Kris Allen American Idol

Sorry, Danny Gokey fans.

Our apologies to Alison Iraheta supporters.

While your favorites came close, only two finalists remain, as American Idol heads into its final week: Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.

One is a theatrical, flamboyant crooner; the other is a serene, acoustic guitar specialist. Which will come out on top? You tell us!

Who will win American Idol?

As Adam Lambert has been singing his socks off, and his heart out, for weeks on American Idol, our staff has been singing the praises of this unique contestant.

The season eight title is clearly his to lose. But should it be?

Having already graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and made headlines around the country, Lambert has already won Idol. He will get a recording contract, he will top the charts for years to come and his musical dreams will come true.

Considering his talent and popularity, these goals will undoubtedly be accomplished, regardless of whether or not Adam takes home the crown Wednesday night.

Heck, one could argue that NOT being named American Idol will open Lambert up for the kind of versatile career he appears to be striving for.

Remember Chris Daughtry? He's often said his early elimination from season five allowed for a certain artistic freedom; he could instantly embark on a rock album, without the constraints often in place on American Idol champions (whose first single, in most cases, is the cheesy ballad they sing on each season's finale).

It's not hard to imagine Lambert actually benefiting, in the same way as Daughtry, from falling just short of victory.

But Kris Allen needs that crown. Kris Allen has worked hard for that crown. Kris Allen deserves a long, successful career, one likely not possible without that crown.

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Wow.

We'll publish a detailed recap of the final three performance show on American Idol tomorrow, but we couldn't wait another second to shower praise on one of tonight's performances.

And it wasn't given by Adam Lambert for a change!

Kris Allen delivered the goods - and then some! - with an acoustic rendition of "Heartless." Sorry, Gokeheads. But next week's finale has to come down to Allen vs. Lambert.

Watch Allen's rendition of "Heartless" below and share your thoughts in the Comments section:

Kris Allen, Heartless

It's an American Idol tradition, on par with receiving criticism from Simon Cowell and smiling through Paula Abdul's jibberish.

Each year, the show's finalists attend BritWeek, an event created by producer Nigel Lythgoe. The event celebrates the link between Great Britain and the Los Angeles area.

At the 2009 edition, Adam Lambert and company got into the spirit of the occasion, posing for pictures and boogieing the night away with an Austin Powers impersonator...

Click on the photos above to enlarge images of American Idol's final five finalists at BritWeek.

Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are officially household names.

This trio of aspiring singers were named to the finals on season eight of American Idol last week. Let's get to know each crooner a bit better.

Here are excerpts of the interviews they gave to TV Guide, following the announcement that each had been voted through to the final 12:

Allison Iraheta on...

... her hair color: "I wish [I was a natural redhead] — that'd be great, because then I wouldn't have to be worrying about dying the roots every five weeks. But no, my natural hair color is black."

... Simon Cowell's critique of her: "He doesn't know me. He says I'm boring, but honestly I'm not. I'll just chill a little bit more because the nerves got to me a little [this week]."

Adam Lambert on...

... his fashion taste: "Of course I upped the fashion [for this week], put on something a little dressier, a little funkier. Up to this point, it's been my own [fashion] eye."

... Simon Cowell's critique of him: "I take [Simon's] 'theatrical' comment as a compliment as opposed to a derogatory statement. A lot of the big [pop] artists are going the theatrical route. It's time for something like that."

Kris Allen on...

... a theme he'd love: "Doing The Beatles would be so amazing. I feel like you can do a lot with their songs. That would be the coolest thing ever."

... singing a Michael Jackson song last week: "I decided on ["Man in the Mirror"] a while back, so it was a little scary. But I was really confident in what I was dong. I was just happy I didn't get any compared to him."

One-half of season eight's American Idol finalists have now been named.

Following a dismal round of auditions on Wednesday, Adam Lambert, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta received the most votes from viewers and advanced to the final round of 12.

Click on the pics above for enlarged images of the latest American Idol finalists.

The trio will join 28-year-old church music director Danny Gokey from Milwaukee, 21-year-old musician Alexis Grace from Memphis and 27-year-old oil rig worker Michael Sarver from Texas, who were selected as the first three finalists last week.

On Tuesday, a dozen more semifinalists will vie for three spots in the competition's top 12.

Following that series of auditions, the judges will pick the last three finalists after a unique wild card round. It may sound complicated, but it just means one thing:

It's not too late for Anoop Desai to advance!

We'll find out for certain on Wednesday, but all American Idol spoilers thus far point to Kris Allen as one of season eight's final 36 contestants.

This college student auditioned for the show in Louisville, Kentucky, receiving anonymous approval from all four judges to move on to Hollywood.

Unfortunately, Kris Allen was only briefly featured during this round of try outs - as you can see below - but don't worry. We'll be hearing a lot more from him over the next few weeks...

Kris Allen Audition