The Top 9 - Sing Heroes

The Top 9 finalists received some professional advice from Stevie Nicks and they were able to select a song from their personal music heroes:

Colton Dixon chose to sing a song by Lifehouse. It was an emotional and heartfelt ballad that allowed him to convey the substance and the meaning of the song. You could tell that this inspirational song of worship truly means something to him.

Skyar Laine chose to sing a song by Miranda Lambert, Gunpowder and Lead. This is the kind of tough girl anthem that is perfect for her. The vocals were strong, but she wasn't quite putting the genuine punch in the lyrics like she knew what she was singing about.

Colton, Elise, and Phillip came together to perform the Fleetwood Mac classic, Landslide with Colton on lead vocals. It was flawless. Elise took the mic to sing Stevie's signature hit Edge of Seventeen. It was a perfect match for her sound and look. Then Phillip took lead vocals on Don't Stop and it was no big surprise that he butchered it.

Heejun Han chose to sing A Song For You by Donnie Hathaway. He claimed he was going to take things more seriously, but he's still a big fake and a phoney. There wasn't a shred of sincerity in a single note that he sang. Boring and forgettable.

Hollie Cavanagh chose to sing the debut single from the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, Jesus Take The Wheel. Hollie served up the real deal with her outstanding and impressive vocal range along with an emotional connection that was completely convincing and true.

Deandre Brackensick chose to sing Sometimes I Cry by Eric Benet. This was a heartbreaking R&B ballad that was interpreted by Deandre like a seasoned professional. He has a smooth and sultry falsetto that is made to make a man melt! Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

Jessica Sanchez chose to sing Sweet Dreams by Beyonce. AMAZING! Beyonce may be her hero, but Jessica did this song even better than Beyonce ever did! She slowed it down to be a ballad and seriously showcased that could seriously become a bigger star than her hero.

Deandrea, Joshua and Heejun performed a medley of Michael Jackson hits including The Lady in my Life, Rock With You and P.Y.T. This a was perfect fit for Deandre to completely shine and put Joshua and Heejun in the place of back-up singers where they are a better fit.

Phillip Phillips chose to sing a song by Johnny Lang. This allowed him to show the world who is and what he can do. And this is all he can do. He openly admits that he has no range, versatility or ability to appropriately interpret a musical theme or adapt to a different style.

Joshua Ledet chose to sing Without You that was a world wide smash hit for Mariah Carey in 1993. His voice couldn't be more different than Mariah's, so he was totally able to make it his own and he jam-packed it with an over the top emotional punch.

Jessica, Hollie and Skylar performed a medley of Madonna songs including Like A Prayer, Borderline and Express Yourself. These popular hits sounded better with the wonderful voices of these three young girls than Madonna could have ever lip-synced on her own.

Elise Testone chose to sing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepplin. Elise is an all out ROCK STAR. She exuded some full on credibility as she tore the roof off the place. HOT HOT HOT!

It was a great night of live music entertainment, but it's still easy to make my prediction for the bottom three. It has to be Skylar, Heejun and Phillip. But the one certain to be going home has to be Heejun. That sappy drivel he served us tonight was unbearable and a complete insult to the memory of Donnie Hathaway. It's best to get rid of Heejun now so he won't be disrespectful to anyone else.

The Results - Lady Gaga

Scotty and James opened the show with a performance of the Brad Paisley and Keith Urban duet, Start A Band. James was able to add a convincing musical interpretation to the lyrics as this is something that he has clearly been striving toward for his entire life, while Scotty was just going through the motions. Lauren and Haley followed this up with their best effort of the Miranda Lambert anthem Gunpowder and Lead. The fact is, though, that clearly neither of these girls has the spit fire composition to live up to the premise of the what little girls are made of in the song.

Lady Gaga performed a live concert on HBO this week and the You and I clip from it was shared with the American Idol audience. It was nice to see this song done well after the mess that Haley made of it a couple of weeks ago.

Lauren was then the first of the remaining finalists to secure a spot in this year's top three.

The Season 6 Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, has enjoyed some wonderful well-deserved success since getting the crown. She has consistently reached the top 10 on the Billboard HOT 100 with singles, No Air, Tattoo and Battlefield. Tonight she made the debut of her latest single, I Am Woman, which is an empowering dance throw down. Hopefully this year's finalists were watching closely and learning a lesson about how a very young and talented singer should look in order to have pop music success. Jordin looked and sounded amazing.

Enrique Iglesias made his way back to the upper portion of the charts last year with his dance club friendly songs like I Like It. Tonight he is hoping to get more success with his release Dirty Dancer.

In an unpleasant twist, it was announced that Haley would be the next person joining Lauren in the top three along with Scotty. That left the most impressive singer with the best vocal range and stage presence, James Durbin, to be the one eliminated this week.

Needless to say, I was not right with my prediction at all this week and Haley is continuing to move another step closer to winning the Season 10 Miss American Idol crown.

It seems like James Durbin is set to follow in the footsteps of Chris Daughtry who was eliminated at this same point during Season 5, but went on to release the top selling album for all of 2007.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!!!

The awards just keep coming for the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four Winner, Carrie Underwood!

After performing her smash single Undo It at the CMT awards, it was time to present the buckle for the CMT Video of the Year. It was no surprise at all the the fantastic video for Cowboy Casanova which is the first single off Carrie's latest album, Play On, ended up taking the top prize of the night.

As usual she was extremely appreciative of her fans in her acceptance speech.

Her toughest competition in the category came from Miranda Lambert's White Liar which ended up getting Female Video of the Year and Lady Antebellum's Need You Now which took home the Group Video of the Year.

Carrie also won the CMT Performance of the Year for Temporary Home from her CMT Invitation Only Concert.

Entertainer of the Year! 2.0

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood was a true vision of loveliness as she performed Temporary Home at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Her vocals were complete perfection and her gown of spring flowers looked stunning as the auditorium was showered with colorful petals. Just a wonderful and moving musical experience.

Throughout the show Carrie looked beautiful even though she wasn't winning in her categories. Miranda Lambert was a big winner taking both Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year from Carrie. Then in the Song of the Year and Single Record of the Year categories, Carrie made room for Lady Antebellum's wonderful song Need You Now to take the awards.

But when it came down to the top, most prestigious award of the night, Carrie Underwood, for the second year in row, was named the ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!

Carrie's latest album, Play On, is simply packed with amazing songs with incredible lyrics that showcase her wonderful voice. Pure enjoyment from beginning to end. She is totally and completely deserving of this fantastic honor.