"American Idol": There's no place like home

Adam Lambert channeling his inner Bono (All Pics: Getty)

It's the penultimate performance episode of Fox's American Idol, and the three remaining singers all "bring it", to varying degrees (and success).

We start out with brief snippets of the guys visiting their hometowns, as they each receive a phone call informing them of this week's "judge's choice". Danny Gokey's song is Dance Little Sister by Terence Trent D'arby, and he does a serviceable job, but he should really refrain from attempting to dance. He looks like "tipsy wedding reception brother-in-law". At least one of the judges says "we'll see you in the finals!"

Next up is Kris Allen, who does something I've never heard before called Apologize, and I thought he did a fine job, but Simon gets into an argument with the increasingly shrill Kara about "song choice". At least one of the judges says "we'll see you in the finals!"

Up last is Adam Lambert, who sings One by U2, and absolutely kills. All the judges love it, and at least one of them says ... "we'll see you in the finals!"

But how did the final three do when they were given their own song choices?

Danny's personal choice is You Are So Beautiful, popularized by Joe Cocker, and for some odd reason the judges love his excruciatingly boring performance (and frankly, I thought Krusty The Clown did a far better job with it on The Simpsons).

Kris's choice is Heartless by Kanye West, and it's a perfect showcase for his vocals and his adorable parallelogram mouth.

Up last is Adam, who does his usual flawless job with Cryin' from Aerosmith, but frankly I was a little disappointed he didn't go "outside-the-box" for his song choice. But the judges love it, and Simon actually makes an appeal at the end of the show for people to remember to vote ... for Adam.

What do you think of Adam's chances? Frankly, with the way the voting has been going, I think it's a toss-up who's going to make it the finals. All three guys have huge fan-bases, and complacency will be fatal. Be sure and come back tonight for our American Idol Viewing Party (hosted by the incomparable Ed Kennedy), and find out if Adam makes it to the finals! (in the meantime, enjoy these backstage pics!)