'American Idol' 'Finalists Compete' Recap

Naima Adedapo may have been a bit misguided, going with a heavily produced, dance track for tonight's performance but I'll be damned if I can't get the song or her reggae-rap/dance breakdown out of my head.

A couple things will take you all the way on 'American Idol.' Getting pimped by the producers is one and putting in an unforgettable performance that sticks in people's heads like Paula Abdul telling David Archuleta she wants to squeeze his head off and dangle him from her rear-view mirror.

Naima did nothing perfect and just about everything right in her show-closing number. While the rest of the ladies played it safe (even the untouchable Lauren Alaina got flack for not going bigger with her performance of Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine), Naima took the kind of chances that earn the judges' respect and lodge a contestant in the minds of viewers.

I mean really, can you even remember what Ashthon Jones or Karen Rodriguez sang?

On that sleepy note, it's clear a girl is going home tomorrow night. I've got Karen Rodriguez, Thia Megia and Ashthon Jones in my cross hairs. Haley Reinhart's an outside possibility but she's apparently built a following and her performances have been solid, thus far.

The assignment this week was to work with one of the Interscope hit makers or Don Was, on a performance that's pays homage to a "personal Idol." However, Thia and Ashthon seemed to base their choices on the judges' comments from last week.

The sixteen-year-old went with Michael Jackson's "Smile," except it's really Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." Thia had a hard time remembering Chaplin's last name and thus "Charlie Chaplin" started trending like crazy on Google. Sad.

Last week, Randy told Ashthon she's the second coming of Diana Ross. So the twenty-five-year-old Georgia girl, who got to work with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, went with the lesser known, "When You Tell Me That Yo Love Me." Randy said it was "safe" and the whole thing sounded off-key to me. Ashthon is just too inconsistent for the big leagues, which means we'll probably see her in the bottom three tomorrow.

Karen Rodriguez has apparently been made to dress up and perform as Selena since the age of eight. A whole lot of good that did.

In all seriousness, her rendition of "I Could Fall in Love" was a ho-hum performance that sounded more off than it did on. It's a sweet, tender song, not the kind of over-the-top spectacle that Jacob Lusk and James Durbin are known for. Karen will probably be on the outs tomorrow night.

Speaking of Jacob and James. I'm officially over Jacob, and I don't think I'm the only one. His brand of inspirational screaming has grown old for me. He's got a great tone but it reminds me more of Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabel than Luther Vandross or R. Kelly. But Jacob's set on sticking with big, emotive R&B songs, as opposed to branching out into softer, more nuanced fare. But he's not going anywhere, inspite of his love for 'Space Jam.'

James Durbin, on the hand, got the memo titled "RE: Adam Lambert, STOP SCREAMING!" His take on McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," was probably the best performance of the night. Strong, different and sincere. That's all it takes.

After tonight, I'm still not sure if Casey Abrams is a good singer but he is a great performer. And that's all that matters, really. Joe Cocker's classic was the perfect fit for Casey, who like James, made smarter, if somewhat less sincere choices in this "personal idol" assignment.

Paul McDonald, on the other hand went with the ultra-obscure Ryan Adams. I say "ultra-obscure" because J.Lo doesn't know who the indie rocker is. Everyone apparently took to Google as well, as "Ryan Adams" started trending like he was Charlie Sheen.

I find Paul a bit polarizing. He's like a combination of Coldplay's Chris Martin and The Black Crowes' Chris Robinson. It's not my thing, but I'm still in love with his tone.

One contestant who was right on target? Pia Toscano. I agree with Randy, no one should touch Celine, Whitney or Mariah. But Pia did it with ease. She's so good, it's kind of scary. I don't see her becoming a pop sensation but Broadway and/or a Carnival cruise ship will greet her with open arms.

And then there's Scotty. Guess what Scotty's into besides country music? Baseball. This kid should just have an American flag tattooed across his body and be made to carry a lit Roman candle at all times. I love Garth Brooks, I love Scotty and I love his "nuts of wonder."

Tomorrow night, one of these fools is going home. If I had to put money on it, I'd say Karen is going back to MySpace land. How about you guys? Sound off in our poll and make a case for your favorite in the comments!

'American Idol' airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET on FOX.