Here is a recap of American Idols Live at Target Center on Tuesday, in order of appearance:

Michael Sarver Songs: I’m in Love with a Girl by Gavin DeGraw; Closer by Ne-Yo

He was more of a hyped cheerleader than a charming singer. What happened to his natural country bent? And enough with the “make some noise” and “let me here you scream.”

Megan Joy Songs: Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae; Tears Dry on Their Own by Amy Winehouse

Ms Utah Ink was all dolled up (including plastic gems glued onto her tattoos) and didn’t flail her arms as she strutted in some serious heels. She was OK on the first song but a hoarse, unfocused train wreck waiting to happen on the Winehouse.

Scott MacIntyre Songs: Bend and Break by Keane; A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton

One bland obscure choice and one wise choice by this piano man. He tried to assert his personality between songs but an impression of Simon Cowell was off the mark.

Lil Rounds Songs: Be without You and Just Fine by Mary J. Blige; No One by Alicia Keys; Single Ladies by Beyonce

She was vocalizing and not singing, and seemed rushed. Ultimately, she came across like an ordinary lounge act.

Anoop Desai  Songs: Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson; Mad by Ne-Yo; My Prerogative by Bobby Brown

His attractive, soulful voice impressed even though the ballads were a bit boring. His Prerogative was overwrought but he still showed potential.

Matt Giraud Songs: Too Hard to Handle by Otis Redding; Georgia on My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael; You Found Me by the Fray

What a pleasant surprise. He did a rock-star turn with the Black Crowes version of Too Hard to Handle, including a Jerry Lee Lewis-like piano break. He was predictably soulful channeling Ray Charles on Georgia and very assertive on the Fray piece. He’s grown by leaps and bounds since the TV show.

Megan and Lil/Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You by Frankie Valli… Vocally, it was a train wreck (plus Megan started laughing uncontrollably). Is this song the right duet choice for these two women?

Scott and Matt/Tell Her About It by Billy Joel…. dueling pianos was fun.

Michael/Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley…Why?

Anoop, Matt, Scott,Michael, Meg, Lil/Beggin’ by the Four Seasons. This was a nice vocal workout and effectively staged. A solid close to a largely underwhelmingly first act.

Allison Iraheta Songs:So What by Pink; Cry Baby by Janis Joplin;Barracuda by Heart

What a rock-star turn. She demostrated her bravura voice on TV but she showed much more confidence in concert. If Giraud was a surprise, Allison stealing the show was the biggest surprise. Knockout voice, presence, command and control. I got goose bump during Cry Baby.

Danny Gokey Songs: PYT by Michael jackson; Maria Maria by Santana; What Hurts the Most and My Wish by Rascal Flatts

The hip jacket with epulets looked out of place on the pride of Milwaukee. He tried too hard to sell the uptempo tunes, complete with a mock Ricky Martin dancing on the Santana tune. But Gokey totally delivered on the Rascal Flatts ballads. He has a big-time voice and a bright future as a televangelist.

Adam Lambert Songs: Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin; Starlight by Muse; Mad World by Tears for Fears; Slow Ride by Foghat (with Allison); Life on Mars w/ Fame w/ Let’s Dance by David Bowie

Loved Glambert on TV when he proved he was hands down the most talented contestant ever on “Idol.” In concert, though, he got a bit too theatrical as if he was trying to act like a rock star instead of just singing like one. Fame got a little too swishy/campy. A Queen or Kiss song might have been a better choice.

Kris Allen Songs: Heartless by Kanye West; All These Things That I’ve Done by the Killers; Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers; Bright Lights by Matchbox Twenty; Hey Jude by the Beatles

He was warm, earnest and forgettably innocuous as he played guitar and piano. Even though this was the strongest Idols Live lineup thus far, it wasn’t because of this year’s winner. 

Ensemble: Don’t Stop Believin by Journey w Steam’s Na Na Na Na Goodbye  

Chris Daughtry complained about the air-conditioning at the jam-packed Cabooze but “American Idol’s” best selling male (and non-winner) worked it pretty hard Sunday for 75 minutes. The quintet did selections from both of its best-selling albums.

I’d prefer to hear some more rockers instead of so many mid-tempo tunes. But this band is built for radio first and foremost.

Here is what Daughtry played:

Every Time You Turn Around/It’s Not Over/???/No Surprise/Breakdown/Crashed/ Open Your Eyes/September/Over You/Life After You/Supernatural/Feels Like Tonight/There and Back Again  ENCORE You Don’t Belong/Home

If talent were the only criteria, Demi Lovato, 16, should move to the head of the Disney class of young pop stars. At her concert Saturday at Target Center, she should more talent and skills onstage than Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Hilary Duff or any other young star in the Disney empire.

She proved to be a strong singer, a pretty good songwriter but, most of all, an immensely likable, fresh and — get this — spontaneous performer. She was in the moment, complaining about her hoarse voice because she’d met 1,000 fans in the afternoon at Mall of America. (About 5,000 tween girls and moms turned out for the concert.)

When she pulled a fan out of the audience to sing with her, Lovato didn’t stick to the script and choose the usual little girl under 10 but rather her new BFF, Emily, a teenager (who looked older than Demi) whom she’d met at the Mall and her hotel and they’d just bonded. And they sang “This Is Me” (from “Camp Rock”) together like high-fiving bandmates who’d been doing it since childhood.

Lovato was friendly, gracious, natural, comfortable and talkative. And she worked it — with her long, sweaty hair and her rock ‘n’ strut. This Demi — who looks like a young Demi Moore, with the hoarse speaking voice to match — has the potential to realize a post-Disney music career.

Opening were Disney darling Jordan Pruitt, who was pleasant, and 2008 “American Idol” runnerup David Archuleta, who was a crowd pleaser.  Wearing a an oversized Pepsodent smile and too much hair producer, Archie, now 18, showed an emotive voice, bouncy stage presence and too many generic pop songs.

Like Taylor Hicks, David Cook can entertain with a distinctive-sounding voice. He’s got powerful pipes and lots of passion. But, at Mystic Lake Casino on Friday, his songs sounded like uninspired attempts to revisit 1990s grunge-pop.

Of course, that didn’t seem to matter to the sellout crowd of 2,100. They probably came more to see a favorite TV idol than to hear his songs. In fact, they seemed to react more excitedly to his gestures than to his music. But Cook isn’t the first music hero who is a star first and foremost, with the songs being secondary.

After explaining he wasn’t good at patter, the wholesome 26-year-old from Tulsa showed his charm and spontaneity by saying the gift from a female fan of a chocolate rose and a box of Cheez-Its means, “Let’s get married.” Cute. Not so cute was making cracks about gambling when he’s playing a casino. 

Predictably, the 75-minute set was heavy on ballads and midtempo tunes. The highlights, for me, were rockers: the rock stomp Bar Ba Sol and the aggressive Kiss on the Neck (dedicated to soundman Jason and wife JT, who were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary).

Here is what Cook and his four un-introduced sidemen played:

The World I Know (Collective Soul)/Mr. Sensitive/Heroes/I Did It for You/Lie/Avalanche/Bar Ba Sol/Straight Ahead/Little Lies (Fleetwood Mac)/Kiss on the Neck/Declaration/Come Back to Me/ ENCORE  Light On/A Daily Anthem

To paraphrase the judges on American Idol, I expected Keith Urban to set the bar for country concerts on Thursday at the X. After all, his 2007 show was the best arena concert in any genre of that year. But the new, generously long 125-minute performance lacked the kind of fun and unexpected moments of the 2007 gig, which included rock covers and snippets of guitar passages from classic-rock faves.

To be sure, this was still a very good show but not a gold-standard one. Urban was in good voice, he uncorked some memorable guitar solos and he upped the visual pizzazz from last time. He just didn’t cut loose enough; he seemed to play the entire show in second or third gear instead of revving into overdrive like he did in 2007.

Zac Brown Band offered a solid opening set, which was slightly marred by a faulty vocal mic on the first song. I interviewed Brown, a fascinating and smart guy, before the show for a preview for ZBB’s June 29 show at Mystic Lake Casino.

Speaking of American Idol, Keith Urban will be on the show next week singing with finalist Kris Allen.

Here is Urban’s set list from Thursday: 1. Hit the Ground Runnin’ (from new Defying Gravity) 2. Days Go By 3. Stupid Boy 4. Where the Blacktop Ends 5. You’re My Better Half 6. Once in a Lifetime 7. Making Memories of Us 8. Standing Right in Front of You (Gravity) 9. Til Summer Comes Around (Gravity) 10. Sweet Thing (Gravity) 11. Who Wouldnt Wanna Be Me 12. If Ever I Could Love (Gravity) 13. Rainin on Sunday 14. Kiss a Girl (Gravity) 15. I Told You So 16. You’ll Think of Me 17. You Look Good in My Shirt 18. Somebody Like You 19. Tonight I Wanna Cry 20. Better Life

What did you think of the concert?

As Eminem sings, you get one shot, one opportunity. And our homegirl Jesse Langseth didn’t really seize her chance on “American Idol” on Wednesday. She wasn’t bad (like Eden Prairie’s Casey Carlson last week) but she wasn’t good enough either.

Her song choice — “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes — was too old, too safe. It didn’t really give her a chance to shine because it doesn’t have much vocal range. Langseth brought kind of a cool, moody vibe to the song but the performance lacked distinctive personality.

“Forgettable,” as Simon Cowell said? Well, not memorable.

On her “Idol” stint, Langseth demonstrated that she has talent and personality, though the strength of her personality emerged when she chatted back and forth Wednesday with the judges. She was confident yet humble.

 Allison Iraheta, the youngest competitor at 16, was memorable. Her version of Heart’s “Alone” showed plenty of vocal range — but not much personality — but she impressed, in part, because her competition paled in comparison.

The judges liked Allison better than I did but she was the standout female singer. Comely Megan Corkrey and soulful Mishavonna Henson showed potential but didn’t really seize the moment.

By contrast, two guys truly worked it right on Wednesday. Adam Lambert, who looked like Joe Jonas trying to be Pete Wentz, turned on the drama, cleverly updating the Stones’ “Satisfaction” with style and a little too much screaming. And Nick Mitchell as Norman Gentle did a delightfully hilarious sendup of “Idol” by mixing right-on musicality (the dude can sing) and humor on “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from ”Dreamgirls.” His performance made my night.

What did you think of Jesse Langseth’s performance? If she doesn’t advance this week, do you think she has a chance to move on via the wild-card night?