The American Idol Finals have officially begun and they chose to start off with the Michael Jackson songbook for week one. God help me. Halfway through the show I was so sick of Jackson songs I was ready to beat it. Yeah, cheesy pun but it's the truth. I was ready to beat Paula every time she opened her mouth. Apparently, someone forgot to cancel her Tanqueray delivery. Only Paula would predict that someone would be in the finale after just three performances in week one.

Remarkably, the night was actually going quite well. Through seven performances, it appeared that the contestants had done their homework and actually picked good songs and performed well and in some cases, outstandingly. Then Anoop performed. Yes, the person they created a 13th spot for. Even Simon admitted that was a mistake after he performed. In fact, of the 4 wildcard contestants, only 1 did well enough to show they belonged in this level of the competition. So, as usual there was the good, the bad and the ugly. Here's my recap :

Matt Giraud -- "Why" -- Matt was the only one of the wildcards to prove that he deserved to be in the Top 13. As Simon said, it was a "solid" performance and not a great one. I think the reason I don't think more of Giraud is that compare to Scott McIntyre, he looks like an amateur behind the piano. He should be safe this week.

Allison Iraheta -- "Give in to Me" -- Allison did not have as dynamic a performance as she did in the group round but she definitely is a born rocker. I remember Gina Glockson claiming to be a natural rocker but Allison is the real deal. In a season with several outstanding male performers, Allison is easily the top female in the Top 13. Should be easily safe this week.

Danny Gokey -- "PYT" -- Ok, I will get a lot of flack for labeling Danny into this category. Those of y'all following my Idol Recaps know that I have a great category too. I also know the judges have called Danny amazing and vocally, I agree. The reason I downgraded Danny is because while his vocals were incredible, I look at the entire performance. The hideous dancing was a major distraction. Also, I did not care for the "audience participation" with the "na-na's" which frankly did not work - especially since he put the microphone in front of Paula Abdul's drunken face. Should be safe this week.

Lil Rounds -- "The Way U Make Me Feel" -- I have not joined the Lil Rounds fan club. I don't think I ever will to be honest. She sounds like every wannabe-Whitney Houston from previous seasons. Sometimes I wonder if the judges other than Simon even listen to these kids sing and keep in mind that they are supposed to judge them. Like Simon, I thought the song choice was too safe and it wasn't as good as the other judges told her it was. I still think she should be safe this week though.

Jasmine Murray -- "I'll Be There" -- Every season there is a contestant who thinks she is Mariah Carey. Jasmine has proven with each performance that she isn't nearly that good of a singer. Last week I panned her performance and the judges chose her over better singers. The good news for Jasmine is that her performance wasn't nearly as awful as her first two. The bad news is that she still hasn't seemed to learn that she needs to pick songs that are not too big for her to sing. There is a possibility that she could go home this week.

Kris Allen -- "Remember The Time" -- Somehow, I don't think many people will remember the time Kris sang on American Idol. He was easily the biggest surprise pick by Idol voters. He finally got to play his guitar, yet there was no need to play guitar on this song. It made absolutely no sense to me. The worst part of the performance is that when trying to hit high notes he started shrieking. The highlight of his performance was Paula having another drunk moment during her "critique." It's possible that he was forgettable enough to go home this week.

Alexis Grace -- "Dirty Diana" -- Alexis was a big surprise during the group rounds and because of that, I think the judges - as well as myself - expected a great performance from her. Unfortunately, she didn't give us one. She picked a song that is one of Michael Jackson's signature songs and oversang it. Fortunately for Alexis, being the last performer sometimes helps keep her fresh in voters minds and that may help her gain some much needed votes. It's possible she could be in trouble but I think she should be safe this week.

Megan Corkrey -- "Rockin' Robin" -- Why the hell would you pick this song? It was cheesy when the Jackson 5 performed it and it's still cheesy today. No way should the judges have given her a wildcard into the Top 13. She reminded me of a cheesy singer entertaining at a children's party with all her cutsie movements and silly faces. She even punctuated a terrible performance with a "caw, caw" at the end. Sounded to me like a vulture was circling over head of a dead carcass rather a robin singing in a tree. She could easily go home this week but she was not in my bottom two.

Jorge Nunez -- "Never Can Say Goodbye" -- Apparently no one told Jorge about the Idol curse about singing songs with words like "home" or "goodbye" or "lose" in the title. Just like last week, he made a ton of stupid facial expressions and took an obscure song and massacred it. I said last week he should not have made the Top 13 and tonight proved why. He should go home this week, although there are enough Hispanic viewers out there who could vote to keep him around.

Anoop Desai -- "Beat It" -- Oh yes, he beat it alright. He took the song and killed it to within an inch of its life. Then he shot it. He was not very good in the wildcard round and he proved tonight why it was stupid to make it a Top 13 in order to keep him in the competition. When even Paula agrees that you sounded like you were singing at karaoke, you know you were horrible. Anoop should be one of the contestants going home this week but I have a feeling he will get enough votes to stick around for at least one more week.

Michael Sarver -- "You Are Not Alone" -- Michael did tonight what he didn't do in the group round - chose a song that showed off just how great a singer he is. During the auditions he showed that he has a great range and can hit some amazing notes - just like he did tonight. If he can just cut the cheesy expressions out of his performance, he just might win the whole thing.

Adam Lambert -- "Black or White" -- I think most people would say that Adam was the best performer tonight. In fact, Simon said that he was in a different league from everyone else in the competition tonight. As much as I love this guy, I wasn't crazy about the song he did. At times, it was a bit too shrill for my taste but he is definitely a superb performer. He will easily be safe this week.

Scott McIntyre -- "Keep The Faith" -- I chose Scott's performance as my favorite on the night. I knew that once he got behind the piano he would bring that special spark to the Idol stage and I was right. I have to admit that I had never heard this song but I think that's part of why the performance was so great. He took a lesser known song and made it sound like it was written just for him. The writer of the song was in the audience and she loved it as well. Scott and Adam could be the two favorites to win this thing.

As was announced tonight, two contestants will go home this week. It was also announced that there will be a change to the format that will be revealed on Wednesday's results show. Personally, I think they may have a sing-off of the bottom two and the judges decide who goes home. That is how they do it on X Factor (UK version of Idol) and I think it actually makes the show better.