Top 6 Results

"It looks like we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby." We're already forming the Top 5!

The show began with some behind the scenes footage and clips from last night woven into another dramatic movie trailer type of opening. It's been two weeks or so since we've had one of those. Welcome back!

Approximately 33 million votes were tallied for the Top 6 contestants, but the one with the fewest votes would be out within the hour. Practically every one on the radio was performing, so Ryan had to stick to the schedule!

When Ryan introduced the judges, Randy did a weird upper body bow, Ellen mimicked Randy's bow, Kara waved her arm like a rope in a rodeo, and Simon waved with two hands the way Paula Abdul used to.

Instead of a group performance, the Rascal Flatts kicked off the night with a performance of their single, "Unstoppable." The Idols were in the bleachers, and Aaron Kelly is a huge RF fan, so I was hoping to see him go wild for them in the stands. I hope he gets to talk to them after the show. What a dream for the 17 year old! Ryan interviewed head Rascal Gary LeVox, who was unsure if he has performed three or four times on this show before. They kick off their tour this summer, and guess who is opening for them? They didn't share with us, but it is Season 5's naughty little minx, Kellie Pickler! The Flatts will return to the show later in the evening to shake their hips with Shakira.

This week's music video was awesome! After a behind the scenes look at the idea, make-up, and cinematography of the video, we saw the Idols perform "Believe" in what appeared to be a high-budget video. Michael Lynche is the only non-vampire in the scene, so does that make him Bella?

Next, Ryan had some free time over the weekend (ha, yeah right) and took the Idols to meet Mike Mitchell, director of SHREK FOREVER AFTER, to use their talented voices to record over Ryan's hard work as Father of Butter Pants. I'm not joking; that's the name of his character. The finalists are vocalists, so it was interesting to hear their takes. Mike has some chops. If this whole singing thing doesn't work out for him, he could make ogre movies for his daughter. Shrek's Antonio Banderas and a gorgeous Cameron Diaz came up on stage. Ryan said that the movie moved him. "I got a Lee DeWyze eye. I didn't cry, but I was emotional." Father Butter Pants, it's okay to cry. By the way, "Lee DeWyze Eye" is my new favorite saying.

Oh yeah, it's a results show. Finally, Ryan grabbed his trusty cards and divided the Idols up into three groups of two. As I wondered if that meant there's only a bottom two, Ryan placed Siobhan Magnus and Lee DeWyze on the far side of the stage, Aaron Kelly and Crystal Bowersox in the middle, and Michael Lynche and Casey James on the right. What does this all mean? Well, Ryan told Siobhan to "take a walk with me." Last time he asked Lee to walk with him, he walked him to the safety of the bleachers. Ryan stopped Siobhan just short of the bleachers and had her join Mike and Casey. These were your bottom three; Lee, Aaron, and Crystal were returning for Top 5's Songs of Frank Sinatra with mentor Harry Connick Jr.

American Idol Carrie Underwood introduced the Sons of Sylvia performance. They sing together on her "Play On" album on the track "What Can I Say" which is so beautiful, it gives me a Lee DeWyze eye every time I listen to it. SOS sang "Love Left To Lose" and the audience swayed.

Ryan was enjoying the country concert from the audience and said he was sitting next to a Kardashian. Not every brunette is a Kardashian, but Ryan was subliminally plugging one of his many shows. He introduced Lady Antebellum who sang "Need You Now." The song is about drunk dialing, so Aaron would have to change the lyrics if he were to sing it. Lead singer Hillary Scott recently revealed that she auditioned for American Idol a few times but never made it. She got her chance to perform on the Idol stage tonight and gave a worthy performance.

Shakira was up next and she performed "Gypsy" with the Rascal Flatts. She played harmonica at the start of her performance. Shakira and Crystal could take this act on the road! People in plain black clothes and regular hair and makeup began dancing on the stage. I thought they were enthusiastic audience members at first, but they knew the same moves as Shakira so I guess they're her dancers. After last week's Black Eyed Peas performance, I'm used to seeing back-up dancers in gold latex bodysuits. Shakira offered sound advice to the contestants: "Keep your eyes on the stars, but keep your feet on the ground." It's a Theodore Roosevelt quote, but Ryan attributed it to Casey Kasem, who is the president of Ryan Seacrestland.

For the second time tonight, I was reminded that this is actually a results show when Ryan sent Mike back to safety. As they cut to commercial break, Simon was already up out of his seat and heading out of the studio. I guess the liquid in the Coke cup has caught up to him.

When it came down to the glass blower vs. the construction worker, we found out that Casey would still be building his dream on the show. Siobhan Magnus had a great run in the competition, but did not receive enough votes. Every week she cries as the eliminated Idol performs one last time, but she managed to hold it together for her own performance of Aretha Franklin's "Think." She gave a great final performance and became emotional afterwards when she hugged her family and even the judges. Randy told her she has an amazing career in front of her. I have a feeling that she won't be glass blowing very much in the near future!

Next week, the Top 5 sing Frank Sinatra songs with support from Harry Connick Jr.