'American Idol' recap: Two Birds, One Show

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My big question about the night's voting patterns, however, is this: Do you guys think Megan and Anoop were the third- and fourth-lowest vote-getters this week? Note Ryan never said a word about a bottom three, or a bottom four. He instead called Megan and Anoop off the safety benches with no real explanation. Am I reading too much into Ryan's vagueness, or are the producers trying to keep us off-balance about which singers might be vulnerable going into top 11 week?

Other random questions I scribbled into my notebook during tonight's telecast: Doesn't Randy ever feel embarrassed about yelling ''booooo!'' when Simon gets introduced? Why did I have to witness that Danny Gokey pelvic thrust during the atrocious Jackson 5 medley? Why are the group performances all pre-recorded this season? Did anyone else die inside when Ryan commented on Michael's dance skills by declaring, ''You showed some good moves, bro''? If Jorge hadn't been the lowest vote-getter, could the producers have eliminated him just for his total lack of lip-synching skills? How cute are Allison's interactions with all the other contestants? Is it possible for me to care less about the goings-on in the Idol House? I wonder how Kanye West felt about having to interact with those gnarly audience-bots standing behind the judges' desk during his quite good performance of ''Heartless''? And what was the square-footage of his backup singer's shoulder pads?

And finally, in the spirit of saving the best for last, how terrific was Kelly Clarkson's performance of ''My Life Would Suck Without You''? I mean, seriously, in a season where the judges keep clanging the ''package artist'' cymbals, Kelly is living, singing proof of what this competition is all about: That a supremely talented young woman can be plucked from obscurity and transformed before our very eyes into a gorgeous, confident, self-effacing, funny, and thoroughly authentic rock star. Here's hoping we Idol voters, and more importantly the folks entrusted with the ''Judges' Save'' power, keep Kelly's example in mind as the season progresses.

Oh, one last thing: If you missed signing up this week for EW.com's Idol Prediction Challenge, please do it now! Even if you missed scoring last night, we keep tabs on week-to-week winners on our leaderboard, and hey, how often do you get a chance to humiliate me (plus a number of my Idolatry co-hosts) with your Idol prognostication skills. Also, if you'd like to be a call-in guest on Idolatry, do shoot an email with your thoughts on this week in Idol (along with a daytime phone number) to idolatry@ew.com. Thanks!