Listen to a Clip of American Idol champ Kris Allen's New Single "Live Like We're Dying"

I'm a big Kris Allen fan. Big. And I couldn't be more excited that the 23-second clip below of his rumored new single "Live Like We're Dying" sounds AWESOME. Like, One Republic meets Jason Mraz AWESOME. It's a cover of a song by a band called The Scripts, but since no one's ever heard of them, or the song, who the heck cares? The song is (have I mentioned?) AWESOME!

Listen below and let me know what you think.

AMERICAN IDOL Top 9 Recap and Elimination Prediction

I was really looking forward to last night's episode of American Idol, to see if this year's crew could tackle contemporary songs and demonstrate to the audience where in the pop music landscape they would fall. With two notable exceptions, however, I was quite disappointed -- poor song choices and karaoke-esque performances abounded. There's no doubt we've got a Top 9 brimming with talent, but are they losing steam about halfway through the competition?

Before I get to my elimination predictions, here's my rankings of the Top 9:

1. Kris Allen, A-
2. Adam Lambert, A-
3. Danny Gokey, B+
4. Allison Iraheta, B-
5. Lil Rounds, B-
6. Scott Macintyre, C
7. Matt Giraud, C-
8. Anoop Desai, C-
9. Megan Joy, D

Ok, on to the elimination prediction...

Green Zone - Totally Safe
Kris Allen, who I develop a bigger crush on by the week, once again showed he's taking this thing seriously, reinventing "Ain't No Sunshine" into a self-accompanied showstopper. Sure, this guy doesn't have the best voice in the competition, but 4 solid performances in a row mean he's gonna be in it for the long haul.

Ditto Adam Lambert, who gave a totally joyful performance of "Play that Funky Music" that allowed him to show off the lighter side of his personality and his killer voice. In my mind, if Adam doesn't win the whole thing, America is most definitely not voting for the strongest vocalist.

I'm also going to include Danny Gokey in this group, even though he's been slipping the past few weeks. After last week's "clumsy" showing, his choice to sing a Rascal Flatts song was an inspired one, and he delivered it with gusto. While it wasn't nearly as musically interesting as Kris or Adam, it should be more than enough for him to advance to the Top 8.

Yellow Zone - On Shaky Ground
Mark my words -- Matt Giraud is going to have a nervous breakdown live on TV. The poor guy clearly wants to be a rockstar, but the judges (and, likely, his fans at home) would prefer he stick to the Timberlake-esque tunes. I think he'll be okay this week, though, as his Bottom 2 scare should motivate his fans (even those who didn't love his rendition of The Fray's Adult Contemporary hit) to pick up the phone. Still -- get the straight jacket ready.

Then there's Lil Rounds, who I consider the competition's biggest disappointment thus far. There's no doubt she can sing, but this girl has absolutely no originality. "I Surrender"? Really? I love the song (especially when Kelly Clarkson killed it back in Season 1), but I though Lil was this year's R&B diva. How about showing some spunk, as opposed to singing every note exactly as it was written? Still, I think she'll live to sing another week.

Red Zone -- Danger Danger Danger!
That leaves Scott Macintyre, Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, and my beloved Allison Iraheta in the danger zone. Allison, you say? How could that be? Well, after last week's strong showing I'm afraid her fans may take her safety for granted, and her just so-so performance of No Doubt's "Don't Speak" may not have been enough to remind them she needs their votes.

As for Scott, will a leather jacket and a new (pompadour) 'do be enough to spare him? While I was bored to tears by his performance, there's no doubt this guy knows who he is (an Adult Contemporary artist through and through), and that's more than we can say for...

Anoop Desai. Oh, Anoop, what were you thinking choosing Usher's "Caught Up"? When are you going to get it through your head that you are not an R&B star? Perhaps a trip to the Bottom 2 (or, worst, an elimination) will finally convince him to stick to the ballads and leave the "entertaining" to Mr. Lambert.

Then there's Megan, who I really did adore during the first couple of weeks in the competition. Unfortunately, in the last couple of performances she has displayed absolutely zero performance savvy, and on top of that she's now coming off a bit cocky. (If I hear her mention "my fans" one more time I'm going to scream!) I think it may be time to put this quirky songbird down.

Final Prediction

Bottom 3:
Allison Iraheta
Megan Joy
Anoop Desai

Bottom 2
Megan Joy
Anoop Desai

Eliminated: Megan Joy

Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments section below!

American Idol Top 11 Recap and Elimination Prediction

I'll be the first to admit that I was skeptical about this year's talent, but after two solid weeks of performance shows, I've gotta say -- the talent pool on this year's American Idol just might actually be the best yet.

Of course, let's acknowledge that there are 10 weeks left in the competition, and though contestants like Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, Allison Irahata and Alexis Grace have shown they have talent in spades, and others like Kris Allen, Anoop Desai and Matt Giraud have proven themselves capable of delivering top-notch performances, we've still got a lot of ground to cover. And while there hasn't been a trainwreck yet, there have also not been jaw-dropping displays of vocal virtuosity (save, perhaps, Adam's "Black and White" last week).

Still -- so far, so good.

Before I get to the elimination prediction, here are my rankings for the Top 11:

1. Kris Allen, A-
2. Anoop Desai, A-
3. Allison Irahata, A-
4. Matt Giraud, A-
5. Danny Gokey, B+
6. Alexis Grace, B+
7. Adam Lambert, B
8. Megan Corkrey, B-
9. Lil Rounds, B-
10. Michael Sarver, C+
11. Scott Macintyre, C

On to the elimination predictions...

Green Zone - Totally Safe
Danny Gokey played right into his Christian rock comfort zone last night, and as a result, he should be just fine this week. Ditto Adam Lambert, whose goodwill from last week should power him through to the Top 10 despite the fact that he took a risk that didn't quite pay off. (Say what you will about the guy, but he definitely stayed true to his own sense of artistry.) Then there's the three gentlemen who tapped into their tender sides -- Kris Allen, Matt Giraud and Anoop Desai. All three sounded great and really connected with the songs they chose, and all three should have no problem advancing in the competition.

Yellow Zone - On Shaky Ground
There's no denying Lil Rounds has a killer voice, but her decision to "respect" the country song she choose, as opposed to infusing it with her own R&B flavor, made the end result pretty bland. She should be fine, but she better step it up in weeks to come or she'll find herself in the Red Zone.

Red Zone - Danger Danger Danger!
I've put five contestants into the Red Zone this week, and truly any of them is in danger of going home. Allison Irahata was fantastic last night (as you can see above, she was my third favorite of the evening), but I'm concerned that her consistency may actually be working against her -- could she fall into the Bottom 3 tonight, or even worse be eliminated? Alexis Grace has also given three strong performances thus far in the competiton, but the judges lukewarm reaction to her rendition of "Jolene" could spell trouble.

Then there's Megan Corkrey, who may just be saved by the revelation that she performed with the flu. I'm actually quite fond of this girl, quirky dancing and wonky notes and all, but I'm getting the sense that America may be tiring of her. Will they kick her while she's down and eliminate her this week?

That leaves Michael Sarver and Scott Macintyre. Sarver adequately performed Garth Brooks' tounge-twister (previously performed on Idol by Josh Gracin and Latoya London), but going first and not doing anything spectacular with the song may be doom for the oil rigger. As for Macintyre, he sounded just fine, but he's so Adult Contemporary boooooring that I'm having trouble imagining people running to their phones to vote for him. Neither gentleman is a bad singer, but either could easily go home this week.

Final Prediction
Bottom 3:
Michael Sarver
Alexis Grace
Scott Macintyre

Bottom 2:
Michael Sarver
Scott Macintyre

Eliminated: Michael Sarver

There you have it folks. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know!