Will Danny Gokey Be 'Dreaming On' About the Final Three After His May 5 Performance?

Maybe it was too much tequila to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, or maybe it was having rock legend Slash sitting ten feet away. But for whatever reason, it saddens me to have to say that, for the first time, Danny Gokey gave us a substandard performance on the May 5 American Idol.

First off, he picked the short straw by having to perform the duet with Kris. Don't get me wrong, Kris is an awesome singer but on Rock night (or Guitar Hero night, whatever you choose to call it) Kris and Danny could not possibly compare to Adam and Allison. They tried hard with Styx's Renegade but couldn't pull it off. Kris couldn't stay on key and Danny didn't have what was necessary to pull off a duet by himself. Even if he could have, the song wasn't a great choice. What's worse was that they had to perform right after Allison's near perfect Janis Joplin favorite Cry Baby.

Then it was time for the individual performance. Danny chose Aerosmith's Dream On. There are no grey areas for this song - it can only be great or it can suck. Slash summed it up when he told the camera that you absolutely have to hit that high note. And he's right. Except Danny must have not been listening, because he definitely did not hit that note. What's sad is that he has the capability to do it but he didn't even come close. The beginning of the song was good but if you can't nail the high note, what's the point? This was definitely the wrong song to pick this late in the season.

The judges were fair in their criticisms too - they didn't like the duet and they didn't like Danny's individual performance either. To be perfectly honest when it comes to the judges, though, it's as if there are only three as one particular judge, who shall remain nameless, always just parrots the critiques of another. (If you haven't caught on to who it is yet, here's a hint: if a tree falls in a forest on Randy's head, would Kara say "ouch"?)

Danny has never been in the bottom three this season. He always picks the right songs, he always nails them and he always gives us an incredibly solid performance. I usually can't wait to rush to the iTunes Store after he's done singing. Except today. I'd rather remember the much better Michael Johns version from last season.

Boy, I hope Danny's not going to follow in Michael's footsteps.