Michael Lynche Sings an Emotional "In the Ghetto" on American Idol

It was Elvis night on American Idol. Contestants got to pick a song from more than 800 Elvis songs, and Michael Lynche picked "In the Ghetto." American Idol chose last year's runner-up, Adam Lambert, to mentor the contestants for Elvis night. This is the first time that a former contestant has been asked to be a mentor.

Adam Lambert's Advice to Michael Lynche

Adam Lambert's goal as a mentor to the American Idol contestants was to be honest but constructive. He said that he just didn't want to tell them they were good or bad. He wanted to let them know how they could improve. Overall, he told all the contestants they need to "wake up" and get some energy.

Adam suggested that Michael pick up the tempo of the song, but Big Mike was afraid of being too theatrical. Adam said that Michael needs to connect to people's hearts to stay in the competition but finishes it off with saying that he has an amazing voice.

Michael Lynche's "In the Ghetto" performance

Everyone knows Elvis' songs, and it is a daunting task to make them new and current without changing the song too much. Michael Lynche's "In the Ghetto" performance was stellar. He told the story with a strong emotion that even Elvis couldn't muster.

Michael performed with his guitar while sitting on the edge of the stage. He slowed the tempo of the song and softened it up, especially the words, "in the ghetto." His vocals were just beautiful.

Will Michael Lynche be in the Bottom Three?

Michael Lynche had the least number of votes after last week's American Idol performance. The only reason he was able to perform this week was because the judges used their one and only 'save' this season to let Big Mike continue competing. There will be two contestants going home on April 14^th since Big Mike was saved from elimination last week.

Ellen DeGeneres said that she was glad they saved Big Mike last week, and after his "In the Ghetto" performance, I would have to agree. Simon said it was a million/billion times better than last week. I think Michael Lynche will once again be safe.

Michael Lynche may just have saved himself with his performance of "In the Ghetto". Last week's performance of the song "Eleanor Rigby" was okay, but I think the problem may be that Big Mike's fans got a little too confident in his abilities and just stopped voting for him. This was the first time that he was ever in the bottom three.