'IDOL' WATCH: The Top 3

It's getting down to the wire. We will soon know who will be the winner of season nine of "American Idol." Tonight brought about one of everyone's favorite night's of the season: each contestant sang two songs, a judges' choice and a song they chose themselves. The judges always know exactly the right song to pick for the contestants; that's pretty much why they are judges. However, it's always interesting to see what the contestants feel suits them and see what they do to convey themselves as an artist.

Casey James was a bit of a letdown with his song choice. He sang Eric Hutchinson's Okay, It's Alright With Me, a song that didn't seem to be known by the judges or the audience. It was a safe choice; James didn't show off any range or emotion with the song. If this had been a top twenty-four performance, it would have sufficed, but when it's this late in the competition, I would have expected more of a risk from James. The judges all agreed the performance was weak. Simon said, "If you were having dinner, that's the salad...It was a dud song choice...but you sounded good." Simon was right. The singing itself wasn't bad, but it won't push James to the finals.

Crystal Bowersox was up next, singing Melissa Ethridge's Come to My Window. This was the perfect song choice for Bowersox; it is exactly the type of song we would expect to hear from her on a record. However, I wasn't crazy about the performance. She sang it well, but just never really owned the stage like she has in the past. Kara and Randy commented that Bowersox was a bit lost in the arrangement, noting that it was a good performance, nevertheless. Simon praised Bowersox's ability to stay true to herself as an artist throughout the entire season of "Idol," calling it "a very honest performance." Bowersox has been consistently good, but didn't really wow me with this performance. However, she is authentic and the audience clearly identifies and responds to that.

Rounding out a rather dull round of contestant choices was Lee Dewyze, singing Simple Man by Leonard Skynyrd. DeWyze simply blew the other contestants out of the water. The song choice was excellent, showing off DeWyze's distinct rock voice perfectly and allowing him to flex his vocal range. In a marked change from the start of the competition, he can really connect with the songs, and it was never more obvious than tonight. Simon put it best: "I think the contestant song choices so far have been okay, that song however was absolutely on the money...I don't think you won round one, I think you just crushed the other two."

For his second song of the night, the judges chose John Mayer's Daughters. This was a great song for James; he is always best when he is able to convey some emotion during his performance, which seems to happen all too rarely for him. With this song, he was able to connect right from the outset. It showed off his range well and his guitar playing was stellar as always. Randy told James he should keep singing songs in this vein as it "fits [him] like a glove." Kara agreed, saying the song "showed the much more artistic side...and that's where [he] really [shines.]" James first song was not good, but this song was great. It will be interesting to see how the voting audience reacts to the stark difference.

Ellen chose Crystal Bowersox's second song, Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney. The song seemed an odd choice, but I was pleasantly surprised by the performance. The song showed off range that we had never heard from Bowersox and she sounded extremely impressive. As always, it was a nice change to see her set down the guitar and it was definitely the right move for this song. Kara said it was a "huge risk...and it paid off." The choice was unexpected, but I think it has a good chance to get her to the finals.

For his second song of the night, Lee Dewyze showed up his earlier performance with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, as chosen by Simon. This was easily my favorite performance of the entire season; DeWyze was fantastic and completely owned the song. He displayed his entire range with ease and connected with the song in a way that allowed the audience to really feel his emotion. Randy said it was his "biggest moment at the biggest time on this show" and Kara called it an "incredible, epic moment." For me, Lee Dewyze just won this competition.

It doesn't seem to be much of a question regarding who will make it to the finals. Casey James wasn't nearly as good as either DeWyze or Bowersox and he lacks their versatility. I will be shocked if he doesn't go home tomorrow night. The results show will feature performances by Justin Bieber and Travis Garland, singing his hit Beautiful. The show will air beginning at 9:00pm EST and will reveal who the finalists will be on this season of "American Idol."

"American Idol" is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of "Idol" includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.

Several "Idol" contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray, Hair), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages), and Ace Young (Hair).

"American Idol" airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

Photo Credit: AmericanIdol.com