American Idol: The Top 7 Revealed

(S07E30) This is a big week for American Idol. We have three episodes; the performance and results shows sandwiched around the two-and-a-half hour "Idol Gives Back" star-studded spectacular that aired last night. Finally we have the results show -- but will they pull the same thing as last year and nobody goes home? Join us, won't you, for another spectacular non-star-studded live chat during tonight's episode, starting just before 8:00pm ET.

You can join the chat by following this link. Look for the full episode review right here later tonight.

IDOL GIVES BACK CONTINUES
The Idol Gives Back continued into tonight's results show. The video of bad lip syncing to The Monkees "I'm a Believer" wasn't very good, but it certainly showcased a ton of celebrities including several that didn't appear on last night's special. The video celebrities kept coming and begging for donations. They must have run out of time in last night's special which went over time anyway. Tonight we added Zack & Cody from Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody had a video opening montage, and were joined later by Ricki Lake, Dr. Phil, Michael Chiklis and Jim Carrey.

Forest Whitaker
We saw a second clip of him meeting another family, this one where a six-year old boy must act as provider for his family since his father lost his sight in a land mine accident. This short spotlighted the serious problem of orphans in Africa. In Angola alone there are 100,000 orphans, most of whom have to fend for themselves. He got to see a home where some of the kids can find the needed structure and love that they need.

ONE.org
Bono came back to talk about ONE.org, and finally we got to see those video segments from the three main political rivals. John McCain snuck in a dig about the Michigan and Florida Democratic primary votes being discredited and even a jab at Simon. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were more straightforward in their comments, but I guess they've still got a political battle to fight out.

Jordin Sparks w/ Chris Brown - "No Air"
Hey, check it out. It's last year's Idol! The moral of this performance for me was that Chris Brown is an amazing vocalist. This is a catchy song and they both did a good job, but Chris Brown really outshined her in the beginning of this performance, but to Jordin's credit she really brought it out in the end. It was actually a really beautiful performance. I liked the chemistry they showed. After the number, she got a record each for over 1,000,000 downloads of both of her singles: "Tattoo" and "No Air" and another one for her CD going gold. I think this showcased how much downloads of singles is really impacting and shaping the way the music industry is going to be getting music to the fans in the future.

Ford Video - "I Just Want to Celebrate"
This commercial was a bit of a mess, though I liked how the mess of paint in the end shaped into the globe. Other than that, it went too long and seemed to have nothing going for it in regards to a high concept. Sorry, Ford, it's been a better year for you.

BUILDING YOUR BOTTOM THREE
There were over 31 millions votes for the Top 8 this week. First to face the music was Brooke White. For once I found her banter amusing as she talked about her sister's wedding this Saturday and said first that she probably wouldn't be there. Then she corrected by saying that she didn't want to be presumptuous and that maybe she would be there. "Let's find out," she told Ryan. So Ryan let her read the card that said she was safe.

David Cook, who had one of his weakest weeks yet on Tuesday, was still safe. Again there was some fun banter. This was a very relaxed crew so far! After the Cook came David Archuleta, who's gotten some flak for inferring that the song was a new choice for him when there was video of him singing it before Idol. Nevertheless, David A. was also safe.

So three of the remaining five would make up that Bottom Three. Would Jason Castro be the first one to go that way? So Kristy Lee Cook came out next and I had a sneaky feeling she would be safe, thus instantly creating the bottom three. Was Idol really so predictable? Yes it was.

GOING HOME
And so your Bottom Three was Michael Johns, Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson. I'd say I was stunned but we've reached a point where these contestants are all pretty talented, so one bad night or one odd comment or weird look can be enough to shunt someone into the Bottom Three. And America really hates Syesha.

Ryan mixed things up a bit by announcing right away that both Syesha and Carly were safe, and our first shock elimination when Michael Johns received the lowest vote and saw his run come to an end. I guess America doesn't like Aussies singing Aerosmith. Or maybe it's a bit more complicated than that. I'm going to go ahead and say America got this one way wrong, but don't we always lose someone around this stage of the competition way sooner than we should, remember that Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson went out in sixth place.

MY PICKS
I got two out of three right in the Bottom Three, but didn't see Michael Johns being down there at all. And I think everyone from me to you to America didn't see this one coming. I thought Carly would be the one to go, so I slip down to 7-10.

YOUR PICKS
Your bottom three was even farther off, putting David Cook and Brooke White down there with Carly Smithson. You agreed with me on Carly being the one to go, but doing so dropped you to 11-6.