Michael Becker/FoxAnd then there were three.
The night started off like any other, with a group medley ("School's Out"), a Ford commercial (unbearable) and the promise of performances by stars incomparable (No Doubt) and in-house (Paula Abdul!!).
And in the middle of it all quaked Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert as the predominantly fierce foursome, waited to hear whose American Idol train was letting him or her off in fourth place.
Whether or not you find Danny cocky, Kris boring, Adam shrieky or Allison surly, this was one of the better Top Fours in recent memory, one of the few that provided more "Yes!" than "Doh!" moments overall.
But with more than 60 million votes cast, were we left with a truly great Top Three?
Maybe, if you don't mind dealing with a bunch of dudes.
Allison Iraheta, musically wise beyond her 17 years but still kind of a mystery as far as overall personality was concerned, will not be moving on.
"Cry Baby" became both her swan song and the theme of the evening's last few minutes as the Los Angeles native finally showed the sensitivity and heart that of course had to have been lurking beneath that heartrending vocal prowess.
So, despite the high note heard 'round the world, a bottom-three scare last week and a performance that was compared to eating ice for lunch, Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are in the Top Three.
Kris, pleasing to the eye if not always to the ear, was the first to be declared safe—news that prompted a hands-in-front-of-the-face gasp from the 23-year-old, whom Simon Cowell keeps badgering about being too humble.
Then golden tickets went to Adam, who's looked comfortable and primed for stardom since he first belted out "Black or White" eight weeks ago and has managed to avoid the fate of season-five "frontrunner" Chris Daughtry, who only finished fourth.
"At the time it felt like the world was coming to an end…but I got over it about 30 seconds later," said Daughtry, in the house tonight with his eponymous band to perform "No Surprise," the first single off their sophomore album.
Then it was down to Danny and Allison and...well, you know what happened next.
"I listened to it back, and I must say, I laughed the whole night," Danny said of that fateful final note of "Dream On," which has thousands upon thousands of views on YouTube.
"My own aunt muted the TV," he added.
Before next week's show, Kris, Adam and Danny will head to their hometowns for the requisite local-makes-good lovefest, during which the mayor or other bigwig usually announces what song the judges want them to sing on Tuesday's multitune performance show.
Oh, and by the way—Paula's body looked great onstage, but if any part of "I'm Just Here for the Music" was actually coming out of her mouth tonight… then we'll eat Matt Giraud's fedora.
And Gwen Stefani, who blasted in from the past with "I'm Just a Girl," said that "the whole point" of her band's upcoming tour, kicking off next week in Las Vegas, is to prepare their fans for a new No Doubt album.