It seemed as though the 'X Factor' mentors had a far better grasp of this week's nebulous theme of "songs that give thanks" than they did of "rock" or "songs from movies," but were you thankful for the performances?

Paula spent two hours in a perpetual state of teary-eyed incoherence (no change there), Astro was ... vaguely repentant over last week's "incident," and were it not for Paula and Nicole, I think Simon and L.A. would've started a slap-fight over Drew's performance. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hit the jump for our verdict on this week's especially tearful thankful installment, and weigh in on your favorite performances.

America and 'The X Factor' completely defied my expectations on Thursday night. When Steve Jones announced that the first two acts safe this week were the aggressively mediocre Lakoda Rayne and LeRoy Bell, it became apparent that there would be no predicting this week's results.

Still, with so many fan-favorite acts apparently in danger of elimination, the episode provided far more tension than I was anticipating this early in the game, when it seemed that all of the groups would be wiped out before the solo artists would have their turn on the chopping block.

The third act to be eliminated by America and the judges was:

After delivering weeks of solid performances, Michael Lynche surprisingly found himself facing elimination on 'American Idol.' But the contestant best known as Big Mike was saved at the last moment when the judges decided to overrule the elimination and keep him for another week.

Watch Michael's elimination after the jump.

(S04E22) It's time to narrow down the talent field to the Top 8 acts who will perform in the final round of this season's America's Got Talent. They'll get the chance to win a million, as well as perform on the Vegas Strip in a special show hosted by ex-AGT host Jerry Springer.

This week's results show featured a special performance from The Hoff himself. Did he give a performance worthy to be Xed, or did he deliver the goods? My two cents, as well as which first four acts are moving to the final round coming up!