Somehow, doing Michael Jackson for Idol this year seems strangely appropriate. Once upon a time, Michael Jackson was known primarily for his music. When he makes the headlines nowadays, it’s more likely for whatever act of jaw-dropping stupidity he’s done now instead of what he was once very good at, the music. Similarly, most of the Idol-related news of late has not been about the music either, but instead on what illegal drugs the producers are on.

It was, by far, the best show of the season. That’s not exactly saying much, but to be fair it was a watchable episode for all two hours. There were plenty of good performances, and even the trainwrecks were amusing to watch. It helped wash away any bad taste from last week’s sham wildcard show, although I have a very bad feeling that this time tomorrow the whole Idolsphere will be even more pissed at the producers than  last week. (More on that later.)

Best of the night was Danny Gokey. It wasn’t just his good vocals and his good performance that put him here, although it certainly helped. What set Danny apart was that his was possibly the only one last night who was “balanced” – his singing was as good as his performance, and vice versa. Unlike some of the others who turned in somewhat by-the-book and lackluster performances, Gokey gave it his all. Well done.

There were three others who were pretty good, too: Alexis Grace, Lil Rounds, and Adam Lambert. Let’s deal with this trio one at a time.

Lil Rounds delivered vocals and performance that were just as good as Gokey’s – if anything, she probably had the best vocals of the night. So why didn’t I rank her higher? It’s the intangibles that I don’t think she did that well. There was something of a paint-by-numbers aspect to her performance; it just didn’t feel as interesting as so many other of the performances tonight. It may not be completely fair, but we’ve heard this whole R&B diva act one too many times on Idol to be impressed by it anymore.

Adam Lambert gave another classic love-it-or-hate-it performance. I tend towards the latter – there’s too much gimmickry in Lambert’s act for me to warm up to him. I’ll give him credit – I sincerely doubt that the Idol stage has ever seen anyone with a better appreciation of stage presence. If one just listens to his version of Black or White, though… it’s not nearly as impressive. Most of the time, he’s not really singing, but more shouting. Paula’s proclamation of him as a finalist may be premature.

While I’m on the topic of the dramatic – Alexis Grace. The performance part of Dirty Diana was outstanding – I actually preferred the mix of passion and restraint here to the over-the-top hamminess of Lambert – and her vocals were pretty powerful and effective… most of the time. That said, there were spots of oversinging, which Paula was dead-on in spotting. She did well this week, but I’m interested to see if she can do the more subtle stuff.

Of the nine left, we had three classic trainwrecks – Anoop Desai, Megan Corkrey, and Jasmine Murray. The six other contestants had good to okay performances that had some highlights, for sure, but did have other problems.

Matt Giraud was the very definition of okay. Not good, not great, but okay. The vocals were not problematic, but not above-average either. Neither did the arrangement or performance itself stand out. Right now, Giraud is not particularly memorable – and his performance didn’t do much to dispel that. With other fish to fry, he’s safe for now, but one wonders how long that will last.

Both Scott Macintyre and Michael Sarver were roughly in the same boat. They’re both immensely likable people, with well-developed backstories. Unfortunately, they also share vocals that are really only middling, at best. Macintyre sings very well within his range, but it’s extremely narrow. Sarver’s range is better, but he isn’t nearly as good a singer in that range. They both make up for their vocal shortcomings with charisma, likability, and doing their damn best each and every week. They’re probably safe to the tour, but beyond that… I don’t know.

Kris Allen was, again, underrated Remember the Time. Due to another sloppy sound mix we didn’t hear much of the guitar, but he deserves some credit for originality and subtlety – or, at least, trying. Did he deliver? Not completely, to be honest – again, his vocals aren’t as sharp as some as the others – but at least he knows that, and is trying to work around it. It’ll be interesting to see how – and if – he grows as the season goes on.

Allison Iraheta doesn’t perform like she’s 16; she has a confidence and poise that goes far beyond her years. Unfortunately, she still sings like her age. The most common failing of teenage singers tends to be subtlety – or lack of it. They tend to rely almost exclusively on their power; forgetting that subtlety and control can be just as useful. Give it to Me was, like Alone, a power-fest; too often she was shouting the song, not singing it. The end result is a very middle-ranked performance overall. That said, if Iraheta can get the power under control, she has a unique huskiness that could help her stand out. She reminds me of a better version of Amanda Overmyer.

Jorge Nunez followed last week’s throwback ballad with… another throwback performance. The vocals are there, but I don’t think Jorge really has the experience and deep musical knowledge other contestants have had in the past to make use of it. Randy was under-stating things – Jorge is a very old-fashioned singer that doesn’t really blow people away in 2009. Under the old semifinals format, Jorge might have been able to find his footing with three performances before the finals. As it is, he’s still floundering about.

Lastly, our trainwrecks. The word I’d use to describe Megan Corkrey’s version of Rockin’ Robin is… insane. And not in a good way. As in, oh-my-God-what-was-she-thinking insane. Even then, it had a so-bad-you-can’t take-your-eyes-away quality – complete to the faux bird call at the end. The only way it would have been better if this had been what they had used as the bird sounds instead.

However, at least Corkrey was entertaining. I can’t say the same for Jasmine Murray. I’ll Be There made us want to be anywhere but within earshot of her. It sounded like something out of the talent portion of a particularly bad beauty pageant. It wasn’t anywhere near worthy of what was, last I checked, a singing competition.

No “frontrunner” has fallen as quickly – and deservedly – as Anoop Desai. His version of Beat It wasn’t technically bad, but nothing about it made sense. It was well done karaoke, but no karaoke will cut it on the Idol stage. He just can’t pick a song to save his skin. Monica, then Britney, now this? It was so bad, singing the Weird Al Yankovic parody of this song -Eat It – would have been better.

The Idol Guy picks: If there were justice in the world, the Trainwreck Three would be in danger. Easily. Anoop has been a disappointment since the group stages, Jasmine should never have been called back, and Megan is… Megan. None of them will be greatly missed.

However… there’s the tiny little problem that they all have had significant airtime and pimpage. The end result? If you look at the Dialidol numbers, they’re safer than they ought to be. Desai, in particular, is in the top 4! This is the Mighty Mouse effect on steroids.

So, setting aside the question of who should go and replacing it with who will go, the money has to be on poor Jorge Nunez. Yes, he got a decent amount of pre-finals love – but so has the entire top 13 (with two exceptions), so that category is basically a wash. This early, comments from the judges make a big difference – and they basically slammed him. He deserved some harshness, but not that much.

With a top 13, you have to consider the possibility of a dual boot. The one in danger there is probably Murray or Allison Iraheta. The latter’s song choice didn’t really serve her that well, and with her relative lack of pre-show publicity she might not have that strong a fanbase yet. However, on the flip side, Murray was just plain bad. It’s hard to believe she’s winning over any people right now. If gambling on American Idol were legal, I’d call this a pick ‘em spot. Force me to make a choice, though, and I’d say it’s Murray.

However, the hand of producer manipulation is coming into play. MJ has the details on the new “rule” but the short of it is the judges get a one-time veto on the picks. It’s not yet clear what would happen instead – second-lowest goes home, double elimination next week, etc. We’ll all find out when the results show airs, and I’ll talk about it then. However, as far as this week’s elimination goes, there is a good chance it’ll come into play right away – especially if it’s Murray who might go home.

I just don’t understand the love affair the judges (especially Kara) have with Murray. This whole “package” stuff sounds like a bunch of pandering nonsense. All the packaging in the world will not matter if the core – i.e., the singing, is crap. Murray has no future as a singer. However, the judges do like her, and it would not be surprising if they used the veto to save her.

So, the final picks: Jorge Nunez to go home. Jasmine Murray to be saved by veto. If veto sends home next lowest after saved contestant instead, Allison Iraheta goes home as well.