Tonight is a big night, we will see the Idol cut of all three contestants victorious trips home, and then the final 2 will be revealed. I’m really hoping for a Haley vs. Scotty finale and I will not watch if we get a Scotty vs. Lauren finale. There is only so much that can be expected of a person.

There were over 95 million votes cast last night, a record number for this stage of the competition. Jimmy predicts there will be a guy in the finale. Now if he’d just said his name is James, I would have been happy. Cute video of the kids seeing a preview of Super 8. Looks like something the munchkin would like.

We get to see Haley’s trip home first. She is shocked by the limo, it pours for most of her day, and she is still a ball of sunshine. Aaron her bodyguard is a trip and even shows up on stage to do a little more fake crying.

The Ford video is to Uncle Kracker’s Smile it’s set on the beach and cute. Il Volo is up next with O Sole Mio it’s cute if a little odd hearing those old voices coming out of three little boys.

Scotty’s trip home is up next. Scotty is more than a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. He gets a huge welcome on his trip back to Garner. He sheds tears more than once, then breaks down in the car. Such a sweetie. Next is the grocery store where he worked, a parade and his mini concert all of which bring more tears. Scotty gets surprised by Josh Turner and there are more tears. Scotty is in the audience with his family and they admit to being in tears most of the time.

A taped performance of Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent with Right There, gosh this is bad, another FF worthy moment. Perhaps they should invest a little more in their guest performers next season.

Now we’re treated to Lauren’s visit home. She’s cute pretending to be scared of the escort detail. Lauren get her own day at her high school. Lauren talks about the recent tornados, it is just devastating. She meets a little boy who saved his family and then performs in front of a massive crowd in Coolidge Park.

Ryan pulls all three to center stage, after the nationwide vote the kids will be waiting through one more commercial break to find out the results. Some days you just want to wring Ryan’s neck.

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Trip home filler and then a brief view of James welcome home. A video about Beyonce since she is this week’s mentor. We’ll get to see the premiere of Beyonce’s new video later in the show. First round of songs is the contestant’s personal picks.

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Ryan opens reminding us that three will go home hometown heroes while one will just go home. Tonight’s show will include Steven introducing his newest video for It Feels So Good and performances by Jordin Sparks, Enrique Iglesias, and Lady Gaga. Ryan tells us that almost 72 million votes came in last night the most ever for a top 4 show. We are obviously killing time as we recap all the performances. James and Scotty do a duet with Start A Band, it’s all kinds of cute and weird, not to mention a few of those kids look less than thrilled to be a part of the performance.

Ryan shares audition info then the girls duet to Gunpowder And Lead, I’m more than a little scared of what all this country music means. Despite all the efforts to make Lauren more believable in this song Haley wins, unfortunately Lauren can’t resist singing over anyone she duets with. The kids get a chance to talk with their families courtesy of Windows 7, some real sweet moments there. Ryan pulls all the kids out to center stage and announces that the first person in the top 3 is…

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This is the dividing night, the night that decides who goes home to a huge media circus and who just goes home. Okay, not really, you know that most of these towns have already set this up and celebrate the one who goes home 4th, we just don’t get to see it. Here’s the judges, here’s Ryan, and now here are the final 4 Haley, Scotty, Lauren, and James. The first round is songs that inspire the contestants and the second round is the music of Lieber and Stoller.

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There were 60 million votes cast last night, Steven has a new book coming out, Jennifer will be “performing” and we’ll see a clip of her new video, Lady Antebellum is the guest. The kids do Happy Together and it has moments where they almost get it together except that they are all off key; but they have almost mastered the art of blending and vocal transitions.

Ryan makes announcements about season 11 while sitting on the couch with the kids. James is copying him reading off the teleprompter. The Ford video is to “Just Be Yourself”. There’s a cute video clip of the kids with Gordon Ramsey, they have an omelet challenge. The kids ask for lessons first but they don’t get them, Lauren takes first place with a bacon and cheese omelet with Jacob coming in second. More on their time with Gordon later. Now it’s Lady Antebellum with their single Just A Kiss, it isn’t too awful.

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The theme is now and then, the kids sing a current song and a song from the sixties. Ryan wants to know what makes tonight special and Randy says they are looking for who is in it to win it. Umm, I thought that was the whole point of this competition. Sheryl Crow was invited by Jimmy to help the kids this week. James is up first…

1. 

   James Durbin – Closer To The Edge – 30 Seconds to Mars – This started rough but ended better. I hope we aren’t going to smooth all his rough edges, I like him just the way he is.
   1-866-idols-01 or 1-866-idols-06

2. 

   Jacob Lusk – No Air – Jordan Sparks & Chris Brown – Let’s state the obvious, that was painfully sharp the whole way through. I guess he gave VFTW something to support.
   1-866-idols-02 or 1-866-idols-07

3. 

   Lauren Alaina – Flat On The Floor – Carrie Underwood -This was a fun performance from Lauren. Young and sassy is a much better fit for her than most of what she’s performed so far.
   1-866-idols-03 or 1-866-idols-08

4. 

   Scotty McCreery – Gone – Montgomery Gentry – Okay, this wasn’t the most impressive piece musically but that boy has fun up on that stage and he’s fun to watch. Scotty enters Randy’s “In It To Win It” club making it 3 out of 4 contestants so far.
   1-866-idols-04 or 1-866-idols-09

5. 

   Haley Reinhart – You and I – Lady Gaga (unreleased) – The judges are down on the fact that this is a relative unknown and no one mentions how well she sang or how comfortable she looked on stage. Sometimes I want to reach through my tv and smack them. 1-866-idols-05 or 1-866-idols-10

6. 

   James Durbin – Without You – Harry Nilsson – I’ll admit to a few rough notes in the lower end but he owned that song emotionally and he communicated it to the audience. I can’t imagine this season without James.
   1-866-idols-01 or 1-866-idols-06

7. 

   Jacob Lusk – Love Hurts – Nazareth – When he followed Sheryl’s lead it was okay, enjoyable even; then he went back to his usually vocal gymnastics and over singing. Please, please, please let him go home this week. 1-866-idols-02 or 1-866-idols-07

8. 

   Lauren Alaina – Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers – It was okay for the most part, but there were a few really off moments. Besides, this is one of those songs that’s been done before and done better. 1-866-idols-03 or 1-866-idols-08

9. 

   Scotty McCreery – Always On My Mind – Willie Nelson – A lovely performance from Scotty, he just looks so comfortable and in control on stage. I can’t really imagine a finale without Scotty and James. 1-866-idols-04 or 1-866-idols-09

10. 

    Haley Reinhart – House Of The Rising Sun – The Animals – Haley comes out delivers a fantastic performance. I’m glad she didn’t let the judges earlier negativity mess her up. I still think the first performance was the better of the two. 1-866-idols-05 or 1-866-idols-10

My Order: James, Scotty/Haley, Lauren, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,Jacob

An interesting night for sure, here’s to hoping this is the week Jacob leaves. Lady Antebellum and JLo perform on tomorrow’s results show.