American Idol 2014 - Top 5 Post-Show Power Rankings

We're down to the Top 5 on American Idol 2014, and this week's performance show placed America in the driver's seat by allowing them to choose what songs the remaining contestants would sing. So was it a night that would satisfy America's demands? Or was it a rough night for the finalists?

Well, in my opinion, this was a pretty damn solid night for the Top 5. I didn't think anyone failed to bring the goods, as these some of these song choices really pushed the contestants to give more. Granted, some were far better than others, but I was surprised at how even many of the contestants were tonight, to the point where I think there will be some real drama going into tomorrow night's results show.

If you missed the show, Rickey has a recap up, so check it out. As always, these are not predictions on who I think is/isn't going to be safe when the results are read. These are just my own personal, subjective rankings based on my immediate gut reactions at the end of the show. I welcome you all to add your own rankings in the comments below!

I'm probably going to get ripped to shreds for these, but let's get to these rankings...

Caleb Johnson illustrates he's the only guy left who can smile on cue (Credit: FOX)

1. Sam Woolf: This week felt like a coming out party for Sam, who took two songs that should have been out of his league, and delivered them with attitude and passion. Seriously, when I heard Sam was going to be doing "Sing," I figured he'd be incapable of conveying the subtle swagger of the song, never mind the difficult, layered vocals the tune demands. But he acquitted himself beautifully, and carried his momentum into "How To Save A Life," which I honestly felt was one of his best vocals of the season. Whereas his competitors had one good song and one miss, Sam just had a really strong, consistent night. This was the first week I felt that Sam made a case for the Judges not having made a mistake in using the Save on him. I could pick nits about this all day, but really, put plainly, I just enjoyed Sam the most this week. (WATCH: "Sing" / "How To Save A Life")

2. Jessica Meuse: Yes, I thought "Summertime Sadness" was that good. I'm sure Jessica has had better weeks than this, but really, I don't think I've seen or heard her do something as haunting and beautiful as that Lana Del Rey track. I seriously didn't know she had that in her. Of course, the irony in all of this is that one of my top two choices this week, if not both, are very likely to land in the bottom 2. But this is one week where I don't feel either deserves to be there. Not only was "Summertime Sadness" Jessica's best of the season (in my opinion), but "Human" wasn't anywhere near as emotionless as I've seen people accuse of it being. I'm not sure how much farther Jess can go, but if this is her last week, she went out on one of her best. (WATCH: "Human" / "Summertime Sadness")

3. Caleb Johnson: He just barely nudged out Alex here by nearly stealing the show with "In the Still of the Night." However, his rendition of "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" just wasn't his finest hour. I can appreciate his attempt to branch out and show versatility, but it was simply the wrong song. I mean, it wasn't his fault that he got saddled with the choice, but I think I'd pay money not to have to hear that song again within a reality TV context. Caleb did what he could with the song, but he just wasn't up to the task, which is why it was such a good thing he still had "In the Still of the Night" in his back pocket. Otherwise, I'd be worried about him tomorrow night. (WATCH: "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" / "In the Still of the Night")

4. Alex Preston: For the record, I don't expect Alex will be going anywhere tomorrow night, although stranger things have certainly happened. I should also reiterate that Alex is my favorite singer left in the competition. But I just wasn't feeling either of his performances tonight. "Sweater Weather" wasn't really his fault, per se, since I chalked that up to song choice. He did what he could with it, but (forgive me if I'm committing some kind of minor sacrilege here) "Sweater Weather" just isn't a very good song. At least not for a competition like this, as there's only so much you can do with a song like that. "Say Something" was better, but with the presence of the background singer, it seemed like the performance arbitrarily stopped being about him roughly halfway through. I have no idea why he had to do the duet version of the song instead of the solo original, other than the rationale that the duet version is more popular. But doing it in that way hurt him, I thought, because the background singer kind of outsang him. I'm still rooting like hell for Alex, and he's basically the only person I voted for tonight. But that's because I'm kind of worried for him. (WATCH: "Sweater Weather" / "Say Something")

5. Jena Irene: Much like Alex, I like Jena a lot. Dating back to Hollywood Week, she immediately became one of my favorite singers in the competition. And while I thought last week was a stellar one for her, this week just did nothing for me. I was hoping for more from "My Body," but I felt she ended up getting derailed by exactly the thing she was worried about in her pre-performance video: I felt her movements compromised her vocals. Couple this with the generally uninspired nature of the vocal itself, and I found myself really disappointed with this. "Valerie" was better, but even then, she was swallowed alive by the arrangement. She has a powerful voice, but the band just sort of overtook the performance with the Mark Ronson arrangement, and it seemed like Jena was actively fighting to be heard at times. It also wasn't her strongest vocal. All in all, I felt this was her weakest week in the competition. And at Top 5, that can't happen. Especially when the expected Bottom 2 performers really step their game up and deliver. (WATCH: "My Body" / "Valerie")

So how do you rank the Top 5? Sound off in the comments! Also, predict who's going home in our official poll, and check back tomorrow night for the live blog of the results!