American Idol Down to a Pretty Fine Nine

Ruben Studdard, Usher and Will.i.am., Diddy-Dirty Money perform as another hopeful is sent packing

The tables have turned on American Idol, as R&B night produced more rhythm and less blues than we'd seen in awhile this season.

Sure, Crystal Bowersox remains the gold standard, Siobhan Magnus the wild card (too wild last night) and Tim Urban the lucky loser whose unlikely run has extended all the way to a spot on the Idols Live tour this summer.

But the overall quality of the performances ticked up a notch, with Andrew Garcia finally not sucking, Casey James rocking the house, and Lee Dewyze having a potentially life-changing night, according to Simon Cowell.

We at least thought Michael Lynche had a great night, too, so why was the frustrated personal trainer poised to throw Ryan Seacrest off the stage?

It was ultimately the increasingly morose and combative Didi who was sent packing, her pitchy encore of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" not doing enough to save her.

"Didi, it's bad news, sweetheart. We're not going to save you, sorry," Simon broke the news.

So the smiley Tim train chugs on, just as the Brit predicted. And Katie, who remains caught in a country vs. pop-R&B war being waged by Simon and Kara DioGuardi, got her reprieve before the final commercial break, instead getting to enjoy the world-premiere Diddy-Dirty Money performance of "Hello Good Morning."

Ruben Studdard, who's heading off on tour with Clay Aiken this summer, sang tonight, as did R&B week mentor Usher, who performed "OMG" with  will.i.am.

Next Tuesday, the top nine get to dip into the infinitely deep Lennon-McCartney songbook for your voting pleasure.