American Idol's Week 1 Finals Showcases Michael Jackson Songs

A child star who became one of the best selling music artists as an adult provided the music for week one of the "American Idol" provided the singers for a combination that sometimes worked and sometimes not so well. As a performer Michael Jackson is an artist whose music is distinctive and it is rare to find a singer who can even come close to making Jackson's music sound good and not like a bad karaoke rendition; which provided the 13 finalists on "American Idol" with a big challenge that only a few singers met with distinction.

In the end it was rocker Adam Lambert who stole the show with his version of "Black and White." Lambert worked the crowd an the stage like a seasoned professional that earned him a standing ovation. Judge Simon Cowell told Lambert that the performance was in a different league from the rest of the performances, while Randy Jackson said that Lambert could sail to the top of the charts right now and new judge Kara DeGaurdi said Lambert hit notes that she didn't know existed.

The understated performance of the night belonged to the talented piano player Scott MacIntyre who performed a relatively unknown song off the "Dangerous" album "Keep the Faith". While Randy called the song sage and Simon hated it because he said that nobody knew the song; Kara liked the song choice because she said that Scott stayed true to himself.

Lil Rounds - "The Way You Make Me Feel"

Scott MacIntyre (on the piano) - "Keep the Faith"

Danny Gokey - "PYT - Pretty Young Thing"

Michael Sarver - "You're Not Alone"

Jasmine Murray - "I'll Be There" (Jackson 5)

Kris Allen (on the guitar) - "Remember the Time"

Allison Iraheta - "Give it to Me"

Anoop Desai - "Beat It"

Jorge Nunez - "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Jackson 5)

Megan Joy Corkrey - "Rockin' Robin" (Jackson 5)

Adam Lambert - "Black and White"

Matt Giraud (on the piano) - "Human Nature"

Alexis Grace - "Dirty Diana"

A few twists and surprises await for the results show on Wednesday night. Since there are 13 instead of 12 finalists two singer will be eliminated on the show. Host Ryan Seacrest and judge Simon Cowell hinted at a surprise twist to be revealed on the results show; a rule change that somehow involves the judges is all the info they would reveal like the teasers in the old serials...stay tuned.