Adam Lambert near the bottom in "American Idol?" Don't even toy with me on that.

There he was, alongside Matt Giraud in the bottom two. Adam looked calm on the outside; inside, he must have been as upset as I was.

Sure, I know there's a reason for it. Various idiots -- like, well, me (see previous blog) -- keep speculating on who will finish second to Adam this season. People start trying to choose; they assume he'll sail through.

After tonight, how do you choose between "American Idol" contestants? Here were four great voices singing four great songs, backed by Ricky Minor's zesty band. The race to finish second is a virtual tie.

First place, of course, is another matter. That's Adam Lambert.

Adam is in a separate class. As a performer, he's Bo-plus, Taylor-plus; as a singer, he's Carrie-plus, Kelly-plus. As a star, he's unique and ready to go.

This is a pivotal week for "American Idol" fans. After all:

-- Today is Allison Iraheta's 17th birthday. For those of you waiting patiently, she's now a year from being a consenting adult.

-- Tuesday is "Rat Pack" night, with the remaining contestants singing songs done by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin or Sammy Davis. They could also do the music of Joey Bishop or Peter Lawford, but I wouldn't advise it.

All over America tonight, children were looking accusingly at their parents and asking: "You listened to THAT?!? Why?"

The medley on "American Idol" seemed determined to assure that disco, already dead, would stay that way.

I'm not talking about the opening bit, with the seven finalists dancing to Paula Abdul's choreography. That was goofy fun.

Let's imagine that forces conspired against Adam Lambert. They decided he had to return to his home planet, the one where people can sing like that, people can create like that.

If so, this would be the closest "American Idol" ever. As it is, it's still sort of close: For the first time, I have no idea who will be ousted Wednesday. I also have no idea who will be the runner-up to Adam in the show's finale.

Here are a few of my comments; please add yours:

OK, that's a twist I didn't see coming.

After Tuesday's "American Idol" (see previous blog), I predicted that Matt Giraud would have the fewest viewer votes, with Lil Rounds second-fewest and Anoop Desai third.

That much turned out to be true. What I never would have guessed was that judges would use their rescue -- the only one they get all season -- to save Giraud.

They did, which sort of makes sense. He's a good singer who just never quite got anything special out of his song this week, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"

"Anerican Idol," like life itself, starts with Adam.

There are no average singers left; there are six very good ones and Adam Lambert, who is on a different level. Like the best "Idol" singers (Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, etc.), he has a great voice. Like a few (Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice) he commands a stage. And then he goes a step beyond, packing originality. This guy has dared to do a song Mick Jagger did ("Satisfaction") and a song everyone did ("Born to Be Wild"); he Adam-ized them. He keeps doing that.

Simon Cowell has a great sense of music, but not of drama. Tonight, "American Idol" barely missed an epic moment.

The viewers had put Scott MacIntyre at the bottom, with Anoop Desai next and Lil Rounds -- a great singer who had an average week -- third from the bottom.

The viewers got it right, but there was still a chance for the judges to save him. For a while, this seemed like it had been scripted for one of those feel-good menus.

So they announced that everyone on tonight's "American Idol" would sing songs from the year of their birth. Danny Gokey started by singing "Stand By Me," the 1961 classic.

1961? Wait, is this guy 48 years old?

It turns out that Mickey Gilley happened to record it in 1980, the year of Gokey's birth. Sure, that's what we think of whenever someone mentions Ben E. King's soulful classic -- some guy in a Stetson sang it in Pasadena, Texas.

If you ever wanted to see a look of pure Joy, you could have glimpsed Megan Joy in tonight's "American Idol."

On Wednesday, Joy -- she was Megan Joy Corkrey, before jettisoning her ex-husband's name -- had given a performance that Simon Cowell correctly called "a train wreck." She seemed properly astonished tonight to not be in the final three. During the Stevie Wonder medley, she squeezed little Allison Iraheta and had the look of a serial killer who had received a reprieve due to a typographical error.