AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. For one last time this season... these are her impressions of last night:

For whom does the confetti fall? It falls for thee, Scotty McCreery, and how he lapped it up. Taste the rainbow, Scotty! It tastes like victory.

Despite faux drama and suspense brewing since Tuesday night, the country boy’s coronation capped off two hours so chock-full of performances and celebrity appearances it’s like they were being doled out by Oprah. You get a Beyonce! And you get a Jack Black! You! I don’t like you, you get a Marc Anthony. Don’t feed him after midnight.

Of course there was a series of tepid numbers reuniting the top 13. If you cocked your head and thought “Who dat?” You weren’t alone…a handful of these people might as well have been strangers. Remember Ashthon? Thia? Yeah, me neither. But They Were Born This Way, clad in white and waiting to be raptured. The girls did a Beyonce medley, joined by Ms. B herself, but in my opinion they were far overshadowed by the men singing Tom Jones, or more specifically, Tom Jones himself. Tom freaking Jones! What kind of legend are you if you’re still picking ladies undergarments off your suit at 70 years old?

In the spirit of Dreams Coming True n Stuff, our final few got paired off with some of their own idols. James, coiffed, bedazzled and in fine spirits, hollered with Judas Priest, Jacob preached it with Gladys Knight and Kirk Franklin, and Haley sang beautifully and danced awkwardly with Tony Bennett. Casey sang a bizarre bromantic Fat Bottom Girls with Jack Black, during which they tried, and failed, to out-weird each other. Let’s call it a draw, boys. As for our final two, Lauren sang “Before He Cheats” before Carrie Underwood and her greased up legs joined her. It was a fine performance, but it looked like they were really into pantomiming like, “Yeah, it really sucks he cheats! No? We really can’t relate on any other level!” Scotty leathered up to sing “Live Like You Were Dying” with Tim McGraw, a song with the implicit wisdom that if you are, in fact, dying, you should participate in activities like skydiving and bull riding. Although my dying wish would be to just look at Tim McGraw a little more…Scotty’s been touted as a sex symbol in the making, but standing next to that t-shirted man mountain, it’s clear he has a long way to go.

As far as solo performances, a few Idol mentors returned to show the little kiddies how it’s done. Beyonce slunk around and taught us that the best bedroom conversations involve math. Marc Anthony emerged from his goin’ out coffin and sang in Spanish while JLo-hontas shimmied her fringe in his face. The whole thing there was kind of icky. Lady Gaga, looking like a Star Wars extra perched on cliff, groped and gasped through her new single, “Edge of Glory”. She’s on the edge, get it? Literally and, uh, maybe figuratively. Double ick. Then she made out with the shirtless man and they jumped. Yawn. Typical Gaga. Some Steven. Some piano. Ah, memaw Tyler never gets old.

Then it’s Scotty, everyone, and he crumpled over before making out with Lauren, I think, and hugging everyone in ‘tarnation while singing his victory song, “I Love You This (shudder) Big”. He was probably trying his hardest to avoid actually singing the song. Boss move, McCreery! A pro already. He got a little loopy, poor boy, catching confetti in his mouth and generally being odd, and somewhere someone was probably whispering his ear, “Hey kid, millions of people are watching you make a fool of yourself on TV,” but he didn’t care, dernit, he’s just a fancy singing sweet pea who just won American Idol, and if he wants to pretend confetti pieces are delicious snowflakes and ramble on about Lauren Alaina and God and sit down on the stage and weep as the credits roll, that’s what he’ll do, thankyouverymuch!

So that’s the season, Idol watchers. Through angst (why so country?) and shocking eliminations (Pia!), frustrations and threatened boycotts (Idol hates women!), a very deserving fellow prevailed, with equally deserving contenders trailing behind. Only one can win. Was it the one you wanted? What did you think of the season? Will you watch again? I thought it was pretty awesome, guys!

Let’s have one for the road: was it…'in it to win it?'

Special thanks to AJ for really going above and beyond the duties of "Floor Director" to write these recaps all season. We hope they made you smile at LEAST as much as they did for all of us at "Morning Express with Robin Meade." Maybe we'll be able to convince her to be our "Idol Expert" again next year.

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Beyonce • Carrie Underwood • Extras • Gaga • Gladys Knight • Jack Black • Jennifer Lopez • Judas Priest • Lady Gaga • Lauren Alaina • Marc Anthony • Oprah • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Scotty McCreery • Steven Tyler • Tim McGraw • Tom Jones • Tony Bennett

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

I should have known things would be wonky tonight when our final two first walked out, Lauren in her typical prom queen and/or Dynasty cast member getup, and Scotty in…a t-shirt. Like he was about to go bale some hay. Scotty, this could be one of the most important nights of your tender little life. Get a shirt with a collar, or at least one with some glitter on it. It went about this way for the whole hour, Scotty being handed proverbial t-shirts of songs, and Lauren spinning super-special sugary moments with her mom, herself, and her wardrobe. Is this payback for Scotty’s crazy emotional hometown visit last week? Or maybe they’re trying to even the field, because honestly, before last night I would have bet it all on Scotty to be the first warbling pony over the finish line. Now, am I sure? Am I not sure? I’m not sure. But something was off.

First up was Lauren’s doctor, with one of the best performances of the night, delivering cautionary yet hopeful news that Lauren had blown a vocal chord (that’s the technical term) during rehearsal, but was on some serious meds and would do great. Yo yo dawg, not the best excuse for me personally, but I think you rocked it, Doc. Nice scrubs.

And so Scotty, after a gentlemanly deferral of a coin toss, was up first with his favorite song of the season, “Gone”. He did Montgomery Gentry right again, with more restraint and exactitude, not to mention a merry band of musicians caravanning behind him. His personal Idol, George Strait, did himself a personal favor and chose “Check Yes or No” as Scotty’s second song. Yay! This was my JAM when I was like, nine! It would have been nice to hear a more interesting song choice, but you gotta appreciate the combination of youthful rhetoric and oh-so-subtle pleas to for fans to check “yes” when Scotty hands them that ballot. There was more toddler talk for Scotty’s hypothetical coronation single “I Love You This Big”. Are. You. Kidding. Who let this happen? Is this the appropriate song for someone with a shot at being the country Justin Bieber? Then again, take a scan of country radio and you’ll find songs like “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On” and “Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk” . Sooo the bar for song titles is pretty low. I kid because I love. Should we even get started on the use of profoundly un-lyrical words like “experience”? No, we shouldn’t.

Let’s go instead to glitterbomb Alaina, who wisely chose Carrie Underwood’s “Flat on the Floor”, a virtually fool-proof song. She killed it dead, but probably left her personal Idol Carrie with a conundrum. To pick one of her own songs, or to not pick one of her own songs? The latter, leaving Lauren with Pam Tillis’ “Maybe It was Memphis”. Maybe it was pretty good, if you could take your eyes off all that gold. I guess cowgirl ballerina is going to be her trademark now? Is it weird I find it endearing? Finally, her possible single: “Like My Mother Does”, which was appropriate for many reasons, not the least is the obvious fact that she looks and sounds exactly like her mom, to a nearly creepy extent. This was emotional, guys! Couldn’t you feel the emotion? No? Try harder! It’s really important you feel this way! If you need more persuasion, here’s a hug with Alaina Senior! But seriously, meh. Maybe I’m allergic to this particular brand of sap, but others seemed to deem it Lauren’s emotional apex, and her victory, at least for the evening, was set. The judges, after an hour of sitting and bobbing in near silence, overwhelmingly preferred Lauren. Yeah they’re entitled to their opinion, but why you gotta do Scotty like that?

I’m in a bind, you guys. Was it just me, or was last night’s show a little loaded with Lauren? Granted, she probably did have the better night. Her singing was pretty excellent, but Scotty has been consistently better the entire season. Are we underestimating Scotty’s rabid tween fan base and it won’t even matter? Really, am I late to the grumblefest because the spin is finally jeopardizing a contestant I favor? (Save, of course, Casey, who never had a chance). American Idol: The real source of life’s important questions. Fret not, all will be answered in tonight’s finale. Be there or be a square dancer.

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Jennifer Lopez • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

Haley stumbles, Lauren fumbles, and dads galore! Wow, last night had it all, huh? Our final three amigos (lets see how many "three" phrases we can fit in here) served up a piping hot trilogy each (again!) of songs for our hungry hungry ears. And honestly? I was pretty satisfied.

SCOTTY: The young collard green has definitely proven himself as the most consistent singer. Even Beyonce seemed impressed, although I had to throw an eye roll at her when she politely said she loved Lonestar. Yeah, okay. Scotty’s cover of their cheese-tastic hit "Amazed" was surprisingly mature and unaffected, save his persistent habit of looking quizzically into the camera. There’s nothing in there, boy! Equally good was his Thompson Square number, answering for women folk everywhere the uncomfortable question, "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?" (a firm no, for legal purposes). However, when fettered by a guitar and a too-low mic stand, his usual stage maladies are concentrated in his jumping-bean eyebrows and twangy pronunciations (I like you ay-lott!). He closed out with Kenny Rogers' "She Believes in Me". You could bore a hole in that song and let the sap drip out. Ugh. It was an okay choice, but not as awesome as a reprise of Scotty’s now-signature audition song… sung by his dad. Loved it. Baby lock them doors!

LAUREN: Poor dear. With each passing week, Lauren seems to get more adorable and equally more unhinged. Kind of like her wardrobe, with gigantic flowers blooming from her ears and a Disney fantasy prom dress confection that seemed to really bother Randy. And her ripped pantyhose! What a trooper, that wardrobe woman deftly oiling up La Alaina's bare legs moments before showtime. Anyhoo, girlfriend definitely had her ups and downs. Her personal pick, Faith Hill's "Wild One" was rushed when it should have been energetic, and seemed a little sparse for her big, sweet voice. Jimmy Iovine, who has been hitting the country radio a little hard it seems, set her up with The Band Perry's hit "If I Die Young". I don’t think little glitter princess is gentle or nuanced enough to tackle the song. She blew a key change, and spent the rest of the number trying to atone by showing off. Aw. I kind of felt sorry for her, though I had to laugh when JLo called it a "moment of honesty", the most diplomatic term for mistake ever. She finally hit her stride with a decadent "I Hope You Dance", a perfect choice for her voice and her style.

HALEY: Tonight was her night. She set the bar high-and it remained unsurpassed-with an unexpectedly awesome cover of Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be". MVPs of this performance were definitely the stairs, which finally exacted their revenge by tripping her, if only for a moment, and her guitar-shredding dad. What a nice moment for her. The dad part, not the tripping. She continued the high with her Stevie Nicks impersonation, "Rhiannon", during which she had some intimate moments with a wind machine. She’s never looked better, and Randy must have been dozing off when he called the song "somber". Really? She never had any hope of pulling off Alanis' "You Oughta Know", though, and not only because of the naughty lyrics and basement-level verses that muted her voice. It comes down to this: when you think angry girl music, you definitely think Alanis. You never think Haley.

So there they were. Did you love it, Idol people? Do you wanna kiss Scotty or not? Is Lauren a wild one? Should you oughta know Haley? See what I did there? Help! The suspense, it's driving us crazy!

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: Alanis Morissette • American Idol • Extras • Jennifer Lopez • Jordin Sparks • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

What is this? There seems to be strange emotion water welling up in my eyes. It burns! Oh James Durbin, how did it get to this?

And to think the night started off on such a high note. The lads opened with "Start a Band", with Scotty playing Brad Paisley to James' Keith Urban (they both have madly coiffed hair). The Durbs was game for the country tune and their harmonies sounded competent.

The ladies retorted with Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead". Are we pulling exclusively from country repertoire now? Not that I mind. There was a lot of blowing on imaginary smoking finger guns, and the performance is BAD. Bad as in good, you know? Like Michael Jackson or Jesse James. Finally, the opening numbers are actually fun! Maybe not the best, vocally, for me, dawg, but fun and that’s what painful results shows are about.

Then, of course, the big stars. Enrique Iglesias did a mash-up of his latest… I’m sorry, what was I saying? It suddenly got very hot in here.

Jordin "With An I" Sparks did her new single, "I am Woman." It's…intense, and not recommended for viewers prone to seizure or sudden cravings for Jiffy Pop. At the end, I honestly thought she was going to ask Steven Tyler to proclaim himself woman, but she was really just going in for the cheek kiss. Cute!

Speaking of our Idol memaw man, I have one word for his new music video: sloth. Forget the hot women, and the vast array of Kentucky Derby castoff hats. There was a short sequence of Steven cuddling a sloth, and seriously, how can you get better than that?

By now, Lauren is safe, and the next to be sent to what are now the golden stools is….Haley. The judges look slightly grim. James and Scotty are both favorites, so the choice ahead is painful.

And then Scotty is safe, but he couldn’t look less happy about it. If only they had a sloth to cuddle. The Idol hands should really look into that. James, almost always on the verge of crying, composes himself, says a few nice words, and sings himself out with "Maybe I’m Amazed". Agh! Why is everyone crying, make it stop!

Truthfully, James was never the most polished contestant, but he was at the emotional center of a lot of moments this season. Remember his sendoff to buddy Stefano? Or his near breakdown during "Without You"? I fully expected him to sail into the Top 3, but then, who else would have gone home? Does anyone have an explanation?

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Enrique Iglesias • Extras • Jennifer Lopez • Jordin Sparks • Lady Gaga • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

A Whole Lotta Gaga... actually it was a whole lotta show in general. The second week of double dips from our singers gave us some drippy songs that inspire, and vintage Leiber and Stoller. Then of course, there was some Lady Gaga, with her sad panda getup and the kind of advice only a bizarro 25-year-old pop creature can give. I kid! I liked her. More on that later.

JAMES: Was anyone else all "OMG WHY" when the Durbs announced he was doing Journey? I calmed down when I realized he sounded good, even though this song is on the "No Fly List" of every restaurant/bar/back-alley karaoke joint ever. It's nice to hear the Idol types sing songs they actually know and like, as opposed to ones they've crammed into their brains in the span of a week. Luckily, no cramming for James, he picked up Love Potion #9 for his second set, and at the behest of a touchy-feely Gaga, went about the painful and complex task of actually moving his body with the music. Piano jumps? Yes. A little bump and sway? No. That's not what the Durbs is about.

HALEY: Growly earth girl totally harshed my mellow with MJ's "Earth Song". Yeah I know it's like, really meaningful and stuff, but that biz can get kind of preachy, especially since Haley, of all the contestants, is the least developed emotionally. Shall we defer to the judges? JLo and Randy continued their anti-Haley campaign, spurring a super awkward tete-a-tete. Like last week, she was revved up for her second song, "I Who Have Nothing". I thoroughly enjoyed Gaga as mentor, so often she appears to be riding the highest of horses but here she was – dare I say – down to earth? Haley took her nugget of theatricality and turned out solid, but the judges, swinging wildly from one side to the other with her, may have overpraised her out of guilt.

SCOTTY: So Scotty the Body is a thing now. Ok. If I had a million words, I couldn't explain to you how much I hate the song "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning." But it was timely (except for that gem about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran. Oof.) and delivered with the level of McCreery aplomb we've come to expect. And Scotty and Gaga? Love. He tried to be as little freaked out as possible when Gaga instructed him to stick his tongue down the throat of his microphone girlfriend. "I better have a good lookin microphone," he quipped. Such a diplomat! Oddly enough, he surpassed Gaga in weirdness with his series of psycho cherub faces during his take on "Young Blood". Instead of pointing that out, and possibly weeping in terror, the judges' observations have just devolved into a series of hilarious quotes, like this one from Steven to Scotty: "You make Gaga's yaya go lala." Hahaha! Ew.

LAUREN: She framed her inspirational song in light of the tornado devastation in her part of the country, which was a smart move and lent some dimension to her usually cotton-candy kind of appeal. And gosh, Martina's "Anyway" sounded great on her. As for the fancy-pants mullet dress, well! That's a LOT of dress (though not enough, at the same time? A conundrum!). La Alaina was actually concerned about repeating the word "evil" ad nauseam in her Elvis cover. "I don't want America to think I'm evil!" she squeaked. Cowgirl, please. We'd have an easier time believing you were The King himself. However it is disappointing how unconvincing she was during her second performance, no matter how nice her voice, and I found myself wishing Haley had done this song instead.

And there's your top 4. What did you think of Gaga as mentor? Do you think the judges are too hard on Haley? And whose apple is going to be plucked from the Idol tree tonight?

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Gaga • Jennifer Lopez • Lady Gaga • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Sheryl Crow • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

*SPOILER ALERT: THE NAME OF THE PERSON ELIMINATED LAST NIGHT IS RIGHT BELOW THIS PICTURE*

Goodbye, Jacob Lusk. For weeks we have been watching you wail, flail, jig and preach, as your competition got picked off one by one. Now, amongst a waterfall of Lauren tears and Luther songs, we bid you too adieu.

But hey, he got a starring role in this week's Ford music video, which I actually forced myself to watch and listen to attentively. Just be yourself, guys! No matter whether you like to toss cards or park a car telekinetically! Gosh, my standards are low…which is probably why I found the group sing of "So Happy Together" totally amazing, in the fact it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as it could be.

Probably the best bit of the night was the nail-biting two-parter with Gordon Ramsay of Hell’s Kitchen infamy. It was all pretty funny! And kind of sad. Really, no one knows how to make an omelette? Or turn on a stove? Lauren rose to the task, bless her, and Jacob by default (some sick, ironic foreshadowing there?) and they went head to head in a blind taste test wherein Lauren prevailed again by identifying tofu (ew, yuck! Say all of the omelette-challenged others) and… a hot dog! What a refined palate this young lady has. My favorite Idol throughout was Scotty, though, who just could NOT stop giggling. Food, man! Hilarious!

Country juggernaut Lady Antebellum did their new single "Just a Kiss". I guess they’re pretty good – there’s the girl, and the dude, and the other dude who doesn’t sing but plays all the instruments so he’s always the awkward extra in their music videos. Whatever, they have Grammys, and the song was pretty catchy. To steal from the judges, "You can't judge that."

Which brings us to the most important moment of the night – JLo tore it up (in a taped segment, by the way) with rapper Pitbull as they urged everyone to get on the floor and/or dance the night away while putting their drinks up. Having a good time is so complicated. But of course they pulled out all the stops for the Lady of Idol – there was a rising platform (please please PLEASE use this in the finale!) and aerial shots and dancers in man-brassieres. There was also the issue of her sparkly Hammerpants, which an astute friend described to me as "the only outfit in the world that accentuates ZERO of the things that make her the world’s most beautiful woman." True dat.

Oh, and someone got eliminated. Ryan, who sits around in his lair plotting things like this, forced a safe Scotty to essentially choose the bottom two, either Lauren and Jacob or Haley and James. While a gigantic DUH rose above the crowd, Scotty demurred. Good boy.

So then there were Jacob and Lauren. La Alaina has never been in the bottom group, and was weeping so profusely and obviously it sucked all pain out of Jacob’s eventual fate, if there was any pain to be had in the first place. I will admit, seeing his family in the audience did it for me, and during his final lap with "A House is Not a Home", a new affection rose in my cold, black heart. Isn’t it funny how these chaps are most likeable as they walk out the door?

What do you think, fellow Idol-ers? How many weeks overdue was Jacob’s departure? Who would have/should have gone home instead? Who else really really wants to read Steven Tyler’s new book?

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Gaga • Jennifer Lopez • Lady Gaga • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

Okay, I guess things are getting serious now. "This is the most important performance show…EVER" bellowed Ryan. Randy beat the snot out of his catch phrase: in it to win it! (by my count, at least five, but then I got tired and zoned out on Steven’s red ladyblazer instead. Homegirlyman knows how to dress!). Even guest mentor Sheryl Crow was fed the script, promising a great show.

Sheryl, you liar.

So it wasn’t the best Idol installment ever, but we did get treated to some amazing performances (Haley! Lauren!), if we clenched our teeth through the bad ones (Jacob!). Let’s look at the rundown:

JAMES: His 30 Seconds to Mars cover just wasn’t up to snuff. If you know this band, you know it’s fronted by Jared Leto, and their repertoire is pretty intense. James is wild, and entertaining, but he’s not really intense, you know? Case in point: he darts out of rehearsal for his second song, "Without You" to sit indian-style in a parking lot and boohoo because the song makes him think of how much he misses his family. Ha ha! What a water balloon. Joke’s on me though, because his tender, imperfect, emotional performance had me choking up. Now that’s the right kind of intensity for him.

JACOB:: Did Jacob really think singing "No Air" was a good idea? It was a total mess – from his flailing vocals to, perhaps the worst part, the unhelpful gaggle of backup singers who seemed to bring him down even more. Unacceptable. His take on "Love Hurts" was much better, but lacked nuance. Maybe I was spoiled by Sheryl, who threw out a few bars that were so soft and perfect it made Jacob's performance seem even more heavy-handed. No matter, the vocals were mostly there and that’s what counts, right?

LAUREN:: Well hot dang, Lauren has come to play. Her Carrie cover "Flat on the Floor" was flat-out entertaining, and she was really channelling a nice rocker girl vibe. Also, unimportant, but she looks amazing, no? A little toddler-beauty-pageant with the makeup, but hey, she's young, she can figure it out. Her "Unchained Melody" was also a win. "Nothing to judge here!" said JLo, while secretly trying to decide whether Lauren's outfit was a dress (yay!) or a jumpsuit (sinful!).

SCOTTY:: What an enigma, our Scotty. I truly feared for his life as he leaped off the stage during his fantastic Montgomery Gentry song. He might be the most strung out performer in the group, but as soon as the song stops he snaps back into this cherubic poker face that makes it seem like he's baffled about how, exactly, to look into a camera. Odd. Then, barely had he time to calm down before "Always on My Mind." It was subtle, mature and very enjoyable, but I may be biased. I think the boy is great.

HALEY:: Haley went for a deep cut with an unreleased Gaga song, "You and I." I was surprised the judges didn't support her more for taking a chance – haven't they been encouraging her to find herself? No matter, Haley seems to keep calm and carry on. The real story of the night was her "House of the Rising Sun." Easily one of the best performances of the season, definitely the best of the night. Flawless a cappella opening, attitude, soul, it had it all. And frankly I think Haley is a little blank most times. But not tonight, by any means! She's in it to…well, you know.

So there’s your Top 5, America. Who’s it gonna be tonight? Don’t say it, don’t say it! Let’s keep it to ourselves.

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Gaga • Jennifer Lopez • Lady Gaga • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Sheryl Crow • Steven Tyler

AJ is a floor director for HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade". She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:

Last night, Idol took it to the movies with some iconic songs from film, or as Ryan would say, cinema. We can’t all be fancy like Ryan. Or Paul, for that matter, who continues to outdress The Most Beautiful Woman in the World with his flower power suit and matching shiny red ascot. Risky Business indeed! But I digress. The brightest performers of the night seemed to be the ones who stuck to their guns against criticism from an Idol guru team that was suddenly all business:

BEST: Like Casey Abrams, for whom Jimy Iovine had strong words of discouragement for his attempt at Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy. Casey soldiered on anyway, took his bass for a walk, laid down some great vocal improvisation and even woke Steven Tyler up (I’m confident he has an assistant poke him with a stick after the commercial break). Casey, like many of the other contestants, was in sterling voice and nearly teared up when Randy compared him to the likes of Norah Jones and Charles Mingus. James Durbin was a close second, also working against Master Iovine’s suggestion and turning in a crazy Heavy Metal performance with legendary guitarist Zakk Wylde. Did anyone else find it hilarious to see these two gigantic men completely dwarf poor Seacrest? Where are those platform shoes when you need them?

WORST: Once again, worse is a…relative term. Stefano Langone give the audience free tickets to his gun show – who knew??? – but his actual performance was just eh. Probably not a great idea to sing a song called "End of the Road", but homeboy gets all poetic on us cause, like, it’s not the end of the road, it’s the beginning. Oh, like a Boomerang (the movie his song was from)! The man is a genius. But he is also boring. And with a field as talented as this one, you can’t afford to skimp on any level.

With that, I predict Stefano, Paul and Haley (keep the Idol girls alive!) in the bottom three. It could be anyone though, right? We might as well write the singers names on ping-pong balls and roll them around in a big lottery cage. Where they stop, nobody knows!

So who made your liver quiver (to steal a phrase from Robin)? Who would you send packing?

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Jennifer Lopez • Randy Jackson • Ryan Seacrest • Steven Tyler • Zakk Wylde

AJ is a floor director for "Morning Express with Robin Meade" on HLN. She has been obsessed with this season of Idol, and takes notes to share with the Morning Express writers and producers. The opinions below are AJ’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of "Morning Express with Robin Meade" or HLN. These are her impressions of last night:
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Wow, that was rough.

Even if you didn’t really care for Pia, like me, watching her crumple into Jacob’s big green bear hug last night was truly wrenching. But let’s examine the highlights of last night before our beautiful balladeer was shuffled off the Idol coil.

Russell Brand showed up to do some high-larious media mentoring. I suspect he has some movie to pimp. Paul asked him how he can get "loose" onstage (because Paul is so very uptight?). "Crack!" Brand said. Heh. It was sort of telling to see who played along (Casey, Jacob, Haley) and who didn’t (Pia…uh oh).

What was up with that mean-spirited piece with the TMZ crew? Sure, I can say things like "Lauren Alaina, why are you dressed like a pottery teacher on cruise ship?" But their comments had an ugly nasty streak. It was super satisfying to see James and others get a few retaliatory jabs in.

Oh look, they let Iggy Pop out of his sarcophagus to perform. Did anyone else get a sudden craving for turkey jerky? Truthfully, this is what rock and roll looks like more times than not. Take it in, contestants – this is your future!

Then, the hour was nigh: Stefano has been holding on with wide-eyed terror for weeks, and Jacob was no surprise either, after the comically rude gem he threw America’s way on Wednesday. Nobody puts America in front of a mirror! And then there was Pia, poor Pia, whose presence on the stools of doom was surely an aberration.

But then there were screams and boos, and Stefano looking like he was about to die. Randy almost drops a well articulated f-bomb and J-Lo weeps into her perfectly manicured hand tent. Shock! Awe! After some pleas from a stoic Ryan to getoffyourbuttsandstartcaringAmerica, Pia sings, wails really, her final ballad as the other contestants sort of wander in behind her, dumbfounded.

This is undoubtedly a watershed moment in this Idol season. I could almost hear the internet explode with cries of foul play. Frankly, although I never cared much for La Toscano, I’m not sure it was her time to leave. Beautiful, talented, but always a tiny bit awkward and detached, I never caught more than a faint glimmer of personality. What do you think? Who should have gone home? Did anyone else feel sort of sorry for Stefano? Is this elimination a game changer, or what?

Posted by: Morning Express Floor Director AJ
Filed under: American Idol • Extras • Jennifer Lopez • Pia • Randy Jackson • Steven Tyler