American Idol: Last Man Standing

On tonight’s American Idol results show, 7 will become 6 as we bid farewell to another contestant. We already know that “rock night” was tough on our male competitors, but will they survive the night?

Oh heyyyyy, Casey James. I had almost forgotten about you. It’s been a long time since you where shirtless in Season 9. I’m not alone though – judging by the look on Nicki’s face when he is introduced, she’s never heard of him. Casey performs "The Good Life" and though I was never part of the Casey James fan club, I will say that he looks happy and sounds pretty great. Congrats to him.

The night’s biggest treat (almost only treat, but a treat nonetheless) is Carrie Underwood taking the stage to perform “See You Again.” She’s mesmerizing, she’s got the voice of an angel, and she’s a bone-fide superstar. Carrie also seems continually humbled by her success… and I just heart her. If she and Kelly Clarkson ever do a duet I might spontaneously combust.

Results! Ryan reveals the top 3 in no particular order. Kree is safe. Angie is safe. So far so good. And… LAZARO is safe. Whaaaaaaa? In the TOP 3?!?! This is getting a little out of hand. Also safe? Candice and Amber. Wait. This puts my beloved Janelle in the bottom 2 and I throw a slight temper tantrum. We go to the judges and Nicki talks about how grateful she is to have met Burnell. She then struggles to remember Janelle’s name. Super.

After the commercial break Ryan reveals that Burnell has received the lowest number of votes. He sings “Ready For Love” while only Randy and Keith have any side discussion. They really must be holding onto the save for the girls. The judges’ decision is not unanimous, so Burnell is heading home. The contestants are crying and Mariah is crying. Say what you want about Mimi being a diva - I really believe she takes her role seriously and genuinely cares about the contestants. When the camera closes in on Lazaro, he is singing along to "Ready For Love." At least he knows the words to Burnell's song...

So our remaining finalists consist of five ladies and one guy, which is a first for Idol. I imagine the judges will not let one of our female finalists go home ahead of Lazaro at this point, but if dude stays in the top 3 vote-getters, we’re in trouble. We’ll see how he fares next week. Til then!