AI- Top 4 Performance

This. Is. Rock. Week. Which could mean anything. Ryan skips lightly down the staircase and explains that a set mishap disrupted the dress rehearsal, which might, in turn, affect tonight’s performances. We shall see.

Randy is wearing a sequined t-shirt and a sparkly necklace. Seriously. Kara is dressed like a biker chick. Paula and her cleavage are framed in Op Art.

So Slash is this week’s mentor. At least I knew that he was from Guns ‘n Roses, and I did not mistake him for Howard Stern. But beyond that, and some songs I probably would recognize without actually knowing that I know them, I am not overly familiar with his oeuvre. He seems to be a guitar player of some renown. He also seems a bit surprised to find himself part of this cheesefest.

Adam’s up first. He’s dressed in a studded, black leather Adam Costume. He’s singing Whole Lotta Love exactly the way you’d expect him to sing it. I’m not sure that’s a plus- this performance is good, and it may even be great. But it’s not surprising. Adam may have hit The Melinda Place, where week-after-week excellence starts to bore the dialers.

Allison has new red extensions, via Adam’s Hair Girl. She’s dressed like a leather clad space traveler, and she applied some purple lipstick during the video interview. So she’s finally doing Janis. I’m not objective when it comes to Allison, but I think this is absolutely great. Kara and Randy do not agree with me, except in the transformation that comes over Allison when she performs, which is magic.

Tonight we’re debuting duets, which will be interesting. Kris, also in black (the local leather shops must have raked it in this week) and a t-shirt with red band-aids stuck to it, and Danny, breaking the mold in a red shirt and a tire chain around his neck, sing Renegade. They sound good together, with some sweet harmony and an a capella opening. Simon declared Danny the better singer, but a duet isn’t a contest, so that probably doesn’t matter.

Somehow I did not realize that Kris was from Arkansas. He’s singing Come Together, and it’s immediately obvious that the song is too big for him. He flounders, and messes up the lyrics several times (side note: what the heck is toe jam football?)(more side note: maybe I don’t want to know). I like Kris, and unlike most of the pretty boys on this show, he has actual talent, and has proven that he deserves his slot. But he miscalculated seriously tonight. And he knows it.

Danny changed into a purple shirt and a pinstriped vest. His voice is more scratchy than usual on Dream On. His beginning is weak, but he works his way into it. Argh! Strobe Lights! Boy- I don’t know about that performance. It wasn’t a misstep, like Kris’s song, but I also don’t think it was worth blowing his vocal cords.

Allison and Adam pair up for Slow Ride. Allison is in a tunic dress and army boots. Adam’s striped pants are… well…bulgetastic. They sound fantastic together, and better yet, they play off each other perfectly and playfully. Both of them are natural performers. This is excellent. Simon says they won the Duet Duel, which… yeah. But still irrelevant.

Rock Ranking? Adam was the best, with Allison trailing, though not too terribly far behind. I waffled about Danny and Kris, but finally decided that Kris deserves the bottom spot, though Danny wasn’t a whole lot better. But it will all boil down to who has the most dedicated voters, and anything can happen at this stage. My best hope is for Allison to make it to 3rd place, but if she goes home tomorrow, I won’t mourn. Too much