American Idol 2010: Who Got Voted Off Idol Tonight? Top 2 Season 9 Finalists

Tonight we find out who is going to the finale and who is going to be the top two contenders for the 9th season.

Also introduced on the show was new artist, Travis Garland. Justin Bieber also was going to perform.. Ryan said, "Thank you for last nights support. Over 47 million votes came in. One week from now, live at Nokia Theater, we will meet the next American Idol.

Then Seacrest introduced the Idol judges, Randy Jackson ,Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi and Simon Cowell. Did you notice the top 9 were sitting behind the judges in the audience?

The Simpson's Finale to host the Idols

The top 12 will be on the Simpsons this Sunday.

Top three American Idols - Casey James, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze. Who is it going to be?
Ryan interviewed the contestants with the following questions:

How has your view of American Idol changed since you auditioned?

Casey said, "At first I had no expectations of getting past the stadium and, then you make it past that level and you keep wanting to get to the next level. When you get back home you realize that this is so much more than anything you ever expected." Crystal said," My perspective has changed because from an outside view, you don't see how much work goes into this. We sing once a week on the show, but that whole week is full of press and rehersals; we are always working." Lee said," It's a lot of work. I run into people all the time and they think we have time off in between. It is totally different than I would have ever thought it would hve been. It has made me a better person. It's been hard to stay true to yourself and do the right thing on the show. It is a hard thing to tackle."
Crystal said, "Being pushed to work harder than you ever have in your life, and strive to be a better person - it means a lot, but it is really hard."

Ryan asked, "Did you picture winning this moment?"

Casey said, "No. I never thought I would get this far. For me, it is like winning a 100 million lottery. It is so much more than I ever expected. It CAN'T be bad." Crystal said,"I definitely thougth about this moment, I'm cool with whatever happens but I would love to win." Lee said, "Yeah, I want to win, truthfully, when you are going through all these steps, winning seems so far, you get the top 24, every cut seems so far away. I never wanted to win more than I do right now. You feel it - and when you are so close, you want to win." Crystal said, "Right now - we're at that point where anything is attainable. We are there - the home stretch."

How are your real lives going?

Real lives? they laughed. Lee said," A lot of people want to keep in contact with you, and you would love to hang out and go back home. But you are so wrapped up in this, and you hav to stay focused. It is hard not to hurt feelings." Casey said, "I get at least 150 text messages a day, sometimes I send a smiley. Sorry everybody but I don't have time." Crystal said, " I'm a mom, you get tugged in a million different directions; I want to spend every minute with my son. I have my diabetes to take care of too so there is really no free time." Ryan asked, "How are you doing with that Crystal?" to which she replied, " I've never been healthier than in my life. I would never have had the care that I have right now if it weren't for American Idol. And that is just an amazing thing. Thank you."

Ryan asked Randy, "What do you see in terms of their progression?"

Randy - "Progression? Lee when he first came in was so shy. Dude you have blossomed beyond belief. And I think you found your center and the kind of artist you want to be. Crystal was more of an Indie artist, and she has grown immensely too, she would have never tried out here. Casey has grown too, with his vocals and the Texas legacy with Stevie Ray Vaugh thing. And our comments, hopefully helped.

Crystal said, "Thank you, you've been amazing" to the judges. Lee said, "Any advice, either positive or negative, is still advice. It's a good thing." Casey was grinning and when Ryan asked him why, he said, "Well, not every comment was useable - with all due respect." Ellen was giggling on that one.

Last Friday our contestants went home.

We saw Texas greeting Casey James. He was amazed that they were stopping traffic for him as his limo made its way from the airport to his first stop where he was asked, "Do you have a girl friend to which he replied, "No" Naturally, the little, old, young, and indescreptive girls went wild." Unbelieveable man", was what Casey had to say. "This is a dream come true, and for my town to be able to share it with me is unbelievable. He had the Dallas Cheerleaders at his party!.' Holy Bleep', he exclaimed.

We were reminded that six years ago Casey was in an accident, and as part of his homecoming he was now going to the hospital to thank everyone that 'saved my life at the hospital that put my arm back together'. We saw the hospital staff, and his mom tearing up. She said, "When he got home, he asked me to put his guitar in the bed with him, and I did." At the end of his show in his hometown he thanked the crowd and he seemed very grateful.

Ryan asked him, "What did you feel like when you saw that doctor?" Casey said, "It was intense. If I had gone back at any other time, it would have been ok, but like this, it was great." Ryan said, you seem to be emotional after watching that video." Casey said, " When my mom cries, I cry".

Top 10 - Summer Tour, American Idol tickets are selling fast. Go to American Idol.com for more info.

Travis Garland

Ryan Seacrest introduced Perez Hilton who was sitting in the audience, and is hated by Katy Perry and Paris Hilton. Ryan asked him, "How did you discover Travis?" Perez said,"I discovered him online. He posted a video on YouTube. The fact that he was better than Justin Timberlake, which is a lot to say. Travis's vocals were a bit weak, his dancers seemed a bit lost and the only thing that I thought was cool about his act was his percussionists, and maybe hs run up the stairs. He performed the song, "Believe". He sweat hard, but I "believe" he probably worked harder than he had in a while.

Then Ryan Seacrest told everyone, "If you think you have what it takes to stand on this stage and be Season 10's American Idol, go to the auditions this summer. They will be held in Nashville, New Orleans, Jersey City, San Francisco. Check American Idol.com for more details.

Crystal was welcomed home to Toledo, OH

She said, "It's so weird to have Crystal Bowersox day." They got her up really early in the morning, and she 'off to see what the day held.' She signed a teenager's chest, and he said he was going to get it permanently tattood. Really? Crystal's jaw dropped. Then she popped her head out of the limo and was giggling like a fool and yelled, "hi guys!".

The Mayor of Toledo gave Crystal a key to the city of Toledo and then she went for a quick visit with her family for a barbeque and visit with her son. As the day went on, she began to look flushed and was holding her head as she went from event to event. It has got to be overwhelming. (Each contestant was overwhelmed with the magnitude of attention they received) Crystal said, " I don't have words to describe it. I'm speechless and that's all I got." When the clip ended Ryan commented that she had performed an original Called Home Sweet Home Toledo. Crystal said, " We got a chance to use my song - I wrote it, and I've been fighting all season to do originals. It's given the area a piece of hope and that's what this is all about." Crystal was so happy she could do her song, and was caught up in the emotion and she bawled, running her makeup but she looked totally sincere and beautiful.

Lee DeWyze had a homecoming fit for a King in Chicago

Lee said, "Hello Chicago, I'm finally home." The crowd was chanting, "We want Lee." He said, "This is going to be so cool. One minute you're fixing up paint and the next minute you are here." Then he moved to another event, ' Off to the cubs game, throwing first base.' You could see that Lee was getting overwhelmed when they honored him at the game. " That's crazy he replied and then we found out he wasgoing back to his elementary school. "This is going to be aweome!" There were 200 high pitched 7 or 8 year olds, screaming. An Idol is someone we look up to and I think Lee has been a great role model, applyiing himself, continually learning.

Lee's 1^st grade teacher announced him and of course they were all screaming. Then he said, "Holy crap. I'm back at home and it's the first time in so long. As they were driving down the street we got to see where he used to work, and then go inside for a quick visit. He said, I used to drive this road all the time as the limo pulled into Mt. Prospect Paint, and there was a huge crowd for him there too. "This is where I used to work everyday. Man this is so amazing. I couldn't ask for more." At his final show, "Lee was crying and said to his fans, I'm going to win this thing. This is so much more than I could have ever expected. This is the best day of my life. Thanks to all of you. I'm going to go back and I'm going to be thinking of all of you!" He had me choked up over that one.

Ryan asked Lee?

What does it feel like to have your father so proud of you. "It's amazing, this whole thing has been crazy, and awesome and insane. To have their support when I'm doing what I love to do" He looked at his parents in the audience and said, "Thank you guys for everything".

Justin Bieber performed You Smile, and Baby

Honestly, I was surprised at how good he was for a young kid. He reminded me of Michael Jackson when he was younger. His singing was much better than a lot of acts we've seen on stage that are double, triple, quadruple his age. He played the drums at the end of his Baby song and showed that he is also a "musician".

Who is going home this week? Casey James

We found out, Lee was safe. Joining Lee for a shot at the top is Crystal.

Casey said, "Thank you for the opportunity and I'm so honored to have been here." Casey's final performance, "Daughter's" was a much more appropriate, and genuine approach to the song. He had a girl in the audience who was about 6 or 7, presumably a relative who was dressed up for the occasion looking absolutely adorable and shy, as she sat arm in arm next to Casey, on stage. His singing was better tonight, he was more relaxed, and perhaps a bit relieved that he didn't have to go head to head with Crystal or Lee next week. Casey will be back. I'm sure he will have a contract deal if he doesn't have one already.

Source:
Fox Television, American Idol 5/19/2010