This is hard. In the first week of American Idol performances, Jason Castro was my top pick. Last week, it was David Cook. This week, they rank numbers one and two. It's clear that I've settled on the two guys I adore and will root for as hard as I can.

But the hard part at this point in American Idol is that reasonable arguments can be made for why any of these eight guys will and should stay. However, predictions for who will go home are for later. First, here are my personal rankings of the top 8 male performances. Remember, this has nothing to do with who I think is staying, just the ones I loved and hated the most.

1. David Cook – “Hello” by Lionel Richie

It takes true skill to change songs from other genres to fit your style, and make it sound both new and awesome. David Cook did that tonight, and he proved he could be a true dark horse in this competition. No matter what theme you throw at him, this performance proved he can make it his own like nobody else.


2. Jason Castro – “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen

Yes, this song is totally cliché and overused. Still, just sitting on a stool, without his guitar, Jason Castro sang a beautiful song beautifully. We know he's hip and cool, but now he proved he can just plain sing. He's another dark horse who will probably make it further than most people initially predicted.


3. Michael Johns – “Don't You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Mind

Michael johns can rock. He's not as hard rocking as David Cook, but he's still an impressive talent who will probably lose and become a kick-ass frontman for a band. Sorry, Michael Johns, but it looks like Daughtry is in your future. Wait, why am I apologizing, he's totally more famous than most winners.


4. Luke Menard – “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham

Yeah, I know, but shut up. This is such a fun, campy song, and Luke Menard has a great upper register (is that the right technical term?) and he just went out there to enjoy himself and to entertain the crowd. In this final week, that might be just enough to save him, assuming there are still enough George Michael fans out there.


5. Danny Noriega – “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell

Yes, he's the new Sanjaya, as I immediately predicted, but there's a key difference: Danny is both funny and a good singer. In spite of that, this song was mostly about the weird arrangement, and Danny Noriega made it work, to steal Tim Gunn's line. Even if you thought the song was rubbish, you have to admit that this competition would be less entertaining without Danny in it.


6. David Hernandez – “It's All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion

David Hernandez has a very nice voice, a big voice, maybe even a great voice. But he does not have a Celine voice. It was quite as bas as when Asiah Epperson got schooled by a power ballad last week, but it was close. In spite of the judges' proclamations, I think if any “lock” for the Top 12 is in danger, it's him.


7. David Archuleta – “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins

David Archuleta is precious, and I don't mean that in a good way.  What's more, he's actively trying to be likable. He's talking about homelessness like he's running for state senator or something, and he's singing downer songs but pretends they're happy love songs. It's obvious the judges want him to win (Paula even complimented his flaws, for Pete's sake), and it's clear he has more than enough teen girl vote to give him a guaranteed spot in the final five, but still, if he keeps this cutesy attitude up, I suspect more and more people will flock to my side with every passing week.


8. Chikezie Eze – “All the Woman I Need” by Luther Vandross

In week one, Chikezie was terrible. In week two, he was great. Now, he was just average. The most inconsistent performer of the year, there's no telling how he'll sing, and how can anyone support him if they don't know what they're getting? With so much energy and talent this season, there's no reason to support the mediocre performing abilities of this guy/


So that's my take. As for who's actually going home, Luke and Chikezie are the two obvious choices. In fact, I can't really imagine anyone else going home. I suppose, if I had to pick alternates, Danny and David Hernandez should also be worried. But like I said at the beginning, a convincing argument could be made for any of them to stay, even Chikezie, as the only black guy around (yes, I'm calling out reverse racism).


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Images courtesy of FOX)