American Idol Recap: Who Sang It Sinatra's Way?

Talk about From Here to Eternity -- watching American Idol's final five slay Frank Sinatra hits felt like riding the local through Hoboken. If the endless commercial breaks weren't filling the run-time, it was the slow performances and relentless quips from aspiring quadruple threat Harry Connick Jr. (That's singer/actor/composer/jokester to you!) making us day-snore. Fortunately, the night boasted some great moments in three key performances. Match your rankings against ours and pray that season nine's best singer isn't eliminated tonight.

5. Casey James, "Blue Skies"

Casey would bungle a performance just hours after I pimp his staying power. Figures. If the crackling, poorly sustained notes didn't fish-whack his performance of "Blue Skies" to death, his fish-wacky buccaneer outfit did the job with aplomb. Seriously, what was the outfit about? From the waist up he resembled a maître d' at a theme restaurant called "Where Eagles Dare." And there's miniature golf out back with a tricky 18th hole entitled Fer Awwwll the Booty.

"Blue Skies" was the poorest song choice of the night, a clear yardstick's length away from Casey's comfort zone. DioGuardi was right on (as usual) with the lamb comment. Casey can only whinny like a victorious dark horse if he stays within his well-defined, lax milieu. Now he's stuck with Didi Benami Syndrome: One out-of-character performance will render him "lost" in America's eyes, and they'll forget to vote for the love-wary troubadour they adored in the first place. Unless they vote off a certain widdow boy and his pwecious widdow Mouse Detective costumes first...

4. Aaron Kelly, "Fly Me to the Moon"

Alert the OB/GYN: Fetus the Magnificent evolved into an 8-year-old boy last night. Presto, Family Matters style. Check that Johnson's No-Tears sheen! The Little Red Schoolhouse trousers! The Johnny Tremaine vest! Actually, Aaron was the cutest snapshot of 1789 I've ever seen. Rand-McNally material, honestly. You could tell he wanted to play stickball but his dad had to stay inside and write the Articles of Confederation with the mean old delegates. And their smelly wigs that give Aaron the ah-choos! That's where his angst came from last night. The wigs and Dad's boring revolution.

All continental issues considered, Aaron's "Fly Me to the Moon" still felt stifled and awkward (and he simpered across the stage like a mortified honors student returning an overdue library book), but some of those notes worked. Now that he's fought his way out of the incubator, it's time for Aaron to enter a recent century -- like the 19th? "Oh, Susanna" is like electroclash to this kid, so we'll see what kind of progress he makes.

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