The Top 4 sing ROCK!

As the lead guitarist of Guns and Roses, tonights mentor, Slash, hit #1 for 2 weeks in 1988 with Sweet Child O' Mine. He then topped the charts again for 7 weeks in 1991 as the lead guitarist on Michael Jackson's Black or White. He clearly has the credibility to teach these finalists a thing or two...

The real Robert Plant may have moved on to winning Grammys for making country music with Allison Kraus, but the rocker who hit #4 in 1970 with Led Zeppelin on Whole Lotta Love was brought back in the form of Adam Lambert on the American Idol stage. This performance was live music at it's best. Adam has raised the bar so high above the other finalists that he should be unreachable. His voice resonated with passion, power and energy and he looked completely convincing in the role of glam rocker.

Janis Joplin ended up being a one hit wonder on the Billboard HOT 100 with her #1 smash Me and Bobby McGee hitting the top after her untimely death. Allison Iraheta has definitely brought the spirit of Janis to the American Idol stage every week, but tonight she literally channeled her with her rendition of Cry Baby. The vocals were raw and ached with an emotional punch. Allison never sounded better than she did tonight.

Danny Gokey and Kris Allen joined forces to sing the classic rock anthem Renegade that Styx took to #16 in 1979. The smooth vocals from Kris easily saved this from being a total mess. Danny was just screaming as usual and Kris added the exact right sound of harmonies to keep the melody listenable.

Kris Allen then had the chance to take the stage on his own with his version of Come Together (#1 for 1 week in 1969) by the Beatles. In just six years the Beatles accumulated 20 #1 hits on the Billboard HOT 100 and this song choice allowed Kris to show a different side of himself. He used an electric guitar and took it up more than a few notches than usual. While he was a little out of his element, he managed to save it with inherent talent and respect for the music.

With Danny Gokey's opportunity to sing solo on Aerosmith's #6 hit from 1976, Dream On, all of his shortcomings were pathetically exposed. The judges have built him up all season to make him think he can do anything, so you have to admire his effort. But he missed the mark on every aspect. He looked totally dopey in his little vest and suit pants. His voice completely lacks the range necessary for this kind of song so the high notes were just unpleasant shrieks and the rest of the song was just his usual screams. The last note was seriously embarrassing.

Foghat took Slow Ride to the top 20 in 1976. Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta showed us with their duet of this song that they know how to see how high the bar has been raised and reach for it. Their vocals were a masterful blend of enthusiasm and talent. Wonderful rock and roll entertainment.

Adam genuinely set the bar very high with his performances tonight and Allison showed that she is up for the challenge to get up there with him. This theme was a little rough for Kris so he should end up in the bottom two with Danny. If people are voting to keep the talented singers with stage presence and recording star quality on the show, Danny Gokey should be the odd man out and he should finally be going home.

American Idol Grammy Winners!

First I have to express my disappointment that Jordin Sparks was denied her first Grammy win. She ended up losing in the Best Pop Collaboration category to the biggest winners of the night, Robert Plant and Alisson Krause. They won Record of the Year and Album of the year also, but there's no way they should have won the Pop Collaboration award. Their song was absolutely in no way a POP song. It shouldn't have been nominated in the category in the first place. Jordin Sparks' duet with Chris Brown, No Air, is a huge pop hit and they were clearly robbed.

Carrie Underwood has been on an amazing winning streak since was crowned the Season Four Miss American Idol. For the third year in a row she has won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance Female. Her performance of the winning song, Last Name, was amazing as usual. This Supreme American Idol gets better looking every time she makes an appearance! I hope she releases some new material in 2009 so she can be a contender for even more awards. If she doesn't release anything new, that will possibly allow for the very deserving Leann Rimes to get some awards for a change.

I can't mention Carrie Underwood and Leann Rimes, two former winners of the Grammy for Best New Artist, without informing that this year's award went to young British diva, Adele. Her song, Chasing Pavements, has gotten a lot of airplay on VH1, but not so much on the radio. It might get a surge in sales and airplay now that she is an award winner so we'll see if Adele can improve her chart performance. This is a very significant improvement from last year's tragic mess known as Amy Winehouse getting the Best New Artist award.

While Season Three Miss American Idol Winner, Fantasia, did not win in her category for Best R&B Collaboration, Carrie Underwood was joined in the Grammy Winners Circle by Season Three Finalist and Oscar Winner, Jennifer Hudson. Her self-titled album was honored with the Grammy for Best R&B Album. After accepting her award, she impressed the audience with a spectacular show stopping perfromance.

Season One Miss American Idol Kelly Clarkson is still at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with My Life Would Suck Without You. She is surely a contender for a Grammy nomination next year.