American Idol

While the American Idol community is buzzing over the judges' decision to save Michael Lynche from elimination (do you think it was the right call?), we'd like to focus on the two acts that graced the stage last night.

First, what can even be said about David Archuleta at this point? Young, cute crooners such as Alex Lambert and Aaron Kelly have won over many fans this season, but neither compares to this former finalist.

He showed why again last night, serenading the audience with a rendition of "Imagine."

Rihanna on Idol

After that, the episode took a 180 degrees turn and showcased a song from Rihanna, looking even more hardcore than usual.

Below, check out her performance of "Rockstar 101," as well as a few photos of both her and David on stage.

Phew. That was close.

Due to a collective, nationwide brain fart, Michael Lynche found himself in the bottom three last night on American Idol. Once Aaron Kelly was deemed safe, Lynche then found himself in the bottom two alongside Andrew Garcia - and then the bottom one!

Granted, Big Mike's rendition of "Eleanor Rigby" on Tuesday was overblown and far from his best. But, unlike viewers around the country, the judges were willing to give Lynche another shot: they unanimously voted to save him from elimination.

Think they made the right call?

The excitement, and flamboyance, on American Idol will be ratcheted up next week: Adam Lambert will mentor the contestants.

Regarding anyone's fears, Adam Tweeted this week: "Don't worry America: I will be beyond family friendly. Relax and enjoy. For Your Entertainment."

Granted, Casey James probably put on the best performance on last night's edition of American Idol.

And Crystal Bowersox pulled out a didgeridoo! (It's a wind instrument. Look it up.)

But we're awarding this week's Idol Performance of the Week to the smiley Tim Urban. For what reason? Because he'll likely advance to the top eight, and this time it won't be due to his positive attitude or good looks.

Urban actually impressed judges and wowed viewers with his rendition of "All My Loving" last night. See what we mean below:

All My Loving

Tim Urban is a very nice guy, with a great smile and an even better attitude.

But, let's face it: the singer isn't really American Idol finalist matieral. Heck, he's scarcely American Idol semifinalist material, only advancing to the top 24 of season nine after another contestant got disqualified.

It's difficult not to root for Urban, however. Which made his rendition of "All My Loving" so refreshing this week. Not only did Tim avoid another embarrassing critique at the hands of the judges, he actually finished in the top three! Well, THG's top three at least.

Here's how we'd rank last night's Beatles-inspired performances:

1. Casey James: Taking a page from the solo John Lennon catalog, Kara's former crush put on a tender, touching rendition of "Jealous Guy."
2. Crystal Bowersox: She played a didgeridoo for "Come Together." Yes, that's a wind instrument. And playing it on stage made us love Crystal even more.
3. Tim Urban: Did this rendition remind anyone else of The Plain White T's? Great work all around.
4. Michael Lynche: We still can't envision Big Mike winning it all. Accompanied by a mini orchestra on stage, though, Lynche made his heart show through again with "Eleanor Rigby."
5. Siobhan Magnus: Look at that outfit (below)! Such a unique contestant, with a sound that also ensures she'll stand out. Went with "Across the Universe."
6. Lee DeWyze: The judges loved his confidence, but we didn't think it was Lee's best performance. It's a difficult, well-known song to try and cover.
7. Katie Stevens: Great vocals, didn't seem too old for a change... but Katie still doesn't do it for us. She did change "Let It Be" and made it her own, but that's not always a great thing.
8. Andrew Garcia: Considered "corny" by the judges. Can we all forget his Paula Abdul rendition weeks ago and just admit that Garcia won't be around much longer?
9. Aaron Kelly: Sorry. You're cute, but that isn't enough to make this version of "The Long and Winding Road" remotely memorable.

Who was your favorite performer of the evening? Click on each photo below to enlarge pics of each one singing:

Didi Benami's journey came to an end on American Idol this week.

The 23-year-old won praise (albeit without a judges' save) from the show's panel on Wednesday night and moved many to tears on her road to stardom.

While she fell short, Didi Benami has a lot to be proud of, and despite disappointment, she's not feeling distraught, just looking forward to what's next.

Below are excerpts from an interview she did with USA Today ...

On the scrutiny she faced: "I was not prepared for that. I was not an avid American Idol watcher, so I didn't know what to expect. Honestly, I was just being myself, and I did stuff that meant something to me and had a good time."

On making the top 10: I'm relieved that I get to go on tour. I don't have to work as a waitress anymore. I get to do what I love. It's a blessing. It's a relief to know I'll be able to make a living doing what I love for the summer, hopefully longer."

On wearing her heart on her sleeve: "[Crying] has definitely been therapeutic for me, and I do it as a release. It's funny because the camera was always catching me when I'm emotional. And I'm not always that emotional."

On losing her way, or so Kara said: "I don't feel like I lost my way. I feel like they wanted me to do something specific every week ... and I went out on a limb several weeks and did different things. And they weren't expecting it."

On her moment with Siobhan Magnus after being ousted: "Siobhan is a unique, amazing person. I love her very much. She's a sweetheart. She ended up being my roommate the first week. I met her the first day of Hollywood Week."

On the judges' save that wasn't: "It was tough. The whole crowd was chanting, and that was pretty cool. Ultimately, I kind of felt like I was going home, but I thought it would be cool if they exercised the option to let me stay."

On her competition's reaction: "Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan and I are really close. Crystal came down and stayed with me last night. They're amazing, wonderful people. It's hard when you meet other artists you really connect with."

Wednesday night's American Idol not only featured the elimination of Didi Benami, but a performance from Usher and a cameo by Justin Bieber himself.

Bieber stopped by to support his mentor Usher, who also coached the Idol aspirants this week, but also to tape his upcoming "Idol Gives Back" segment.

Naturally, this being Justin Bieber, he caused flat-out pandemonium.

After he was done, a 'tween fan rushed the stage, prompting security to intervene with a secure bear hug before she could present herself to J-Biebs.

Speaking of crazed fans, more than a few 13-year-old girls were so excited when Bieber came out to tape "Idol Gives Back" that they started crying.

Leave it to protege Bieber to upstage mentor Usher ...

OMG: Usher performs on American Idol.

After a lengthy process of getting him to the point where he could actually perform without the stage being ambushed, things went according to plan.

Finally, Justin Bieber, who now boasts the #1 album in the U.S. as well as some amazing hair, took to the stage and performed "U Smile and "Baby."

When this performance actually airs on the Fox show's annual "Idol Gives Back" special, we strongly suggest you find a hat and hold the f*%k onto it.

For now, follow the jump to see him introduce his homeboy mentor Usher, who proceeded to rock the house, OMG style, with special guest will.i.am ...

While Big Mike Lynche and Lee DeWyze showed off their soulful side and established themselves as contenders on Tuesday's American Idol along with Crystal Bowersox, plenty of other performers left the stage in mediocrity ... or worse.

Before this season, the judges touted the quality of the female aspirants. Well, we're three weeks into the finals and three women have been kicked off so far.

The latest victim: Didi Benami.

Her inconsistent performances, including Tuesday's "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted," were her undoing as American Idol voters issued her a pink slip.

As for Tim Urban, that guy keeps on sliding unscathed despite a third straight visit to the bottom three. Katie Stevens also made a return trip to the bottom three.

ADIOS, DIDI: America make the right call?

Next week, the group performs songs from The Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which should provide great variety and be a real treat.

Which of the remaining nine do you see going all the way to the end, and who do you think is a candidate to be sent packing next Wednesday?

Here's how we see the remaining finalists in three tiers of three ...

The Contenders

• Crystal Bowersox
• Michael Lynche
• Lee DeWyze

Hanging Tough

• Casey James
• Siobhan Magnus
• Andrew Garcia

Bottom Three

• Aaron Kelly
• Katie Stevens
• Tim Urban

TOP 9: One of them will be the next American Idol ... but who?

Fans will ultimately have the final say, but to THG, Michael Lynche and Lee DeWyze stood out most on American Idol Tuesday. The judges were certainly impressed.

In fact, Simon Cowell said that it was his cover of India.Arie's "Ready for Love" that finally made him a credible artist in his eyes. For the surly Brit, that's saying a lot.

Slowing things down with an acoustic guitar, Big Mike sounded great and wowed the panel and audience alike. We're pretty sure the voters will turn out for this, too.

Here's Michael Lynche singing "Ready For Love" ...

Ready For Love

Lee DeWyze also made a statement last night, perhaps propelling himself to contender status with a soulful, raspy, powerhouse rendition of "Treat Her Like a Lady."

"This was the night your life may have changed forever," Simon said. Again, high praise from the man. Follow the jump to see Lee do his version of the classic ...

American Idol's R&B/Soul night was the first episode of the finals to really shake things up, with a couple of unexpected standout performances and a few letdowns.

There were standouts you could have easily predicted, too, such as Michael Lynche, who won raves for a stirring rendition of India.Arie's soulful "Ready for Love."

Meanwhile, Lee DeWyze was terrific for the second straight week, this time turning the Cornelius Brothers' "Treat Her Like a Lady" into a contemporary rock song.

Both were enough to overshadow the outstanding Crystal Bowersox, who was solid just the same on "Midnight Train to Georgia" (with piano and no guitar even).

Andrew Garcia and Casey James both scored big with the judges and earned some badly-needed praise for "Forever" (Chris Brown) and "Hold On" (Sam & Dave).

Michael Lynche is one of the few who never disappoints.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Siobhan Magnus disappointed somewhat with her take on Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," Aaron Kelly and Katie Stevens were average at best, and Didi Benami and Tim Urban will be the bottom two if we had to wager.

Agree with our take? Who do you think will go home tonight? Here's how we rank Tuesday's American Idol performances (with last week's ranking):

1. Michael Lynche, "Ready for Love" (3)
2. Lee DeWyze, "Treat Her Like a Lady" (2)
3. Crystal Bowersox, "Midnight Train to Georgia" (1)
4. Andrew Garcia, "Forever" (8)
5. Casey James, "Hold On, I'm Coming" (5)
6. Siobhan Magnus, "Through the Fire" (4)
7. Aaron Kelly, "Ain't No Sunshine" (6)
8. Katie Stevens, "Chain of Fools" (9)
9. Tim Urban, "Sweet Love" (11)
10. Didi Benami, "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (7)
    

Click to enlarge photos of the finalists in action ...

American Idol viewers received a double live treat last night.

The results show, which saw voters send Paige Miles home, also saw a triple teen threat of Miley Cyrus, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato bringing the house down.

For all our criticisms of Miley, you have to give her credit, the girl is a good live vocalist, a true stage presence with a husky, powerful voice beyond her years.

Although the writhing and spontaneous convulsions during the chorus of "When I Look at You," her track from The Last Song? No idea what's going on there.

Perhaps Liam Hemsworth knows a little something about it:

Miley Cyrus - When I Look at You (Live on American Idol)

What did you think of Miley Cyrus on Idol? Did she bring her A-game? Are you psyched for her first huge non-Hannah Montana role, as she focuses on acting?

In addition to Miley, new couple and dueling music stars Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato performed "Make a Wave." They certainly did in real life by coupling up.

Follow the jump to see the lovebirds in action ...