Mike Hughes on TV

On a night filled with great "American Idol" performances, the only mistakes came when people didn't do enough to show off their talent.
Two judges (Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi) chose "Apologize" for Kris Allen, expecting him to deliver beautifully muted emotion. Instead, he buried himself behind a piano. He played competently; he sang competently. It wasn't the kind of thing to do when everything is at stake; dude, they have plenty of other people to play the piano for you.
Another judge (Paula Abdul) inexplicably chose "Dance, Little Sister, Dance." It was a good showcase for the sax player and had a nice closing riff for the trumpeters. All Gokey could do was shout out the melody adequately.
Adam Lambert had no such problem. Simon Cowell chose the perfdect song for him ("One"); then -- as usual -- Lambert chose the perfect song for himself.
As it happens, the other two bounced back when they could choose for themselves. Allen's "Heartless" was a good, gutsy choice -- forsaking a brilliant band and great back-up trio to sing alone on that big stage with his guitar.
Gokey did even better, choosing "You Are So Beautiful." Cowell summed it perfectly when he called it "a vocal master class."
Cowell also summed up the night neatly: There's a danger that people will assume Lambert is in the finals and will try to choose his opponent; he'll accidentally be voted out.
Let's hope not. This guy is already a complete rock-pop star, ready to happen. We'll say Lambert should and will be in the finals next week with Gokey. It will be a great night, a fine time to crown Lambert as champion.