By Paige Wiser, TV Critic
Pwiser@suntimes.com

"American Idol" is officially the world's hottest ticket: Last night, [ital]Suri Cruise[unital] was in the audience. The star power of Sir Anthony Hopkins' presence was a far distant second.
There was no word on who Suri's backing in the competition between "the guy next door" and "the guyliner," but here's what the judges had to say . . .

Adam Lambert's "Mad World": "It was a little bit overtheatrical," said Simon Cowell. Again.

Kris Allen's "Ain't No Sunshine": "If you can't feel a Kris Allen performance and he doesn't move you, there's something wrong with you," said Kara DioGuardi.

Adam's "Change Is Gonna Come": "I know with every fiber of my being that you will be iconic," said Paula Abdul.

Kris's "What's Goin' On": "It was like three friends in their bedroom strumming along to Marvin Gaye," shrugged Simon.

For the record, Simon gave the first round to Kris, and the second to Adam.
But any high points of the evening were quickly forgotten when the final two had to sing the annual "struggle-and-achieve" money-making single, co-written by Kara. "No Boundaries" wasn't suited for either Adam's histrionics or Kris's mellow. Even Kara acknowledged as much, asking voters to judge on the season's performances as a whole - not on her song. Randy even told Adam his version was "pitchy."

"I'm not going to judge that song," said Simon graciously.

Maybe a duet would make it listenable?

At least the contestants seem emotionally prepared for the outcome. "Me and Adam said we're not competing, we're just coming out to put on a good show tonight," said Kris.

Guest performances for tomorrow night's performance reportedly include Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas, Keith Urban and Jason Mraz.