American Idol Gives Back and Tim Urban Goes Home

Tim's Teflon finally wore off tonight. He took it all in stride complete with that famous smile flashing. At the beginning of his journey on American Idol, Tim relayed that he is one of ten children and although he loves his family, he was anxious to be known simply as Tim Urban, the individual. That certainly happened for him this season on American Idol.

Within the first 45 minutes of the show, four of the contestants learned whether or not their American Idol journeys would continue.

Crystal Bowersox and Casey James were the first two vocalists to be summoned to center stage by Ryan Seacrest. Previously, neither of these Idols had ever landed in the bottom three, but that was about to change. The 3 stools, reserved for those receiving the least amount of votes, were back and Casey was asked to take a seat in one of them. Crystal was safe.

Aaron Kelly and Lee DeWyze were next on the chopping block. Aaron appeared to be quite nervous as he received the news that he would be joining Casey in the bottom three. Siobhan, Mike and Tim had to wait until the end of the show to learn their fate.

The President and Mrs. Obama started off the evening with a message of hope and gratitude. The stars came out in support of Idol Gives Back. Queen Latifah hosted the entertainment in Pasadena's Civic Auditorium while Ryan held down the fort at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Among the guests were The Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Sir Elton John, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox, and the week's mentor, Alicia Keys. I was most impressed with ex-idol Carrie's moving performance of "Change".

The evening was peppered with celebrities such as Ben Affleck and Josh Groban urging America to be generous to the causes of Idol Gives Back. Others such as Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Garner and David Cook traveled to remote areas to depict how Idol aid was making a difference in people's lives. Attention was drawn to children's causes such as literacy, the battle against hunger, and brighter futures for young African women.

Idol Gives Back to varied causes right here in America and globally as well. It was tough to watch some of the segments...a seven-year old very sick with AIDS...a woman, pregnant with her first child, both ultimately lost to malaria. And to think a $10 bed net keeping the mosquitoes out could have prevented that tragedy.

The evening was balanced with the humor of George Lopez-who judged the judges- and Wanda Sykes. Wanda made light of American Idol's procedure when a contestant is kicked off the show and then has to sing an exit song. "Oh yeah, come out here and remind America why they didn't vote for you." She also quipped about Big Mike's save. "After all, who is going to tell this big guy he's going home?"

Finally, Siobhan Magnus, Mike Lynche and Tim Urban were brought to center stage. Mike was told he was defying the odds by continuing in the competition. Siobhan seemed relieved to know that she was also safe. That left Tim heading to the stools to join Casey and Aaron. Tim's time on Idol is up for now. America got it right tonight.

Donations can be made at American Idol's website or by calling 1-877-436-5243.

The Top Seven American Idols Perform Inspirational Songs on Tuesday, April 20th

Source: Fox Channel; Idol Gives Back; 4/21/2010