Lacey Brown

Tonight, 'American Idol' presented a special episode, benefitting 'Idol Gives Back,' the historic Emmy Award-winning television event and music celebration, that has raised more than $140 million to benefit charities around the world and across the United States. Tonight, 'Idol' saluted a number of charities, including Feeding America, Save the Children, the United Nations Foundation, the Elton John Aids Foundation, and Idol Aid.

This week, former AMERICAN IDOL finalists from all around the country, including Amy Adams, Bo Bice, Didi Benami, Lacey Brown, Kevin Covais, Bucky Covington, Diana DeGarmo, Julia DeMato, Melinda Doolittle, Chikezie, Gina Glocksen, Danny Gokey, Mikalah Gordon, RJ Helton, David Hernandez, Mandisa, Michael Johns, LaKisha Jones, Megan Joy, Blake Lewis, Kimberley Locke, LaToya London, Melissa McGhee, Jorge Nunez, Amanda Overmyer, Brandon Rogers, Phil Stacey, Ruben Studdard, Elliott Yamin and Ace Young, will volunteer to help support Feeding America's local food banks and IDOL GIVES BACK, which airs Wednesday, April 21 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

It is now down to 11 'American Idol' hopefuls as another contestant, Lacey Brown, was eliminated during the results show that aired last night, Wednesday, March 17th. American Idol season 7 winner David Cook made an appearance and sang the Rolling Stones hit 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and guest performer Ke$sha took to the stage to sing her hit 'Blah Blah Blah'.

Tonight, 'Idol' was forced to let go of the first of the top 12. After a night of good performances, it's tough to see the performers go home, but it's clear that some deserve it more than others. The bottom three on the night were Lacey Brown, Paige Miles, and Tim Urban, the three performers who had the weakest performances. The drama was high tonight, as 'Idol' as we found out who would be the first to go.

'Idol' has finally reached the top 12 contestants of season nine, where they make the jump from a small, intimate stage to the full audience at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. This is where the eventual 'Idol' winner will be crowned and it presents a new set of challenges to the singers, who now have a fill a much larger space with their talent. Luckily, many of the contestants were able to step up immediately, as the performances tonight were, in general, very strong. It was an excellent showing and proved why each of the contestants has earned their way into the top 12.

Pop sensations Ke$ha and Orianthi will take the stage on this week's live AMERICAN IDOL results show Wednesday, March 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

Pop sensations Ke$ha and Orianthi will take the stage on this week's live AMERICAN IDOL results show Wednesday, March 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

A night with a number of surprises rounded out the final separation of the guys and girls, as America found out the twelve contestants that will make up the finals of "American Idol." Each of the contestants sent home this evening had standout performance within the past three weeks and many contestants who did make it through were shocked at their fate.

Ladies night tonight featured the top eight women remaining on "Idol." On a night that Simon called "the worst night to go" and is widely regarded as one of the more important nights in the competition, several contestants came out strong, while a few made terrible choices that may spell the end of the show for them. It seemed a generally safe night for many of the contestants, but was entertaining nonetheless.

The top 16 contestants of FOX's 'American Idol' pose for the camera as they get ready to move ahead to next week's showdown.

The women were back tonight and ready to perform after last night's last minute switch. The theme was still Billboard Chart Toppers and the night had some songs that were up to Billboard caliber. Others, however, fell flat, as contestants were again plagued by poor song choices. Of all the judges, Randy seemed most frustrated by the multitude of poor choices. Hopefully this is a skill that will come with time and the contestants will get better. Some of the ladies, however, knew exactly where they wanted to be and were spot on in their selection.

In a year where 'Idol' is clearly pushing for a female winner, the first performances by the top twelve women was quite a letdown. Even the judges seemed to notice a rather lackluster group of performances from each of the twelve female finalists, with Simon seemingly growing more and more frustrated as the night went on. There were few bright spots in the evening that should have been a step up from the final performance in Hollywood, but none of the contestants progressed, with many of them taking a step backward on the first night.

AMERICAN IDOL's Top 24 semi-finalists walked the red carpet for their first star-studded special event held at STK + Coco de Ville in West Hollywood on February 18, 2010.

After learning the first seven of the Top 24 last night, tonight's episode left audiences in anticipation, waiting to see if their favorite singers would be selected through to the next round. Some of the choices seemed obvious (i.e. Andrew Garcia), while others left audiences wondering if they would receive good news or leave the judging room in tears.

On Wednesday, AMERICAN IDOL revealed the remaining 17 semifinalists in the season's top 24 contenders. (Spoiler Warning: Do not read ahead if you don't want to know yet who the top 24 are.)