TV Recap: American Idol - Top 10 Results

Paula got it right when she told Adam Lambert that he’s exciting. He really is. One of the things that makes Idol so much fun to watch is when there’s a contestant that gives us a reason to wonder what we can expect from them each week. Oh, sure we could say that about most of the good contestants that have graced the Idol stage over the years because when they’re good, we hope they’ll stay good but in the case of a contestant like Adam Lambert, he really is giving us the kind of anticipation that makes Idol so great. Why? Because it’s been virtually impossible to predict what he’s going to do next.

Lambert rocked out to Michael Jackson’s “Black or White,” and then took country music night in a decidedly weird direction with a more unique arrangement of “Ring of Fire”. And last night, he toned it down for Motown Night, delivering a fantastic and amazingly controlled performance of Smokey Robinson’s “Tracks of My Tears.” Sure he has a tendency to get theatrical and a bit self-indulgent as Simon would say but you can’t deny, the guy has an amazing voice and the ability to actually perform. I know I’m gushing a bit here and as much as I like some of the other contestants, Lambert is quickly becoming the must-watch contestant of the season for me. My biggest hope for him now is that he continues to surprise us (in a good way).

Alright, I’m done with Lambert for now. Tonight is about the results and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Michael Sarver, Megan Joy and Scott MacIntyre. It’s nothing personal against these three. Megan’s gorgeous, Scott has a great sense of humor (loved his comments on those hideous pink pants someone dressed him in last night) and Michael is absolutely charming but vocally, these three continue to fall further and further behind as the rest of the group pushes onward and upward. This gap seems to emerge each season as the divide between the contestants destined for the top six widens, pushing the rest of the talented but not-quite-good-enough singers behind and then it’s only a matter of which order they’ll go that’s left to be decided.

Tonight’s filler portion of the episode begins with a “Pocket Full of Sunshine” Ford commercial, the group number featuring “Aint No Mountain High Enough” and a performance by Season 2 Idol winner Ruben “I beat Clay Aiken” Studdard. I forgot how sweaty that boy gets when he starts crooning. His suit jacket looks almost like pajamas pretending to be a suit but his voice sounds great and that’s what counts, right?

Ryan tells Adam he’s safe. No surprise there. Matt Giraud is next and he’s in the bottom three tonight. The crowd boos emphatically. I’m surprised to see him bottom-threed so soon in the competition but perhaps Matt needs to step it up a bit and do something to stand out more if he makes it through this week. Kris Allen is up next and he’s safe. Lil Rounds and Michael Sarver go next. Lil’s safe, Michael’s not. No shock there.

Everyone on the bottom couch has to wait for their results while Smokey Robinson and British soul and R&B singer Joss Stone perform a duet. As far as duets featuring an older musician and a hot young singer go, Smokey and Joss are a lot more interesting to watch than Carrie and Randy were last week. Somehow Smokey manages to make eyes at Joss the entire time they’re singing and have it not be creepy, so points for that too.

Ok, back to the results. Matt and Michael are in the bottom three. Who else will join them? Allison is up next. She’s safe. Anoop is next and he’s safe too. Ryan’s just burning through these results now. Danny Gokey is next and the crowd goes wild. As if that’s not indication enough, Danny’s told that he’s safe. Scott and Megan are next. Megan’s safe and Scott’s in the bottom three.

Randy says of the three standing in the bottom three, Matt doesn’t deserve to be there but it’s Scott that Ryan sends back to the safe-seats. Commercials and when we come back Stevie Wonder does a Motown medley. Stevie’s great but for some reason the camera keeps cutting to Kara and Paula dancing and lip-syncing to the music. During the “All About The Love Again,” Stevie yells out a random “I love you Barack Obama” and later an “I love you American Idol.

And we get another commercial break while Michael and Matt continue to sweat it out, wondering which of them will have to sing for their lives tonight. During the commercials I’m inspired to think Gordon Ramsay should be brought on to a results episode of Idol just to scream “Get out! You’re not good enough!” at the ousted contestant. Too harsh? It’d be a nice contrast from Ryan’s hug, handshake and/or words of encouragement.

After the break, Michael Sarver learns that he got the lowest number of votes this week. He sings “Aint To Proud To Beg” again and keeps a smile on his face, despite the odds not looking good that the judges are going to keep him around. Simon says it’s this last-chance performance that determines their final decision on the matter but let’s face it, they haven’t been overly enthusiastic about Sarver since the season began so I’ll be surprised if they give him another chance.

Ryan asks Simon what they think and Simon says they haven’t decided. They better decide soon because my Tivo’s about to change the channel to Grey’s Anatomy. And sure enough, it does. Tivo is reliable as always, it's Idol-filler that can't be trusted. I didn’t even get to see what the judges said. When I switch from seeing a glimpse of Cristina's breakdown over another one of Owen's freak-outs and back to Idol they’re playing Sarver’s “Home Sweet Home” montage. After the montage, Ryan says daddy’s coming home. I guess that means the judges voted no. They need to stop running over on these results. Especially when the show gets bumped to Thursday nights and there’s already too much on then as it is.

So Michael Sarver is gone. Disappointed?