by Kylene Hamulak

 

Next week at this time, American Idol festivities will be revving up to crown this year's winner. Tonight? We'll spend an hour holding our collective breath, awaiting results on who the 2013 Top 2 American Idol contestants will be.

 

Perfect Trio: I'd like to say our Top 3 sounded great on Selena Gomez's "Who Says," but since audio issues made it difficult to hear them for a chunk of it, I'll just say they looked good on stage. Would've been nice to listen to, I'm sure.

 

This Week's Mission: The Ford Fiesta Mission takes the Top 3 to a high school where they will be singing with the young people of the jazz choir. It's like real life Glee, except without all the afterschool-special preachiness.

 

Recap, Round 1: We all either watched the show or read my recap (right? RIGHT?!) so you know how this goes. While no one bombed with Jimmy's pick, he gave Round 1 to Angie, though not quite as enthusiastically as he would've liked. He thought his song choice for her could've been a moment if she had played piano for the performance - she didn't.

 

Runner Up Returns: Lauren Alaina, Season 10's runner up, is back to perform "Barefoot and Buckwild". Now, I don't keep up with her, so I was kind of surprised to see her looking completely different. She's matured a lot, and the song is country pop, but make no mistake - Lauren is not 15 anymore, and she's a cutesy starlet no more. She also co-wrote the song and is graduating from high school this month, so she's got a lot going for her right now.

 

Recap, Round 2: Jimmy notes that the judges loved their picks. Of course they did! He declares Kree the winner based on emotion - her hometown visit married to the delivery of her performance was terrific.

 

Shameless Plug: Mariah has a new single to introduce, so she took the Top 3 into the studio, well, I'm not really sure why they were there, but we all get to see the video for "#Beautiful." Yes, she hashtagged her song title. #POW. Mariah tells them that she wanted it to be the opposite of what she is on Idol - she doesn't want every hair in place, it's just about freedom. And also about having every hair perfectly out of place. I mean, I don't know who she thinks she's kidding. The song itself is cool and old-schooly Mariah and will likely be a big hit this summer, but if that's her idea of "not perfect," it sure seems like a lot of work.

 

Whaddya Want From Him: Adam Lambert is back too, sharing his strategy for Idol and defining his artistic identity. "Trespassing" is his new album, and he's traveling the world as a megastar. Like, he is LEGIT huge elsewhere in the world. He'll be around next week to perform.

 

Song for the Loser: Alicia Keyes is visiting to perform her new single, "Tears Always Win." Just remember that, Idol Who Is About to Be Kicked Off the Show. Tears. Always. Win.

 

Recap, Round 3: We know how this one ends. Candice KILLED the final song, and there's nothing Jimmy can say to change that. Not that he even tries. "If she goes home, I'm going home with her," he says.

 

Results: The first person Ryan names as a finalist is Candice. There was a lot of clapping in my house, and the judges are on their feet, and the girl doesn't know what to do on stage. "I'm not even here right now," she says. I officially love her and she's got my vote for Idol no matter who her competition is.

 

So who IS her competitor? KREE!!!

 

Angie is eliminated.

 

Can you even believe it? Cause Nicki sure can't. I can't wait for this finale - either way, my girl is a winner.

 

Final Thoughts: Didn't I warn you last night? Fanbases can be a crazy thing. Candice was a no-brainer. It's to take nothing from Kree, because I've liked her from the beginning, but it's a surprise to a lot of people that Angie falls just short of the finale. I can't remember an elimination with such emotion, as Angie can barely make it through her goodbye without breaking down. The disappointment is understandable, but there's no doubt that Angie will have a lot of opportunities presented to her in the coming weeks and months. She may not have the title, but she'll certainly find a career in music.

 

Are you happy with tonight's results? Was it a shock? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

 

Catch American Idol every Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7C on Fox!

 

(Images courtesy of Fox)

 

Follow Kylene on Twitter @keepingupwithky!