Onward to tonight’s show:

What a PLOT TWIST!  I didn’t see this one coming!

Casey — Lackluster night for Casey.  A little boring.  Still hot and talented, but time to go home.

Crystal — Better than Casey, but it didn’t blow me away.

Lee — Incredible!  I LOVED his first performance tonight (Simple Man).  Great song and he made an excellent choice for himself (the others didn’t).  I was disappointed by the lack of Mt. Prospect shots during the little homecoming montage.  I have the feeling we’ll see more of the visit tomorrow night, hopefully!  Lee’s second performance was cool, too.  I LOVE Hallelujah, but I’m getting tired of all the different versions of it.  Granted, Lee’s version WAS different… he kind of rocked out with the chorus and everything.  He did a great job making it his own (always important to the judges).  Oh, and it’s not Lee’s fault, but the fact that Simon Cowell apparently owns the rights to that song leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.  Smart business, but a little icky.  BTW, I’m listening to the Willie Nelson version right now… whoa!

For what it’s worth, here are some other possible factors in tonight’s results:

- The guys at Vote for the Worst want Casey to leave.

- Following the show, Lee DeWyze was the #1 trending topic on Twitter.  Casey James was in the Top 10, but got knocked off quickly, while Lee continued to be at #1.  No Crystal.  Interesting.

I think Casey will leave tomorrow night.  Exciting stuff!  Go Lee! 

-Maggie

Casey – “Okay, It’s All Right With Me” – Casey chose a song most people probably don’t know, which Kara pointed out isn’t the best idea. It sounded decent, but it wasn’t really top 3 material.

Crystal – “Come to My Window” – A good choice by Crystal, but on a scale of 1-10, to me, it was only about a 6, which for her isn’t all that great. She’ll need to really step things up on her second performance.

Lee – “Simple Man” – When Seacrest said Lee chose a Skynyrd song, this was the only song it could have been. It was the perfect choice! Round one went to Lee for sure!

Casey – “Daughters” – Randy and Kara picked a song they felt would represent what Casey might record, but I didn’t feel the same way about it. I didn’t like it as much as the judges did, and things aren’t looking good for Casey.

Crystal – “Maybe I’m Amazed” – Ellen picked this song, and she really nailed it. Crystal really stepped up her game on this one and showed that this is really down to her and Lee tonight, and Casey is on the outside looking in.

Lee – “Hallelujah” – This is the second time this song was performed this season, and Simon chose it knowing that Lee would make it different than when Tim Urban sang it, and that he’d have a “moment.” Simon couldn’t have been more on the money! This was probably the best performance from anyone all season. It completely blew me away. It was absolutely amazing.

Going home: Is there really any question? It has to be Casey. He’s clearly not in the same league as Lee and Crystal.

Can Lee make it through and hopefully bring a win home to Chicago next week? We’ll find out if he’s in tomorrow night!

- Josh

Lee – Not his best performance, but not bad. The song was a little outside of his vocal range, and he struggled at times.

Mike – It was just so-so for me. He’s so talented, so it was a little disappointing.

Lee and Crystal – Great duet! Loved it!

Casey – Better than last week, but not his best. He might be in trouble…

Crystal – I think she might have reclaimed the role of favorite! So great!

Mike and Casey – Another really cool duet! The judges said the duets were the best performances, and I totally agree. Cool stuff tonight!

Going home: I’m going to just throw a name out there because I really have no idea. Mike…?

Daughtry and Bon Jovi perform tomorrow night, so it should be an awesome results show!

- Josh

Aaron — For me, he’s a talented little Bieber/Archuleta-type, but not someone I would ever be a “fan” of.  Regardless, he looked cute and was professional tonight.

Casey — The judges hated him tonight.  I’m sure Casey regretting turning down that $50 gig with his buddies to do AI tonight. (BTW, he’s now the Vote for the Worst pick.)

Crystal — Boring… and no longer the darling of the judges, which worries me.  Come on, Crystal!  Although I usually dig her unique/dirty style, I think it would have been fun to see her class it up for Sinatra night.  If carefully executed, she could have stayed true to her style, while also looking fancy and classy.  Oh well.

Big Mike — Ahhhh… refreshing!  Finally someone comfortable with the theme!  Fantastic!

Lee — Lee is one of those rare contestants who gets better each week — so fun to watch!  He was great tonight and the judges loved it.

Who’s leaving: I REALLY want to see Mike, Crystal and Lee as the final three… so I hope it’s either Aaron or Casey (as much as that pains me).  This sucks: Casey. 

We’ll find out tomorrow!

-Maggie

Rascal Flatts started off the night with a pretty cool performance. They later came back and performed with Shakira, which was cool. Also, I had no idea Shakira knew how to play…the harmonica! It was cool!

They showed a behind the scenes clip of the making of their “Idol Vampire” Ford music video, which was pretty cool. This one might be worth checking out on the Idol website if you missed it.

Sons of Sylvia, a band I’ve never heard of before tonight, were pretty cool. I might be looking them up a little later…

Lady Antebellum were, as expected, really good.

Harry Connick, Jr. is next week’s guest mentor for Sinatra week!

Bottom three: Mike, Casey, Siobhan. I got two out of three right, but since I picked Aaron to go home, my prediction is dead. Mike is sent back to sit down, and it’s between Siobhan and Casey. So, who will it be? Siobhan. She wasn’t my favorite, so I’m not too broken up about it. Someone has to go home, and as long as it’s not Crystal or Lee, I’m fine. And Crystal is the last girl left! Can she continue her dominance against the guys next week? My Magic 8 Ball says, “It is certain.” I’ll go as far as to predict a good performance from everyone next week!

- Josh

They started off the night on a really high note: Idol Gives Back raised over $45 million last week!

Lee – “You’re Still the One” – It wasn’t his best, but it was still really good. I hope he’s around for awhile!

Mike – “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing” – This was my favorite of the night! It didn’t sound like a Shania Twain song at all, and it was his best in the last few weeks.

Casey – “Don’t” – I loved it! I still think his performance during Lennon/McCartney was his best, but this was a close second. So far, I’m eating my words about the guys having a rough night!

Crystal – “No One Needs to Know Right Now” – It was yet another great performance from the best contestant this year. she makes everything look so effortless. (Side note: Seacrest seemed to take a really underhanded jab at Crystal about her teeth — let’s be honest; they’re not the whitest we’ve ever seen — when he pointed out how white Shania’s are. So rude.)

Aaron – “You Got a Way” – Aaron is probably the weakest contestant left. He started off kind of bad, but once he hit the middle part, he sounded good, and he finished well.

Siobhan – “Any Man of Mine” – I just don’t get her. I wasn’t impressed, even though the judges, except Simon, liked it.

Bottom three: Aaron, Siobhan, Casey. Aaron is the weakest, Siobhan seems lost, and Casey was in the bottom three last week, and I need a third person.

Going home: Aaron? Siobhan? I don’t know! I’ll say Aaron.

Who knew Shania Twain could be the key to a really good night on Idol? Apparently, one of the producers did. Good call!

- Josh

Russell Brand and Jonah Hill did a really funny bit about wanting to do a phone bank to take donations with the help of their famous friends…only nobody showed up! They came back later with a bunch of celebrity impersonators…and Slash! And Octomom! And Jim Carrey!

Black Eyed Peas performed and Fergie’s outfit looked like it was inspired by Wonder Woman’s costume.

George Lopez came out and teased Seacrest for a minute and then did a bit where he teased the judges and did a pseudo elimination. He’s a funny guy!

Jeff Beck and Joss Stone performed one of my all-time favorite blues songs, “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. To steal a line from Randy, they slayed it!

Carrie Underwood reminded everyone that she was indeed the right choice over Bo Bice in season four. I think her back-to-back ACM Entertainer of the Year Awards, multiple Grammy Awards and hit records also say that, too!

Wanda Sykes does a quick stand-up routine and makes fun of Idol for a multitude of reasons, including making eliminated contestants sing before leaving. Hysterical!

The coolest performance of the night was when Mary J. Blige, Steve Vai, Orianthi, Travis Barker, and the Dawg himself, Randy Jackson, performed “Stairway to Heaven.” It was a cool take on a classic song!

Elton John’s still got it after all these years. He’s definitely an all-time great singer/songwriter/musician.

Even though it’s a night full of stories of inspiration and hope, they do have to take care of one unfortunate item…

Bottom three: Casey, Aaron, and Tim.

Going home: Tim. It was inevitable that once they got down to the best of the finalists, Tim wouldn’t be able to keep his streak alive. He did, however, manage to stick around longer than any other Vote For The Worst pick ever. So I guess that’s worth something. And I got this one right, so that’s three in a row for me! Can I best my personal record next week?

This was probably the most entertaining Idol Gives Back show they’ve done. Also, Simon said they raised $15 million in two hours!

Looking ahead, there’s absolutely no room for error going forward. Hopefully the contestants can respond with some really great performances!

- Josh

Casey – “Don’t Stop” – Alicia starts things off with great advice for Casey to show more personality. I liked his performance and his guitar playing was the usual awesome. He’s definitely one of the true artists this year along with Crystal and Lee. Speaking of…

Lee – “The Boxer” – I’ve always liked this song, and I thought Lee nailed it. He continues to make Chicago proud!

Tim – “Better Days” – It was a good song choice for him, and I’m surprised that he struggled with it as much as he did. I think the Vote For the Worst people are going to have to work overtime to get him through this week.

Aaron – “I Believe I Can Fly” – I agree with Randy that he took on a huge song, but he managed to pull it off. He was a lot better than recent weeks, and he showed more range.

Siobhan – “When You Believe” – She definitely has the most unique fashion sense of anyone this year, and maybe any finalist ever. She struggled a little tonight, but I think she’ll be safe.

Mike – “Hero” – I’ve been a fan of Mike for weeks, and this was no exception. It wasn’t his best, but to me, he’s a star in the making.

Crystal – “People Get Ready” – She again showed that she’s far and away the best this season. She was absolutely amazing, even without her guitar. Did anyone else notice that her recap clip was different than her performance? She cried at the end of her live performance, but not in the recap clip…

Bottom three: Siobhan, Casey, Tim. Nothing against Siobhan; someone has to be in the bottom. I don’t think Casey hasn’t improved enough from week to week, and Tim really struggled tonight.

Going home: If they decide to send someone home tomorrow (on Idol Gives Back night, they didn’t in season 6, but did in season 7) I’ll go with Tim. Vote For the Worst won’t be able to save him this week. He’s clearly at the rear of the pack, and I think it’s finally caught up with him.

Alicia Keys didn’t disappoint tonight! She was a great mentor and I’m sure she’ll be awesome tomorrow night. LOTS of big names tomorrow on Idol Gives Back, so it should be a lot of fun!

- Josh

Casey — Sorry to start on a negative note, but I hate the song “Don’t Stop” so much that I can’t even be fair about my judgment of this performance.  Although it didn’t keep me from voting for Bill Clinton, it may keep me front voting for Casey tonight.  Plus, he’s still hot, but starting to get too tan.

Lee — I’m having the opposite problem here than I did with Casey’s song choice.  “The Boxer” is one of my all-time favorite songs, so I’m not sure I could love any cover of it.  I’m glad the judges loved it because Lee is one of my favorites, but I was “meh” on the performance.

Tim — “Better Days” is my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song and I was glad to hear it tonight.  It’s funny that Tim decided to rock the Goo Goo Dolls hair tonight, too! 

Aaron — OMG… an R. Kelly song???  I know “I Believe I Can Fly” was a huge hit and falls into the category of “inspirational,” but it was a… uhhhh… bold choice.

Siobhan — I didn’t care for her performance tonight, but she looked all sparkly and cute.  Oh, and I happened to like her wacky butterflies!

Big Mike — He always makes surprising/unusual song choices and choosing a Chad Kroeger song of ALL the darn songs in the world was strange to me.  It was okay.

Crystal — Emotional!  I love it when they cry!  I hope she wins (not just because of the crying)!

My pick to leave: Siobhan

See you tomorrow for Idol Gives Back — jam-packed with celebs (and Octomom???)!

-Maggie

I sometimes wonder how the contestants feel about lip-synching every week. It’s really embarrassing to watch.

Andrew and his bow tie are eliminated pretty early in the show. That’s one correct elimination prediction correct tonight.

Brooke White and some guy named Justin Gaston sing a very slow and boring song. At least she didn’t ask to start the song over.

Alicia Keys will be next week’s guest mentor! Awesome!

Adam Lambert does half of his performance engulfed in some kind of foggy green vortex, and his ear pieces are bedazzled. Stylin’…

The second elimination is between Mike and Katie. Seacrest says the one who is safe isn’t even in the bottom three. So who’s Idol journey is over? Katie, which means I got both eliminations right, and the judge’s save of Mike last week was worth it.

Next week is the Idol Gives Back Special. Lots of big names will be there, so it should be a cool show. For now, it’s time for me to slip into a Nyquil coma for the next 8 hours or so.

- Josh