And then there were two.
Week after week, we've watched the top 13 dwindle down to three, and in Idol history, the Top Three elimination is always seen as the toughest.
But after making it this far, no one wants to go home! As sad as it seems to be eliminated thisclose to the finale, Thursday night was oddly unemotional. So what was the mood post-show and how did the top two celebrate?
This season we've seen it all: Pia Toscano being carried off stage by medics after her elimination, James Durbin crying, Paul McDonald commanding the Idol audience to celebrate his exit, Jacob Lusk turning the stage into a church of his own and Karen Rodriguez admitting she wants to be like Jennifer Lopez.
Every eliminated Idol has gone out with a bang, but Haley Reinhart's step out of the spotlight was met with something akin to indifference as she treated it like it was no big deal.
From our seat behind the judges table, it was obvious the audience wasn't sure what to do from the get-go. From their mild response to the usual preshow antics to having to be prompted to applause at the start of the show, it was clear they just wanted the results already!
As we sat through an amaze-balls performance by Il Vono (who knocked all the Idol singers out of the water) and the pretaped Nicole Scherzinger-50cent song and dance, the mood on-stage was totally chill. None of the contestants looked nervous. Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Haley all lounged on the couch with an "I've got this" attitude.
Then things got rowdy.
Steven Tyler sat at the judges table snacking and throwing t-shirts into the audience. Screams, shouts and near manic excitement was flowing through the crowd before it was cut short so that Jennifer and Randy Jackson could film promo spots for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. While Jennifer nailed it in two takes, Randy had a rough time and needed the span of more than one commercial break to finally get it right! Of course, Ryan Seacrest had fun razzing Randy for his less than perfect presenting skills.
After Haley's elimination, we spied all of the finalists' parents hugging. It was totally sweet. Everyone was showing support for Haley, who was handling everything like a pro. Post-show, taking photos with everyone on stage!
Even though the night didn't end in Haley's favor, Scotty and Lauren couldn't contain their excitement and were jumping around and hugging. Our heart kind of melted when Scotty won the coin toss to pick if he wanted to perform first or second at the finale, because he handed the choice over to Lauren. What a southern gentleman! We love him!
Next Tuesday is the final performance night and choosing a winner isn't going to be easy.
Who do you want to win? Are you happy with the Idol finalists? Do you think Haley would have been a better finalist than Scotty or Lauren? Let us know in the comments!