American Idol Top Three Recap and Review: May 12, 2009

On American Idol's 300^th episode, the top three out of 100,000 contestants vied for the Season 8 finals last night, May 12, 2009. Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert each sang one song chosen by the American Idol judges for them and one song they chose for themselves. The judges were Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell.

American Idol Top Three Judges' Choice Round

1. First up of the American Idol top three was Danny Gokey singing Paula Abdul's choice for him, "Dance Little Sister Dance", by Terence Trent D'Arby. When Danny first heard of Paula's choice for him, his response was, "I don't know it." Danny sang the song in his gravelly, almost hoarse voice but even without a lot of finesse the song came across solid and good.

Randy said he had "lots of energy". Kara said, "The dancing was a little too gyrating for me." Paula disagreed, saying she was a choreographer and that the dancing was fine. She also said Gokey "let that magic part of your voice carry through." Simon ended by reminding the two ladies that this was a singing contest, not a dancing contest, yet he agreed that the dancing "was desperate". He called Danny Gokey's vocals "very, very good" but thought that the song was wrong for Danny.

2. Next in the American Idol top three lineup was Kris Allen who sang "Apologize" by One Republic, which was chosen for him by Randy and Kara. For once, Kris had a slight edge to his music. As Kara described the song, it had "dark, melodic lines." It went a long way to neutralize some of Kris' super sweetness. Kris played the piano, had a little trouble with the falsetto and upper range vocals, but still delivered a good solid song.

Randy said, "You could have a song like this on the radio... nice, very nice. It shows us who you could be in the future." Kara called it a "competent performance, but at this stage you've got to be swinging it out of the park. I wanted you to make it your own." Paula noticed the "bum note that was loud" but said she was proud of Kris. Simon said that the two judges who picked the song, Randy and Kara, didn't help Kris enough with the arrangement. He also questioned Paula's pointing out the bum note and then remarking that she was proud of him.

3. The final contestant in the American Idol top three judges' choice round was Adam Lambert, who sang "One" by U2. Simon said he picked it for Adam because it was one of his favorites and noted it took a bit to clear it with Bono. Adam appeared under a blue light with a piano off to the side. Background singers and a band added an extra dimension to the arrangement. Adam hit the notes as always, in an awe-inspiring and passionate manner. Adam Lambert connects with the audience and has definite charisma, for which he received the most rousing standing ovation so far that night.

Randy said, "Dude, let me just say, you are definitely still in the zone. You've been hot since day one. Unbelievable vocals... it's a great song, and you are a really, really talented guy." Kara called Adam Lambert a "strategist" and said he could take a song and "do it in a completely different way, change up the melodies, change up the instrument, and make it unbelievable."

Paula said "You don't know how miserable my life is right now, with Simon gloating." Paula went on to say that "it was one brilliant song, one superb performance, and one American Idol that I'm staring at right now." Simon called it a "brilliant song choice... you worked out what you wanted to do with it... It was a brilliant, brilliant performance, and I have to say here and now, if you're not in the (American Idol) finals next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets on this show."

American Idol Top Three Personal Choice Round

1. Danny Gokey sang "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. Despite what seemed like some breath control problems, Danny's song came across sweet, soft, and great.

Randy said, "amazing song... you showed you're here because you can really sing... mad vocals." Kara said, "Everything you didn't do in the first performance, you just did. Stunning." Paula said that Danny left them all breathless and "by changing the chords and infusing the gospel part... you nailed it." Simon said, "I wouldn't have re-arranged it (but) I would call that a vocal master class."

2. Kris Allen sang "Heartless" by Kanye West - just himself and his acoustic guitar. Randy said he liked Kris' version better than Kanye's. "You changed it up a bit, hit a bad note, but still it's cool and Kris-ized."

Randy noted rightly that "this is going to be one of the toughest voting nights". Kara called Kris' song "bold, brave, fearless... why didn't you do that with 'Apologize'?" Paula added that this was what kept Kris "relevant... bravo." Simon said that he had written Kris out of the competition but "that has all changed after that performance".

3. Adam Lambert's personal song choice was "Cryin'" by Aerosmith, noting that he wasn't going to change it up too much because the song "is brilliant as it is. Steven Tyler is the man." Adam used his facial expression, flirty eyes, and flawless vocals to connect with the audience as he sang "I was cryin' when I met you, now I'm tryin' to forget you."

Randy said, "You're one of the best we've ever had on this stage... one of the most charismatic, one of the biggest brightest stars, and you should make a rock album. You should be a rock star - that's who you are." Kara asked, "How do you hit those notes? Who hits those notes?" Randy chimed in, "Adam Lambert does." Kara finished by saying, "what can we say but we'll see you at the finals."

Paula said, "You've set the bar so high in the sky... as I said from the beginning, we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that." Simon finished by saying, "I'm not going to suck up as much as the other three... it's easy to assume you'll sail through to the final next week. The show is about finding a star who has earned the right to be in the final, and I want everyone not to assume you're going to be there, but to vote for you, because you deserve it based on talent."

Ryan asked Adam what he felt like after the night, to which Adam replied that he thought "Kris and Danny did really well tonight. They're both so talented... it is an honor to be in their presence, to be in their company."

Tonight (Wednesday) one more person will be eliminated on American Idol, and we will go on to the last shows of American Idol Season 8 next week - the finals between the two highest vote-getters this week. Voting this season is intense, and fans cannot wait until next week, when the winner of American IdolSeason 8 will be crowned.