The latest to be booted off American Idol told reporters during a teleconference last week: “I never came in wanting to be the ‘American Idol,’? My dream was to play that piano on that stage. My dream was to sing jazz on that stage. My dream was to meet the mentors. Those were dreams-come-true for me. I wasn’t like, ‘Man, if I win …,’ you know what I mean?” Well, if Matt Giraud puts it that way then his dreams have certainly come true! =) The jazzy singer further says about winning,

“Yeah there’s definitely a lot of perks (to winning). I’d like it, and I was fighting for it. But that wasn’t the goal, I’m not kicking myself because I’m not winning. Obviously we’ve seen past ‘Idols’ who go home in fourth or fifth place and do even better than the ‘Idols,’ so all hope is not lost.”

Matt Giraud also shared, “I’m probably going to be back in town (Kalamazoo) at some point next week. I don’t think I’ll be performing or anything, but I can’t wait to get home and see everyone. The vibe from Michigan has been amazing, everyone’s been so supportful.” Matt Giraud said he even got a phone call from Gov. Jennifer Granholm offering her support! He also got letters and pictures from students in Lincoln High School. He says, “It amazed me how into it they’ve gotten. I’d like to go back and say thank you to those people.”

It was a shocking results night to say the least! It was even more melodramatic than the double elimination night! Why? Number one shocker: American Idol got another record-breaking number of votes. From 35 million to 45 million last week to 47 million this week! And that’s for 5 finalists only — can I say WOW?? ^_^ Number 2 shocker, Simon Cowell thought everybody performed well last night — as in everybody! That’s a lot coming from Mr. Grouchy himself ;-p Number 3 shocker and perhaps the most shocking of all: Adam Lambert was in the bottom 2!!! Man, I didn’t saw that coming! o_O

Anyway, here’s how it went down: Matt Giraud, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert were the bottom 3 while Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta (finally!!) were immediately given the safe pass. Natalie Cole then performed and she was followed by one-time “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks. Actor/singer Jamie Foxx, who mentored the contestants for Tuesday night’s performance show, also performed. And then finally, Matt Giraud was booted off. The wild card entry’s nine lives has just ended.. Good luck Matt!! ^_^ CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE VIDEO OF THE SHOW

Here’s a quick recap. After it is a link for the whole show. Enjoy! =)

-Kris Allen sang “The Way You Look Tonight” and personally it was the best performance of the night. I was totally blown away! He was sooo hot! Our TV screen just smoldered with his uber-sexy eyes and amazing smooth vocals! Kris Allen definitely understood that the Rat Pack songs are more about phrasing and storytelling than they are about vocal gymnastics.

-Allison Iraheta performed “Someone to Watch Over Me” and it was great! Who knew a rocker chick can sing a ballad?? Way to go gurl! ^_^

-Matt Giraud sang “My Funny Valentine” and was criticized Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. Thankfully, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell loved his performance!

-Danny Gokey had fun with “Come Rain or Come Shine” and he was excellent! Plus, he’s been more confident on stage of late which Simon loved. This guy can really sing and is now emerging as a performer.

-Adam Lambert sang “Feeling Good” with aplomb.. BUT unfortunately, it was kinda like a repeat performance of his “Mad World” a few weeks back so I wasn’t surprised or blown away as with his other unique performances. The American Idol judges loved it though.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE RAT PACK WEEK SHOW!

Right now, American Idol is down to the Top Five: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey, Kris Allen and Matt Giraud. Most people assume that Adam Lambert will be one of the finalists so the big question now is: who is the other singer who’ll face-to-face with him for the finale on Tuesday, May 19? Idol judge Simon Cowell told ET:

“I would put my money on Adam and Danny … It is going to be Adam and somebody. I would like to see Adam and Danny because I think they are the best two singers, and at the end of the day that is what should happen.”

Yep, Danny Gokey has certainly been a popular choice for voters but I think Kris Allen is catching up with him — good looks, great voice and incredible charisma — both boys have this! ^_^ Simon Cowell also talked about Kara DioGuardi, American Idol’s fourth judge. He said, “I like Kara. The more I get to know her, the more I like her. You can’t make the same show forever. You have got to make changes because people will get bored. So anything that promotes change, I will push for.”

The big question is: do you know who/what is the Rat Pack? Hehe! There are two group actually. The original one was first formed by Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra in the late 1940s. The second one is the more popular group that our parents probably knew: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop pack of the 1960’s Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. And for this week, the American Idol producers are expecting the Final Five to do Sinatra, Martin and Davis music.

Too bad Anoop Desai is already booted out! I’m sure he would have sang the best song as the Rat Pack’s standard songs suit him the best. And it goes without saying that I can’t wait for Adam Lambert to surprise me with his song choice and unique interpretation. He always surprises me! Also on this week’s performance night is season-five winner Taylor Hicks, who will sing “Seven Mile Breakdown” from his recent independently released album, The Distance.

..and hello to her family and their new puppy! =) Lil Rounds has been in the bottom three for the past weeks with the American Idol judges criticizing her every performance. Her latest a take on Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman”, was highly criticized. Lil Rounds was disappointed by her elimination but she says she’s excited to go home and spend a couple of weeks with her children, and with the new puppy she says her husband bought for her. She shares,

“When I look back on my performances I was proud of what I did. I felt like I was being an artist, I felt like I stayed true to what I was doing from the time I came on the show, my audition up until when I left. I actually walked away pretty proud of myself.”

And now that Lil Rounds is gone, only one woman, 16-year-old Allison Iraheta, remains in the top five of American Idol. The mother of three says she’s been keeping an eye on Allison since they joined America’s most popular show. She said, “She has been like my little sister. I love her to death. I let her know right before I left: Represent the ladies, hold it down.”

The singer from Chapel Hill had been one of the luckiest contestants in America’s most popular show. Anoop Desai was the 13th finalist, the first ever that American Idol had. And despite being one of the last finalists chosen, he went on and defied the odds and finished top 6. Awesome long run if I may say so! ^_^ So, how does Anoop Desai feel now that he’s out of American Idol? He’s bummed out! He explains, “The reason I was bummed out about going home this week is that I was really looking forward to doing a song for next week [Rat Pack theme].” Well, at least he left the show on a high note with his performance of “Dim All the Lights” on Disco Week =)

Personally, I like Anoop Desai. I’m even a fan of his and has enjoyed his recent performances like the Idol judges did. Thus, it came to my surprise that he was eliminated. Too bad they couldn’t rescue him as they used their save last week. Anoop Desai, however, isn’t sure it would have mattered. He says:“The save process was just something that you have to deal with. Things are not going to always work out for you. I don’t think that ultimately it changed anything. As I think we all know, the only real order that matters is who’s No. 1. And after that, you can do whatever you want with your career. So it didn’t really bother me.”