Over the last two weeks, the competition lost two of its weakest competitors, Megan Joy and Scott MacIntyre.The loss of these contestants grimly illustrated that raw talent, pure and simple, would be the only way to win this year’s competition.

In this regard, Adam Lambert has continued to distance himself from the pack and establish himself as the man to beat. Here are this week’s rankings.

The Pretenders

7. Anoop Desai

After another slow boring performance of “True Colors” last week that landed him in the bottom three, he is on his way out unless he makes some big changes.

6. Lil Rounds

Each week the judges have told Lil that she picked the wrong song or that she mimicked the original artist version without making the song her own.

She has not made a good choice in weeks and does not seem to have the overwhelming talent that a lot of people initially thought she did.

The Contenders

5. Matt Giraud

Matt has strange facial expressions and comes off awkward on the show, but there is no denying his singing talent as his “Part-Time Lover” was fun, and he was compared to Justin Timberlake. He has a shot at a top 3 finish.

4. Kris Allen

He made a mistake last week with his choice of song, but his fan support kept him out of the bottom three.

His genuine likability and ability to make his performances original will keep him alive for another couple of weeks.

3. Danny Gokey

While he is by far one of the most charismatic performers this season, his bizarre version of “Stand by Me” was underwhelming.

Hopefully, he will be back to the fun, high-energy performances this week instead of the slower ones he has been doing lately.

2. Allison Iraheta

She stepped outside the rocker box last week by delivering a beautiful version of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” that displayed the range and power of her voice.

The performance led Randy Jackson to compare her to Kelly Clarkson, which can only mean good things for her future.

The Favorite

1. Adam Lambert

Season 8’s most dynamic contestant delivered a sensational version of “Mad World” last week, showing once again that he can channel it down and sing without all the theatrics some of his other performances have had.

He is the main attraction of the competition with his performances always being the most unique and memorable part of the show. He seems as sure a winner as any in this competition.