Adam Owns 'Idol' Rock Week; Danny Falters

by Victor Balta
May 6th, 2009 | 6:50 AM | Comments 0

‘American Idol‘ rock week brought about some interesting changes. For the first time, singers were paired up to sing duets in addition to their regular performances, which made for some exciting possibilities, even if the results didn’t necessarily live up to expectations.

Coming off of what I thought was the best performance show of the season, there was a lot to live up to tonight, and for the most part it didn’t live up to what I hoped it would be.

Bookmark this spot to get Justin Guarini’s take on the show later today

Best of the night: Adam Lambert owned the night, as expected, opening the night with a solid and over-the-top-in-all-the-right-ways performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” He helped close the night with the other star of the evening, Allison Iraheta. They duetted on Foghat’s “Slow Ride.”

Allison held her own earlier in the night with her rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby.”

In serious trouble: Kris Allen did alright, but was nothing special as he performed The Beatles’ “Come Together.” He also did a duet with Danny Gokey on Styx’s “Renegades,” which was interesting and provided some really nice harmonies.

Danny Gokey took on much more than he could handle with Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” He butchered it in every way possible, including a final-note scream that was enough to send people running for the exits, and at the same time give you a whole new appreciation for what Steven Tyler can do.

Click the box below to read my minute-by-minute recap of the performance show, complete with the judges’ thoughts on all the singers, then let me know what you thought!