'American Idol' : It's Adam vs. Kris in Next Week's Finale, as Danny Gokey Goes

May 12: Danny Gokey performs in front of the judges on American Idol.

Tonight on “American Idol,” Danny Gokey, the 28-year-old church music director from Milwaukee, was eliminated. Danny’s departure leaves Kris Allen and Adam Lambert competing in the season finale next week.

Danny’s elimination was somewhat surprising, since, as host Ryan Seacrest pointed out, Danny had never been in the bottom three all season. But on Tuesday night’s performance show, Adam Lambert had clearly been the judges’ favorite. They extravagantly praised his performances of U2’s “One” and Aerosmith’s “Crying.” Both Danny and Kris had received some unfavorable critiques for their first performances, Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Dance Little Sister” and One Republic’s “Apologize,” respectively.

Danny and Kris had gained ground with their second songs, Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Kanye West’s “Heartless.” Kris’ performance of the latter song, accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar playing, was likely the deciding factor in keeping him in the running.

In non-competition-related news, this was the week that the three “Idol” finalists customarily return to be feted in their hometowns. In Milwaukee, Danny reunited with his friend Jamar Rogers, with whom he had auditioned but who was eliminated during Hollywood week. He also reminded viewers of his “tragedy to triumph” story (his wife died just weeks before his “Idol” audition).

Kris had a moving moment with his family in Conway, Ark., when his dad hugged him, said, “I ain’t kissing you, man,” and then teared up. Chris also mentioned that a local restaurant has promised him cheese dip for life.

Adam, visiting San Diego, seemed to take all the hoopla as if it were his due, even when a shirtless female fan rushed the stage. His performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Marine air base reminded us that he’ll always be able to hit that high note on “the land of the free” when he performs at ball games.

Kicking off the show with an admitted plug, the cast of “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” spoke in mock-solemn tones about the judges’ desk, which has in fact been donated to the national museum’s collection. (“This very desk,” said Bill Hader, “where Paula has inspired so many Americans with words like ‘I love you,’ ‘You’re amazing,’ ‘I love what you’re wearing,’ and ‘Where am I?’ ”)

Alici a Keys made a non-singing appearance to ask viewers to text in donations to the Keep a Child Alive charity, which gives medical care to African children affected by HIV and AIDS. She introduced a Rwandan kid named Noah, who gave a spirited performance of “The World’s Greatest.”

Katy Perry performed her new single, “Waking Up in Vegas,” dressed in a low-cut Elvis-inspired outfit. Apparently trying to let her fans how she thinks they should vote, she wore a cape bearing the name “Adam Lambert.”

And Jordin Sparks, the winner of season 6 of “Idol,” performed her new song, “Battlefield.” She looked and sounded great, but the final close-up of her face in scary blue-green horror-movie lighting wouldn’t have won her any votes back when she was competing.

Small things like that can make a difference, and Adam and Kris are evidently very close in the voting. Early in the show, Ryan Seacrest said that more than 88 million votes had been cast and “there was just over 1 million votes separating the top two tonight.” At the end of the show, when Ryan asked Simon Cowell to “tee up” the finale, Simon said that Kris had turned it into a very close contest, adding, “This could be what we call a big ding-dong coming up for next week.”

“I didn’t know that’s what we call it,” said Ryan.

“It means good,” said Simon.