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Michael ‘Big Mike’ Lynche shined, while Aaron Kelly gets an ‘unsatisfactory’ grade on this week’s ‘Idol’ report card. By Eric Ditzian Aaron Kelly performs on “American Idol” on Wednesday Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images Yesterday we gave “American Idol” producers props for reducing the show to one hour instead of two . Today we feel like tossing the judges in detention for their shenanigans this week, from Tuesday’s awkwardly forced lap-sitting incident between Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres to Wednesday’s infantile Simon/Kara DioGuardi flirtation. But this is a singing competition, isn’t it? So on to the contestants. The evening took off with strong performances from Lee Dewyze and Alex Lambert and U-turned into Snoozeville at a certain point, before blissfully blasting away with an injection of Michael Lynche-provided power. Who surprised us, who disappointed us and who’s in danger of going home? Let’s take a look at the top eight men’s report card. (And don’t miss Jim Cantiello’s recap of their performances in the MTV Newsroom .) Excellent Michael Lynche : First things first. While Big Mike’s take on Maxwell’s version of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” was the highlight of the evening, it was nowhere near the waterworks-generating territory that Kara’s tears suggested. That being said, Lynche keeps surprising us. Last week he ditched the guitar and brought an ear-pleasing soul sound to the stage. This week he busted out a falsetto during a butter-smooth channeling of Maxwell that showed off an impressive vocal range and convinced us that Big Mike is in the upper tier of “Idol” contestants. Good Lee Dewyze : Owl City’s “Fireflies” was by far the smartest song choice Dewyze has made during these lives shows. The emo rock vibe seems to be a comfortable niche for him, and we were almost able to dismiss his rampant pitch problems. Almost. Dewyze is like a poor man’s David Cook. And when you consider that we’ve never had a very high opinion of the seventh-season “Idol” winner, you can imagine what we think of Dewyze’s long-term prospects. No matter, he did well for himself on Wednesday and is a lock to make the top 12. Alex Lambert : The kid keeps impressing. The judges seemed to think he’d reverted back to a jelly-legged newbie. Not us. His tone on Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble” was compelling, his vocals generally soft yet powerful. We don’t buy for a second that the only thing standing in the way of his winning “Idol,” as Kara suggested, is his lack of confidence — ever heard of Crystal Bowersox? — but we’re digging Lambert’s growth from week to week. “Trouble been dogging my soul,” he sang, and ya know what? We believed him. Casey James : Has any contestant this year been so lovingly framed and lit on the “Idol” stage? The crooning cowboy’s rendition of Keith Urban’s “You’ll Think of Me” was a step up from last week’s sub-par Southern rock number and nowhere near as magical his take on Bryan Adams’ “Heaven.” James keeps delivering confident, calm, passionate performances and he’ll keep doing it for a long while. Todrick Hall : Todrick narrowly nabs a Good grade because of his sheer enthusiasm. It’s the most clich