7:00 - Paula enters in a tutu and Ryan walks through the automatic amusement park gate. American Idol is underway! Ryan starts by once again calling Alexis's elimination "shocking." She had an awful week, not sure what's so shocking about that.

7:04 - Ryan breaks down the history of Motown, full of hit songs that our contestants (hopefully) will try not to mangle. Joking aside, how sad is it that Detroit used to be the center of our musical universe. What happened?

7:09 - Matt Giraud performs. He should fit perfectly into the Motown sound, and he took on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." He's looking very Jason Segal like tonight, isn't he?

I thought he sounded great, mixed it up well by starting at the piano and then gliding about. Sky blue Randy loved it. Kara once again went inappropriate and said "other girls" were going "yeaaaah." Simon said he's one of the front-runners in the competition.

7:20 - Kris Allen performs "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You." I know I rag on this guy a lot, calling him forgettable and so forth. But he's actually pretty good. He just sounds like every Jason Mraz / John Mayer wannabe out there. I don't think he stands a chance of winning this thing, but he did good enough tonight to stick around. Simon liked it, but thinks Kris needs to have more self-confidence and set himself apart. Good advice.

7:25 - COMMERCIAL BREAK!

7:30 - Scott MacIntyre performs "Can't Hurry Love" in a bright pair of pink pants. This started off with an awful lot of promise, but once Scott kicked it into gear, it all just kind of stayed in first. Paula really liked his performance, but Simon HATED it. He thought it was the wrong "cheap" song. I sort of agree, maybe he should have done something a bit more emotional/soulful. Paula presented Simon with a box of crayons for "acting like a child." Har har.

7:39 - COMMERCIAL BREAK!

7:45 - Megan "Don't Call Me Corkrey" Joy performs "For Once In My Life." Smokey Robinson told her, "You're so different!" I think I know what he means, but at least she didn't give him that nasty case of SARS she had last week. I dig this chick's bizarre voice, but I'm afraid this is probably it for her. She was pretty bad. On another subject, I've been trying to figure out who Megan reminds me of, and after watching those strange dance moves once again, it hit me:

7:55 - Anooooooop Desai performs "Oooh Baby Baby." Kara talked about the differences between Anoop's chest and head. Whatever. I think he did a fantastic job tonight. This is very difficult song to sing, all kinds of range, and I think he totally pulled it off. The judges were lukewarm, but Simon's praised his vocals, while criticizing his showmanship. He should be sticking around.

8:01 - COMMERCIAL BREAK!

8:05 - Michael Sarver performs "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" after telling how sick he's been this past week. Thanks for the heads up, because this was every bit as bad as I feared it would be. He way oversang this song, went on an incredible amount of nonsensical runs, and did some weird pivot action with his right leg. I know it's March Madness, but save the basketball moves for the pros.

8:18 - Lil' "Don't Call Me Little" Rounds performs "Heat Wave." Let's make sure we retire the phrase "she's one of those people who could sing the phone book." Lil' stormed on the stage, poised to put the entire history of the now-barren streets of Motown on her shoulders. She screamed her way through most of it - you could see how badly she needed a deep breath when it was over. Randy said she was rushing. WhoKaresa said it was "screaming at certain parts." Paula disagreed completely, big surprise. Simon said she should have sang "I Heard It Through The Grape Vine." She could be in trouble tonight.

8:30 - Adam Lambert performs "Tracks of my Tears" by Smokey Robinson, tonight's mentor. He pretty much guaranteed himself a spot in the finals tonight, or at the very least a starring role in "Jersey Boys" with that slick greaser look. He was fantastic tonight, even garnering a standing ovation from the Smoke Daddy himself. The melodrama is still a little bit much, but Adam is certainly growing on me.

8:43 - Danny Gokey performs "Get Ready." This is the kind of music Danny Gokey should be singing. He has that raspy, soulful tone to his voice. That said, I think he could have picked a more interesting song. Judging from this show, it's going to be a Gokey VS. Lambert finale, and tonight the win goes to Adam.

8:53 - Allison Iraheta performs "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and the judges go crazy. I couldn't understand one word this girl was singing, but she has one huge voice. Simon put it best when he said "Allison, you are a survivor." She should stick around thanks to a big final note.

THE VERDICT

This should be a pretty easy week. The bottom three will consist of Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, and Scott MacIntyre.

And the contestant going home will be........and say it with me folks.....MICHAEL SARVER IS OUTTA HERE!