IDOL LIVE predix: Top 5 Results

Alright, so last night was abysmal. There's no way of getting around it: Frank Sinatra would be embarrassed. As good of a mentor as Harry Connick Jr. was, and as much effort as he put into their arrangements, there was only one above average performance. To add to it, hardly anyone looked comfortable up there with a big huge swing band and barely any space to move around.

Plus, the banishment of all musical instruments (especially the guitar) all but stripped the finalists' of their comfort and confidence. Basically, if there was any less current of a theme that the producers could have picked for them, it would have made things only a little worse.

With that said, read my predictions for how tonight will go below:

Bottom 2
Aaron, Mike

Eliminated
Mike

So, after last week's prediction debacle, it only makes sense to pick the best performer of last night and think he or she is being sent packing due to his or her fans feeling complacent. That means Michael "Big Mike" Lynche is best suited to fit this bill. In all honesty, Mike's fans are not feeling as vulnerable as Casey's fans, who witnessed their favorite get absolutely pummeled by the judges last night.

Lee received the most praise, plus he went last, plus he's never been in the bottom three, so he's a good bet to be safe tonight. Crystal is, well Crystal, and Aaron seems to have the youth vote wrapped around his finger for the time being. So once again, Mike seems to be without a buffer to save him from elimination tonight, even though based solely on vocals he should be spared.

As for who will accompany him in the bottom two (there most likely won't be a bottom three if they follow the pattern set by previous seasons), Aaron is a usual bottom dweller, and his fans weren't as motivated as those of fellow usual lower end buddy Casey, so he will most likely round out the pair. If for some reason there is a B3, we can expect Casey will be there representing.

In my original predictions I had Didi finishing 5th, so that's obviously not happning.

Since the Top 24 I have correctly predicted 6-19 eliminations and since the Top 12 I have correctly predicted 2-7 eliminations.

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 5 Perform (5/4/10)

Last week's results were a letdown, so the Top 5 finalists really must dig deep to deliver stunners. Because let's face it, anything less at this point would be a disappointment of major proportions. Hopefully Harry Connick, Jr. is able to bring out the inner rat pack member of the finalists when they take on the song catalog of Frank Sinatra.

As always, please feel free to add your two cents throughout the one-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.

Tonight's blogcast features the music of Brooke White, Chris Daughtry, David Archuleta, Elliott Yamin and Lil Rounds.

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About last night: A pack of rats and a Foxx deliver

The debacles from the events over the past few days were looking to put a damper on last night's catalog of songs from the Rat Pack era, but everything seemed to fall in place by the time 8 p.m. ET rolled around. There was not one bad performance, even though the Top 5 finalists had to scramble last minute and drop one of the two songs they had been rehearsing in order to ensure there were no time overruns. And Jamie Foxx actually gave some good tips despite having to deal with negative perceptions going into tonight.

After Foxx's lengthy intro montage and his "surprise" unveiling to the finalists was shown, Kris took the stage and did a subdued but smooth rendition of Frank Sinatra's staple "The Way You Look Tonight." Kris' vocals were a little bit better than usual, but it's fair to say they were consistent and the use of his falsetto enhanced the overall result. Simon's critique of the performance being "wet" may or may not resonate with the voting public, but it is quite apparent that the other three judges thought highly of it. What could end up hurting Kris is the fact that he went first, which seems like it would be a non-factor this late in the season, but it is always a possibility.

Following Kris was Allison, who looked a lot more mature and sounded years beyond her age, even more so than usual. She sang Ella Fitzgerald's "Someone to Watch Over Me" with grace and poise, proving that even the rocker chick can simmer down for enough time to show that she is capable of delivering heartfelt low key showcases. Allison was also able to get a few Christina Aguilera-isms in and even belted out the last few notes. Her performance was a few notches better than Simon's weak 7 out of 10 score, and Kara let him know he was "crazy" for his critique since she was so sure that Allison is not a one-trick pony and that she didn't need anyone watching over her last night.

More importantly than any of her critiques, Allison truly looked like a contender regardless of Simon's questioning of how badly she wants to win it. This should be enough to keep her out of trouble tonight.

Someone who had his name written all over last night's theme was Matt, as he is a jazz music major at Michigan State. That being said, he did not do the best with his rendition of "My Funny Valentine," which was made famous on this show by Melinda Doolittle on its sixth season. Matt was his regular self with hat and all, but his lack of piano playing was actually missed a bit last night. Still, his vocals on the classic standard were among his best yet, which was noticed by Simon.

The deal with Simon, however, is that he was using his signature reverse psychology on Matt, which will be realized by the majority of the public when tonight's results are read. It's true that Matt deserved some praise for his efforts, but Simon was the noticeable sore thumb sticking out among the rest of the judges with the exception of Paula, who gave her usual dribble drabble about seeing a "pure and simple side" of Matt. Randy and Kara were actually dead on when they noticed a lack of emotion and connection to the song, and these comments will ring true once things become more clear tonight.

Danny, on the other hand, came out and gave the performance of his life with "Come Rain or Come Shine," which he needed to do in order to revitalize his chances for the title. Danny started off in his usual rhythm and blues mantra, but near the end he really came alive despite incorporating his usual growls into the otherwise smooth vocal performance. It was not a surprise that the judges raved about the showing, and even Simon's comments about Danny finding his confidence and agreeing with Kara that he had swagger seemed appropriate. Even though he did not get the coveted pimp spot, Danny showed that he could still deliver despite the assertion that his Idol star has waned over the past few weeks.

And then there was Adam, who really wore his theatrics on his sleeve with an over the top take on Nina Simone's "Feeling Good." The performance fit Adam to a T, and was definitely a sight to see with a dramatic descension of the staircase lit in hot pink florescent lights. The vocals were a bit too much, though he had a great note near the end that has seemed to be lacking from the current season of Idol. There was a time when the glory note was considered the cherry on top of a performance, but it has since fallen from popularity.

As usual, the judges had no qualms about Adam's showing, and Simon's "a cow moos" comment injected some humor into the critiques. It goes without saying that Adam is not going anywhere tonight.

After looking back at last night's performances, it can be said that this was perhaps the best performance episode of the season, with no one being so blatantly bad that they warrant a ticket home. Someone does have to go, however, and it will probably be another obvious boot. But just to cover all the bases, there have been stranger things to happen on this show.

One last note: Jamie Foxx was actually a more effective mentor than many thought he would be. There were times when his advice made a lot of sense and he seemed to care about what he was saying to the contestants, even though he probably did not mean much of it. He's still not a nice person, but whatever.

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Keeping up with John Stevens

Idol's signature red-haired crooner John Stevens made the show's third season popular for reasons he probably would not like to remember. After generating such memorable performances as "Crockodile Rock" and "King of the Road," the then-16-year-old delivered spectacles that would make Sanjaya jealous.

But John's vocal talents were the kind that could not been heard on an Elton John track, and so he was given a bad wrap while on the show. Still he was able to finish sixth, which is a testament to his appeal to many across the country. This led to a record deal with Maverick Records in 2005, courtesy of which he released his debut album Red. The album, which was produced by David Foster, did well enough to make it into Billboard's Top 10 Jazz albums chart but failed to muster much in the form of sales, totaling roughly 21k copies since its release.

John's debut single was "Come Fly With Me," a cover of Frank Sinatra's 1957 hit. He also covered Maroon 5's "This Love" and The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere."

After departing Maverick, John joined his fellow Season 3 alum Leah LaBelle at Berklee College of Music in Boston where his is now a student and should graduate in 2010.

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