Kris Allen, Megan Corkery and Anoop Desai Are the Best Performances of the Night on American Idol

This is Country song week on American Idol. Over the years, country songs have proved to be problem for many of the contestants especially those that are more comfortable in the R&B, Rock, and Jazz genres. This week was no different than the Country weeks of the past. Adding to the stress of the contestants is that it is a known fact that Simon is not a fan of Country music. Randy Travis was the guest mentor this week and coached all of the contestants and worked with them to help them make the songs their own.

Michael Sarver, the true Country singer in the crowd, kicked of the show with Garth Brooks' When The Sun Comes Up. It was clear to everyone watching at home and in the audience that Michael was in his element and truly enjoying himself as he shook hands with the audience and stood on the stage behind this judges during his performance. Unfortunately for Michael, the judges weren't impressed. Randy thought it was the wrong song choice and it didn't show his vocals. Kara thought the song fit his personality but didn't allow him to hit the big notes and Paula thought he had fun. Simon said, "I couldn't understand a word and it was clumsy." Michael challenged Simon from the stage and said, "If we were all perfect, we wouldn't need this show." Ryan got in on the action and asks Simon if he had to rate Michael's performance from 1 - 10, what would give him. Simon said, "1.2."

Fighting the flu and a recent trip to the hospital, Megan Corkery performed I Go Walking After Midnight and added her unique blend of rock, blues, and jazz to the song and the judges loved it. They all thought it was the perfect song choice and that she looked and sounded great. Anoop Desai, who took a lot of criticism last week from the judges, redeemed himself with his performance of You're Always on My Mind, the Willie Nelson classic, and received great props from the judges. Simon said, "You've gone from zero to hero." Simon even took back what he said last week about regretting adding Anoop as the 13^th contestant and said he deserved to be there and welcomed him back. Randy, Paula and Kara said his performance was the best performance of the night and his vocals were amazing.

Allison Ireheta belted out "Blame It On Your Heart." The judges liked her performance and said she gets better each week. Danny Gokey performed Carrie Underwood's Jesus Take the Wheel and received mixed comments from the judges. Kara thought he hit his stride in the song and Paula liked his story telling and thought it was brilliant. Simon thought it was a good performance but didn't like his outfit and Randy said he needed to work on his vocals during the verses. Lil Rounds performed Martina McBride's Independence Day and the judges felt she didn't look comfortable with her song choice and her vocals were off this week. Alexis Grace performed her interpretation of Dolly Parton's Jolene. The judges said it wasn't her best performance and she may be losing her edge. Matt Giraud performed a soulful version of So Small by Carrie Underwood. The judges loved his performance and his authentic and artistic approach to the song.

The weirdest performance of the night goes to Adam Lambert who sang Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire with a Middle Eastern twist. It was a haunting version of the classic song that was sung at a much slower pace than the original with Middle Eastern musical instruments in the background. Kara thought it was strange and Paula thought it sounded like Cashmere meets Led Zeppelin. Simon said, "What the hell was that?" He went on to say Adam's performance was indulgent, rubbish and horrific.

American Idol live results show will air at 9:00 PM EST on Fox.