The Entertainment Blender

John Sturgeon

After the shocking revelation that Matt Giraud was the beneficiary of the judges’ save last week, “American Idol” still has a top seven, but two contestants will be gone this week.

Last week’s movie-song theme generated a lukewarm night of performances that featured too many slow ballads and not enough excitement.

Adam Lambert stole the show again with an energetic version of “Born to Be Wild.” Here are this week’s rankings:

The Pretenders

7. Lil Rounds

Things started very promising for Lil. Ever since she made the top 12, however, Lil has not delivered one good performance and has struggled with song choice each week.

She seems incapable of finding the genre that best fits her and has also worn some of the most hideous outfits seen on “Idol” in a long time. She will be gone this week.

6. Anoop Desai

His act has gotten stale as he chose another slow, sleep-inducing song once again. There was nothing great about what he did with “(Everything I Do), I Do it for You” and it came off as too safe and generic as all of his performances have had a similar sound.

When he was chosen for the top 12, it was due to his fun nature and exciting performances.

To say things have been rocky since then would be the understatement of the century, as Anoop has been in the bottom three in several of the results shows. He has no chance to win and will be gone soon.

5. Matt Giraud

Matt is the modern day Jekyll and Hyde, as he will wow one week with his soulful voice and then fail miserably the next when he tries to tackle mainstream hits.

His version of “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” last week was a mixed bag that led to the audience voting him out of the competition.

However, the judges have given him another life by using the save and now Matt has the opportunity to prove he still belongs.

At this point, viewers have their favorites and Matt will really have to do something special in the coming weeks to hang around for a few more weeks.

The Contenders

4. Danny Gokey

With “Endless Love” last week, Danny gave a nice vocal tribute of sorts to his late wife who died months before he entered the competition.

The song, however, was dull and could have used some rearranging to make it seem more modern.

By far one of the strongest competitors left, Danny has a chance to win but needs to return to the high-octane performances he was doing a couple of weeks ago to give him a better shot at reaching the finale.

3. Kris Allen

Choosing “Falling Slowly” from the little film “Once” was a risk worth taking for Kris.

He gave a touching and heartfelt performance that managed to connect emotionally with the audience on a number of levels.

It was nice to see him rebound from his misstep the week before and get back to being the consistent performer he has been throughout the competition.

Can he give Adam a fight in the final?

If he keeps taking risks and delivering unique performances on a weekly basis, he might have a shot.

2. Allison Iraheta

It was a bit surprising to watch Iraheta sing “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith after David Cook did a masterful job with the song last season.

However, Allison has such a distinct tone to her voice that the performance more than delivered something different and crowd-pleasing.

She is a recording artist in the making that will give female rockers such as Pink and Gwen Stefani a run for their money.

Her absence from the bottom three last week indicates that people are starting to catch on and realize the tremendous talent that Allison possesses.

Whether she has enough support to reach the finale will depend on whether she can continue to knock it out of the park each week.

The Favorite

1. Adam Lambert

Season 8’s most enigmatic and talented contestant surprises on a week-to-week basis by choosing diverse songs every week. Unlike Anoop, he takes chances that pay off.

His “Born to be Wild” was awe-inspiring due both to the tremendous vocals and entertaining way he presented the song, moving around the stage like a seasoned pro and showing off the facets of his personality.

With a theatrical look, unparalleled vocals and impeccable showmanship, Adam has the total package that will more than likely lead him to the “Idol” crown on May 20.