'American Idol': The Top 3 fight for a spot in the finals. How did they do?

Image Credit: Michael Becker/FoxIn perhaps the nail-biting-est Top 3 episode in American Idol history…okay, sorry, I was going to try to pull a Simon Cowell-esque bait-and-switch, but I’m just not that good an actor, folks. Not even in print. And so, tomorrow night, we’ll advance to the red ‘X’ in the middle of the forest, the place our collective GPSes have been steering us toward for 41 episodes. [Spoilers ahead, west-coast pals, so quit reading if you haven’t watched your Idol yet!]

Indeed, Idoloonies, it appears that — barring any apocalyptic voting wonkiness — we are headed for a Lee DeWyze-Crystal Bowersox finale. The former definitely stole the “Contestant’s Choice” round of the competition tonight (by sole virtue of not boring the viewing audience into drooling on their throw-pillows), and then, in a bit of classic Idol hyperbole, was told by Simon Cowell that his second performance (of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”) proved he was “a fantastic singer and a great person.” I guess some people see “showstopping” where I see “slightly overbaked.” Really good, mind you, but that arrangement with the half Gospel chorus and the mariachi horns was a bit much, no? Whatever. I guess when you’re an Idol judge and you have no memory of Bo Bice/Carrie Underwood/Kelly Clarkson/Tamyra Gray/Insert Name of Your Favorite Former Idol here, a delicious hot dog begins to resemble a pork tenderloin.

Meanwhile, MamaSox sealed up the second spot at the Nokia, not with her unbelievably predictable spin on Melissa Etheridge — what? “Bring Me Some Water” wouldn’t clear? — but with a vocally daring and emotionally spot-on “Maybe I’m Amazed.” Casey James, by comparison, wore a really cool purple striped shirt for his second number. But there’ll be some lovely parting gifts underneath his seat tomorrow night!

And on that note, I’m off to write my full TV Watch recap, which will post early tomorrow morning on EW.com. [UPDATE: thar she blows!] Share your thoughts on tonight’s telecast in the comments below, and if you don’t already, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak. I promise scads upon scads of Idol scoop and commentary! [Related: ‘American Idol’ plans 30-minute results shows: What to cut, what to keep?]

Tonight’s Set List

Casey James: Eric Hutchinson’s “OK, It’s Alright With Me”

Crystal Bowersox: Melissa Etheridge’s “Come to My Window”

Lee DeWyze: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”

Casey James: John Mayer’s “Daughters”

Crystal Bowersox: Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed”

Lee DeWyze: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”