Save the rocker. Save the diva. Save 'Idol.' Save the world?

'Idol' is notorious for its "shocking" results shows, but some contestants just plain go home too soon. Each season, one talented front-runner has failed to advance as far as the judges predicted, and the Judges' Save -- which allows for the 'Idol' judges to keep one eliminated contestant in the competition, despite America's having voted him or her off -- was created to solve that very problem.

Last season, it was used for pianist Matt Giraud, who ultimately placed fifth; last week, it came in handy for Michael Lynche, who must now try to avoid the dreaded double-elimination.

The rule was only introduced in season 8, but it would have been useful on 'Idol' during most prior seasons. Read on to see who we think the judges would have saved had the rule been in place from the start.

Kelly ... Ruben ... Carrie ... David ...

They may all own the title of 'American Idol,' but winning is one thing -- turning in one of the show's most memorable performances is something else entirely.

We scoured through the past seven seasons to come up with the 16 best. Then YOU, the fans, voted for the No. 1 greatest 'Idol' performance of all time. See who topped the list.

Welcome back to "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each installment, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of Syesha Mercado's elimination this week, we'll be looking at other fourth place finishers.

This week: 3rd place finishers, featuring featuring Nikki McKibbin (Season One), Kimberly Locke (Season Two), Jasmine Trias (Season Three), Vonzell Solomon (Season Four), Elliott Yamin (Season Five) and Melinda Doolittle (Season Six).

Hey all you Idol maniacs. Want to know where your favorite Idol contestants past and present will be making appearances? Of course you do. You've already got the RV packed, notes to the kids' schools written explaining their prolonged absences and a case of Funyuns jammed underneath the passenger seat. You're a member of the Soul Patrol, a Clayniac and are still suffering from McPheever. Oh you've got it bad.

But MJ's Big Blog has what you need. No more aimless driving around America shouting "Can anyone tell me where Gina Glocksen is performing tonight?" or "Has anyone seen Jessica Sierra, she still owes me bail money?" Now you can go to one place and plan your journey like the Deadheads before you. Now you can follow Ace Young as he travels around various Borders signing Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul, and you can catch Diana DeGarmo at the Braves opener. Oh, and if you're in Atlanta at Kroger tonight, look up Melinda Doolittle, buy some ice cream and tell her I said "Hi."

Call it what you will -- the downfall of pop music or its savior -- there's no denying that 'American Idol' is a fickle god-maker.

Some winners have found great success (hello, Kelly!), some have been dumped by their labels (so sorry, Ruben and Taylor), while some also-rans have gone on to bigger and better things.

We check in on 30 'AI' alums and fill you in on which ones are in trouble with the law, which are still giving it their best shot ... and which have fallen off the radar.

American Idol's season six winner Jordin Sparks and first runner-up Blake Lewis are hitting the studios to record their individual debut albums. With possible release dates as early as Thanksgiving, America will learn soon enough if the latest batch of Idols are "turkeys" or not.

Jordin said, "I'm trying to mix everything together. I'm loving all the songs I'm recording, so hopefully that will come off the album when you listen to it and you'll be able to feel the emotion."

What would the Fourth of July be without hot dogs, fireworks, and Blake's beatboxing?

American Idol finalist Blake Lewis will be joining third place finisher Melinda Doolittle, as well as this year's reigning champ Jordin Sparks for Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC. The special will be hosted by Natalie Morales and Tiki Barber from NBC's Today Show. Country singer Martina McBride will also be on hand to perform "Anyway."

NBC says the fireworks display "will feature nearly 35,000 brilliant shells exploding over New York City" in the country's largest Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza. The one-hour Spectacular will be televised at 9PM from New York.

Honestly, I have no idea who is going to win this year's American Idol.

And neither does Simon Cowell. Mr. Opinionated was uncharacteristically at a loss for a definitive prediction, telling reporters: "I can't call it at this stage. For Blake, he's a brilliant entertainer, but the negative is he's not a fantastic singer. The advantage for Jordin is she is a great singer and the negative is she hasn't done one performance yet which I can remember as a 'wow."'

Several weeks ago, I decided that Jordin Sparks was definitely a shoo-in as this year's winner. And both Ryan Seacrest and the odds makers agreed with me, making me that much more confident in my pick. But after last week's results, I'm no longer so sure.

On Wednesday night, many of us were shocked to see "resident pro" Melinda Doolittle get booted from American Idol. But more shocking than that, many of us swore we heard Ryan Seacrest mistakenly announce her upcoming ouster prematurely.

Here's what happened. After Elliott Yamin performed, and before a commercial break Ryan said, "We've got more music coming up live from Maroon 5. Plus, more emotional results and Melinda Doolittle goes home."

(S06E39) Last season's third place finisher Elliot Yamin showed up to perform on tonight's American Idol. He sounded truly grateful and sincere as he gave words of encouragement to the Final 3 contestants.

And he served as a fitting reminder that finishing third on American Idol isn't such a bad thing. Someone has to go home tonight -- but it's not an ending for that finalist. It's really only the beginning of a career.

This time next year, I fully expect tonight's third place finisher to be on this same stage singing and promoting a CD and upcoming tour.

I just didn't expect the results to go the way they did tonight. And I never thought that this year's third place finisher would be...

(S06E38) Ryan tells us that the theme of tonight's American Idol is "Three." There are three finalists singing three songs each. The three contestants have three phone numbers assigned to them. And of course, there are three Idol judges.

Can you believe that tomorrow one of these three finalists will be leaving American Idol? If nothing else, each of them gave stellar performances tonight proving they deserved to be in the final three. Unfortunately, someone has to go home tomorrow. And I'm not sure who that person will be.

But based on tonight's performances, I have to think that Melinda Doolittle deserves to be safe.

We're down to three remaining challengers in this year's American Idol, and it looks like it's going to be a very tight race for second place. But according to odds makers, first place is pretty much a lock for Jordin Sparks -- the odds-on favorite to win this year's Idol.

Odds makers are also predicting a final showdown between Jordin and Blake, leaving Melinda as a third place finisher. But we all know that anything can happen - and it ain't over until Seacrest is out.

(S06E37) The theme for tonight's American Idol is appropriately enough -- The Fantastic Four. We're down to just four (soon to be three) finalists. And this past week the finalists were treated to a sneak peek at the upcoming movie, The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Of course this means the viewers at home will be treated to an extended promo for the flick before the night is out.

In preparation for an appearance by Jessica Alba, Simon and Paula have apparently swapped seats. Paula says the reason for the switch is because Jessica is hot, and then she starts counting for no apparent reason.

(S06E36) Ryan tells us that we're down to three girls and one guy, and I suddenly realize that we're really getting close to the end of this year's American Idol competition.

I have to admit that right around Week 20, I thought this day would never come. Yet, after weeks of dragging this thing out, suddenly everything is happening quickly. I mean, heck, I missed one week of recapping and both Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey went home.

"The pressure is on," says Ryan. This is where it gets really exciting (if one of your favorites remains) or really boring (if your favorite has gone home). Either way, the waiting is almost over. In two weeks, we'll have a new American Idol.

But tonight starts pretty rough, with some uninspiring renditions across the board of Barry Gibb's greatest hits.

We're getting down to the wire now. Twenty contestants have gone home leaving us with just four remaining contenders. Who will win American Idol? And more importantly, what will they sing during the finale?

After receiving thousands of songs from aspiring songwriters in this year's first ever American Idol Songwriter Contest, a "team of experts has finalized a shortlist of the top 20 strongest and most suitable songs for American Idol," according to the official website.

If you want to help determine this year's winning song you'd better scoot on over to American Idol and vote soon -- the contest ends tomorrow, May 8, 2007.