IDOL WATCH: The Final 3 are Revealed!

After last night's top 4 performances, there are few things that are clear in this competition. Steven Tyler relishes in the thought of a trendy feathered earring, and Lady Gaga must have a personal vendetta against pants. If there's one thing that's unclear, however, it's who the front runner is in this competition. I feel like this season is one of the few seasons where I can't pick a favorite based on talent alone. There's such a vast array of styles being offered, particularly in this top 4, that it's hard to compare them to one another. 

After a recap of last night's performances Ryan announced that they received almost 72 million votes last night. The most votes they have ever received for a top 4 in Idol history.

James and Scotty kicked the evening off with a...um... interesting performance of "Start a Band," originally recorded by Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. It reminded me of the strangeness that was the Jacob/James duet a few weeks ago. What an odd pairing.

Haley and Lauren continued the all country vibe with a super saucy performance of "Gun Powder and Lead" by Miranda Lambert. Wouldn't you think that they would pair the two country singers together for these duets? It was, again, an interesting pairing but they worked it.

Next came an out-of-place advertisement for Windows 7 and their new video conferencing program followed by the announcement that out of the top 4 idols, Lauren Alaina had made it to the top 3.
The evening continued with a random in-concert performance of Lady Gaga singing one of her unreleased songs, "You and I." Sound familiar? It should. This was the same unreleased Gaga song Haley received a verbal beating from the judges for singing last week.

Enrique Iglesias kept the evening going with a performance of two songs: "Dirty Dancer "(with video assistance by Usher) and, of course, "I Like It." They were fun and I thoroughly enjoyed the oversizEd White balloon balls, but talk about an auto-tuned mic. Geez.

Sporting a silver metallic trench coat, Jordin Sparks then took the stage singing her new single "I am Woman." It was certainly fun. She even stole a kiss from Steven.

After the premiere of Steven's new animal inspired music video, Ryan revealed the second person joining Lauren in the top 3, was Haley, leaving James and Scotty in the bottom. Uh-Oh.

It was then revealed James would be leaving us tonight. I knew that there was no chance on earth that Scotty would be going home, but was completely shocked none-the-less. It was emotional to say the least. He left with a speech about representing medal in the Idol world and a heart breaking performance of "Maybe I'm Amazed" (possibly my favorite James performance since the beginning). Here's hoping he turns into the new Daughtry!

Don't forget to check in with BroadwayWorld's IDOL WATCH next Wednesday night for a recap on performances from the Top 4! American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm on Fox. Vote for your favorite contestants at Americanidol.com!

Miss the Top 4 sing last night? Click here for a full recap!

Emmy Award-winning AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive produced by Simon Fuller, Founder, 19 Entertainment, a division of CKX, Inc.; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, President, Big Red 2 Entertainment.

Among the many American Idol finalists and winners to appear on the Broadway stage are Fantasia, Justin Guarini ,Jordin Sparks,Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, Tamyra Gray, Constantine Maroulis, Frenchie Davis, Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks.

Visit americanidol.com for exclusive videos, interviews and photos, as well as special behind-the-scenes information and all of your AMERICAN IDOL news.
Photo Credit: Michael Becker/FOX