MUSIC: American Idol 09: Judges' choice

The annual choice night -- judges pick a song, contestants pick a song -- gets shrunk from three songs to two this year, as Idol continues to be unable to properly manage time. Sadly missing from the usual lineup: Clive Davis, whose picks are usually the most astute of the evening.

The rundown:

Danny, "Dance Little Sister" -- Danny's screaming at us, and even though he's managing to stay on pitch, it's not a pleasant thing to hear. It's a harsh, aggressive, almost threatening performance; I begin to fear that if Little Sister doesn't dance well enough, Danny's going to send her to the salt mines. And quite apart from the screaming, it's just not a very interesting performance.

Kris, "Apologize" -- Very well done, with the falsetto accents being used (for once) quite effectively. It's a slightly bigger sound than we usually get from Kris, and it's good to see that he's capable of more power; the sound isn't forced or pushed, and (unlike Danny) there's no apparent effort behind it.

Adam, "One" -- The first voice and chorus are rather pleasant, but then it's back to the shriek shriek scream scream scream of which Adam is so fond. There's barely a word in the second half of the song that can be understood, except maybe by dogs, and I feel as if someone's ramming an iron spike into my brain.

For Round 1: Kris, Danny, Adam.

Danny, "You Are So Beautiful" -- A few moments in the middle border on the overly shouty, but far less so than Danny's norm, and the opening is absolutely beautiful. The song suits his voice and style perfectly, and the arrangement is effective. Probably his best performance of the season. (And let's face it, the subliminal reminder of the dead wife is good for a few votes, too.)

Kris, "Heartless" -- I don't know the Kanye West song at all, but I'm willing to bet that it's not an acoustic guitar number. Enunciation continues to be a problem for Kris, but that's the only serious problem here. The arrangement is lovely, and the performance is spot-on technically. It's a fine performance.

Adam, "Crying" -- I have the same reaction I had to his Led Zeppelin song last week: He really doesn't look comfortable as a hard rocker. As for the performance, shriek scream yawn can we please for the love of god send him home already?

For Round 2: Danny, Kris, Adam.

For the night: Kris (narrowly, on the basis of consistency), Danny, Adam.

For the season: Kris, Danny, Adam.

Deserving to go home. Adam. Seriously, America, the emperor has no clothes. Realistically, though, either Danny or Kris will be leaving; I think it's too close to call.