American Idol Season 9's Top 12 Now Down to 11

Lacey Brown, Tim Urban and Paige Miles ended up occupying the ominous 'bottom three' stools on Wednesday, March 17^th, as American Idol prepared to cut the contestant count from 12 to 11. The dreaded stools are reserved for the three American Idol vocalists who receive the least amount of votes.

Lacey has a distinctive quality to her voice and is a likable personality. However, after her performance on Tuesday, she was the logical choice to be the first vocalist sent home from the Kodak Theater. And so it was.

The elimination process began as Ryan Seacrest first gave Paige Miles the news that she was in the bottom three. Paige did a respectable job, laryngitis and all, singing "Honky Tonk Women" on Tuesday's American Idol program.

Lee Dewyze, Siobhan Magnus, and Aaron Kelly received the flash rather quickly that they were all 'safe'. Each of them deserves to continue for another week on American Idol.

Andrew Garcia and Tim Urban were pitted against one another for the next verdict. One was heading to the stools and one was not. I assumed after Tim's performance on Tuesday that he would receive the bad news, and he did.

Didi Benami was given the word that she was safe. She'd had one of her best nights on Tuesday, so her status was no big revelation.

Crystal Bowersox, of course, was safe. Ryan Seacrest did question her about comments that Crystal thought she had American Idol "in the bag". Fortunately, she had the opportunity to set the record straight. Crystal never hinted that she felt she was a shoe-in. America knows she's good, thus the fabrication. Based upon the outcomes of previous seasons, obviously no one has it 'in the bag'.

Katie Stevens and Michael Lynche were next to be given the go-ahead to continue next week on American Idol.

Casey James and Lacey Brown were the final two awaiting the announcement, and they stood up together. I would have been very surprised had Casey been directed to the stools.

Lacey did deserve to be in the bottom three. She sang her final song and the judges were unanimous in their decision not to use up their one 'save of the season' on her.

All in all, I felt that this result show was fairly predictable.

American Idol Top Twelve Contestants Perform March 16th
For more information, visit American Idol's Web site.