Can we all agree that this American Idol Top 5 is really, really good?  The level of singing on last night's Rat Pack week was phenomenal, one of the best performance episodes in a long time.  The level of difficulty was off the charts, a fact that I think is lost on much of the audience.  The Rat Pack era songs pose myriad problems for anyone, and American Idol contestants probably aren't the ideal candidates to cover those kind of songs.  Matt Giraud, for instance, took on one of the most covered songs in the history of modern popular music with "My Funny Valentine" and, even though his rendition wasn't spectacular, he acquitted himself quite well.  And that was, in my estimation, the worst performance of the night.

Iconic songs are tricky.  You don't want to mess with them too much.  The Idol judges always urge the contestants to put their own twist on their song choices.  Some weeks this is far easier said then done.  All five singers did it right - they took their songs and altered them slightly, but not so much that it became disconcerting.  My least favorite member of the Top 5, one Mr. Danny Gokey, benefited from the theme, in that he was able to play to his strengths (his pure singing ability) while his biggest weakness (lack of originality) was neutralized.  I didn't see this coming, but I should have.  It's not like anyone was going to do a rock and roll version of a Sinatra tune.  

Allison Iraheta came away as the most impressive performer of the night, and it was about time.  Forced to change up her persona and go from rocker chick to balladeer, Allison gave us a delicacy and subtlety that we hadn't yet seen from her this season.  That she was able to not only pull it off, but to give her best performance of the season in the process really opened things up for Allison.  I'm beginning to get on board with the notion that Allison is the most commercially viable member of the Top 5.  

Which brings us to Simon Cowell.  Ol' Simey had an off night.  Whether it was fatigue, indifference or a diabolical ploy is unclear, but whatever it was, Simon was wrong more than he was right.  His criticisms of Allison were completely off.  To say that she doesn't appear to have confidence or a killer instinct is insane, as Kara not-so-kindly pointed out.  For a 17-year-old to do what Allison does on a weekly basis requires a remarkable amount of confidence, whether it shows or not.  Her stage presence is beyond her years, and there is nothing about Allison that screams lack of effort.  

We've discussed Simon's mind games over and over.  Does he really try to influence the votes with his critiques?  His claim that Kris was in danger after his performance is particularly interesting.  His performance was vintage Kris Allen.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  But, straying from the other judges' rave reviews, Simon called it "wet," whatever that means.  To say that he thought Kris was in trouble made no sense - he was the first performer of the night. Shouldn't a proclamation like that be reserved for the end of the night, when you've taken in every performance?  When you add in Simon's praise for Matt Giraud, which wasn't entirely warranted, things begin to look suspicious.  Has Simon figured out that if he gives a singer lukewarm praise, their vote totals suffer?  Matt probably deserves to go home, and I suspect he will be eliminated tonight.  Had Simon bashed him, the sympathy votes would roll in.  Had he praised him to high heaven, the sheep of the masses would rise up and give Matt their vote.  If Simon thinks that Matt should be eliminated, he said exactly the right things.  

Regardless, I'm just happy that we have a competent top 5.  It wouldn't be a major travesty if any of them won, though I still believe we have a clear Top 3 with Allison, Kris and Adam, though I suspect Danny will sneak into the Top 3 and maybe even the Top 2.  What do you all think?  Did Simon have an agenda?  Were the performances as good as I thought they were?

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-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)