'American Idol' Power List: Vote for your favorite from season 8's Top 4!

4. Danny Gokey: (Last week: No. 4) He’s the only season 8 finalist never to land in the bottom three, and he’s coming off hands-down his best performance of the season, a powerful take on "Come Rain or Come Shine." So what’s he doing at the bottom of the list? Well, for starters, his voting bloc may be more complacent than those of his recently-in-jeopardy rivals. And secondly, Rock & Roll Week seems a less natural fit for him than it does for Adam, Allison, and even Kris. With Simon slipping off his bandwagon on Disco Night and Movie Night, he’ll need to avoid the harp, and deliver another powerhouse performance, to make good on Paula’s repeated "See you in the finals!" prediction. Any way you slice it, though, this week’s gonna be a wild race!

3. Kris Allen: (Last week: No. 1) Followed up back-to-back stellar performances of "Falling Slowly" and a brilliantly rearranged "She Works Hard for the Money" with the slightly lackadaisical "The Way You Look Tonight," and found himself making his bottom-three debut as a result. Scarily, combined with a bunky "All She Wants to Do Is Dance," it marked his second so-so performance in four weeks. Absolutely must make a bold statement on Tuesday — and avoid the urge to play it safe — to guarantee himself a televised hometown visit.

2. Allison Iraheta: (Last week: No. 5) Got her first critique of the season indicating a chance at making the finale (courtesy of Kara!) for her heartbreakingly sweet "Someone to Watch Over Me." And while she can’t ever seem to win over boneheaded Simon, Rock & Roll Week maximizes her chances of a final-three appearance as much or more so than any other possible theme (outside of, say, Teenage Divas Week). Biggest hindrances to her campaign to bring some estrogen to the final three could be her sometimes-garbled enunciation, and a tendency toward overdone-on-Idol numbers.

1. Adam Lambert: (Last week: No. 2) While at first glance, the presumed front-runner’s appearance in the bottom two last week would indicate a bumpy road ahead, in actuality, it might be the best thing that ever happened to him. Indeed, that sound you hear is The Glambert Nation practicing its speed-dialing exercises in preparation for Tuesday night’s festivities. A "Mad World" level performance would probably carry him straight to the final two, but anything on par with his second-tier performances (say, "Born to Be Wild") should be more than enough to survive the week. As for those who found "Feeling Good" a bit too showboaty, if you’ve got it, aren’t you supposed to flaunt it?

addCredit(“Michael Becker/American Idol/Getty Images”)

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