Sometimes the front-runner is the front-runner for a reason -- and Crystal Bowersox showed no signs of slowing down when she sang the Janis Joplin rock classic 'Me and Bobby McGee' on 'American Idol' Billboard No. 1 Hits night.

Teen pop star Miley Cyrus wasn't shy about advising the dreadlocked single mom Bowersox to "go higher" and "push [yourself] a little bit more" -- and go higher she did, giving one of the rare performances on the night that didn't sound like karaoke.

Watch Crystal's performance after the jump.

(S02E07) I'm with Beckett here: I really enjoy watching Castle be a dad. I'm very far away from being the parent of a teenager myself, but I feel like people should be taking notes from him. Well, except for the part where she had to put parental controls on his computer. But otherwise, he strikes a nice balance between relating to her and not trying to be the "cool dad." I was impressed last week with how he didn't just let that drunk girl crash on their couch and made Alexis call her parents, despite her protests, and this week, when he made her go to school despite the fact that she was being helpful.

Since that happened at the beginning of the episode, and the entire thing was peppered with Alexis/Castle interactions, I was definitely predisposed to like this episode. It continued to be a strong episode to -- despite the fact that the subject matter made me really uncomfortable.

(S03E09) "Did you know that Janis Joplin speed walked everywhere and was scared of toilets?" - Frank, editing Joplin's Wikipedia page

OK, so I learned three things from tonight's episode. One, Jack revealed how he left the Bush administration at the end of last season (that gay bomb really did take effect), I never want to see Jenna and Frank make out again, and I'm never going to try any drink with the word "schlong" in it, even if it was inspired by 30 Rock.

I liked this episode, though it's the second week in a row where one of the plots was way too over the top for me. And I'm not even talking about Frank almost tricking Jenna into eating a live cat.