Singer: ADAM LAMBERT
Song: "Mad World"
Monkeys As Critics' Take: I'm not a fan of the performance-repetition thing, even when it's required. Take the very finest repeated performances in "Idol" history -- Fantasia's "Summertime" or Kim Locke's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" or Ruben's "Superstar" -- and even those lost impact after a while. This is much more the Gary Jules version from the "Donnie Darko" soundtrack than the cover Adam did the first time around. Despite the long trenchcoat and swirling smoke at his feet, making him look like either an Dickensian hero or Jack the Ripper, it's simple and beautiful, without any wailing or shrieking, only vocal purity. It's a good way to start.
Fred, Daphne, Velma and Simon Say: Check it out. This is it, Randy, explains. Randy loves Adam showing his sensitive side. Randy starts with an A+. Hard to know where the grading goes from here. Kara says that Adam changed the game for everybody else and that he rocked it again tonight. Paula, roasted on a spit overnight, is also proud of Adam. Me, I'm wondering if I could rock Adam's coat. Simon, shirt unbuttoned to his belly-button, calls the performance "a bit over-theatrical." Simon hates the coat, but Randy says it's a "Twilight" thing." Randy has never seen "Twilight."