match for him this week, he just does not belong singing the genre.

Simon's spat with Paula during Scott's critiques was one of the highlights of last night, as Simon was 100% right about leaving Scott alone for using the piano two weeks in a row. Paula's "crutch" comment came off as being really low and tasteless, and made her look like a bigger buffoon than usual.

But the biggest WTF moment of last night was undoubtedly Adam's overtly-campy take on the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire." The middle eastern citar-tastic arrangement mixed with his gross sultry/screechy vocals was something out of an 1930s eastern European freak show, and even Kara had trouble spitting out words to describe it. Simon was right on the mark when he called it "indulgent," and Randy needs to get his ears checked if he thinks that's what Trent Reznor would sound like doing country. Don't get me wrong, though, it was mesmerizing and was the biggest spectacle of the night. The showing continues to support the idea that Adam is without a doubt a great performer. He's just not Idol material.

Alexis and Allison were both forgettable last night, with the former's "Jolene" being a far cry from Brooke White's rendition last season and the latter's "Blame It On Your Heart" was a good vocal showcase but the performance itself was lackluster. Look for the two girls to be in the danger zone tonight.

Believe it or not, Danny was one of the more overrated finalists last night. His rendition of Carrie Underwood's untouchable "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was good to a point, but seemed a little disorganized. Even though Kara's comment about wishing he had done more of the second half than the boring first half was dimwitted, so was Paula's comment about Carrie wanting to rush out and buy his version of the song. Randy probably made the most sense with his critique for once.

If there's one thing Kris showed last night, it was the notion that consistency is key to lengthening your stay on this show. Even with his guitar taking the night off he was able to show that song choice can make or break how one fares, as he picked a perfect choice of "To Make You Feel My Love." If Kris can keep this up, he might just be the dark horse in the competition.

And then there was Lil, falling far from her high and mighty perch last week. By picking "Independence Day," Lil was thinking in the right direction despite Randy's suggestion that she should have gone for the predictable "I Will Always Love You" or "How Do I Live." So she scores points for trying something new. She loses them for failing to deliver a convincing effort.

After all the surprises and weirdness of last night, it would be hard to see anyone other than Michael, Scott or Alexis leaving tonight. Look for my predictions later on this morning. In the mean time, who do you think is on their way out tonight?