Kris Allen is officially the eighth American Idol, and seemed shocked that it wasn’t his opponent, Adam Lambert. I think it was Allen’s rendition of Kanye West’s “Heartless” that got America because it was an unusual song choice for him but he performed it the way it initially should have been sung, and showed his talent (and marketability) in a new light. Speaking of unusual, before winners were announced, viewers were treated (or not) to musical mash-ups between Idol castoffs and musical icons. Allison Iraheta performed with Cyndi Lauper (and sounded really good), Danny Gokey and Lionel Richie performed a Richie medley (it was OK), and my favorite was Queen Latifah and Lil Rounds singing “Cue the Rain.” There were times when they seemed a little out of sync, but it was good overall. Both women looked really good too, especially Brick House Latifah. See for yourself:

Two idol hopefuls went bye-bye last night and as expected, Lil Rounds was sent packing. Her mediocre stint on the show has finally caught up to her. Hopefully, she’ll look back at herself and learn from her mistakes. I was a tad snarky in yesterday’s post, when talking about her lackluster attempt at Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” but the truth is, Miss Rounds will be OK in her career.

She’ll head out on the American Idol Top 10 Tour and score a record deal a la Simon. It’s not that she couldn’t sing, she was just ill-advised (or maybe just nervous) in the songs she chose. Once again, listening to her sing was like hearing someone who could simply hold a note, perform karaoke on a cruise ship as opposed to someone who was trying to become America’s next singing sensation. Even her exit performance of—you guessed it—”I’m Every Woman” was very much like her original attempt. ‘Nough said.

In any event, I still think Lil Rounds has potential and I wish her the best of luck.

Last night on Idol, the final seven took on disco tunes. Lil Rounds chose “I’m Every Woman” for the very dangerous opening slot. It was a smart choice in theory but it didn’t translate in practice. Her voice is good but she still didn’t deliver (and goes flat quite a bit). She can’t seem to shake the karaoke cloud that’s been hovering over her head throughout the competition. Simon predicted she’d be going home, Paula didn’t think she hit the mark, Randy said she still failed to prove what kind of artist she could be and Kara concurred, saying that Lil was every woman except for herself.

I must admit, Lil is definitely no Fantasia, Tamyra, Latoya London or Jennifer Hudson. But speaking of J-Hud, she got booted from Idol early and went on to become an award winning performer with both, a stellar movie and music career. Granted, J-Hud has a better voice, but she’s the perfect example of the underdog who prevailed. Maybe Lil will have a career after Idol, but I agree with Simon. Her days as an Idol hopeful might be numbered.

This season of American Idol has been really boring. None of the singers pop, not even Lil Rounds, who appeared in the bottom three for the first time. However, I’m glad that she’s safe for now even though her version of “What’s Love Got to Do With It” wasn’t very good (she looked nice, though). Honestly, the most exciting thing about last night was Flo Rida’s performance. But in any event, we’ll see what Miss Rounds brings next week.