Last night I predicted that the bottom three would include Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds, and Matt Giraud with Anoop going home.

It looks like Adam Lambert got his hair cut. I actually like it!

The show included an incredible performance by former AI contestant Jennifer Hudson. With a nice tribute video for Grammy and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, it was a great spotlight to what American Idol contestants can achieve — even those who were not winners of the competition. (Congratulations to Jennifer on her recent engagement.)

The performance by Miley Cyrus was more toned down than I’ve seen her on stage before – it’s almost like she’s trying to create a transition between teeny bopper to serious artist – until close to the end when she was banging her head back and forth – it did not work with being in a beautiful evening gown – and then the whole performance got a bit messy. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I think she’s a better “studio performer” rather than live, but she has mass-market appealing songs – radio-friendly. They are packaging her well. When she was finished, I almost wanted the judges to chime in and give their criticisms… that would have been kind of fun.

So once the results show got started, we ended up with the bottom three as Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds, and Matt Giraud. (As predicted).

I have to say I was shocked that Anoop was safe and the bottom two ended up being Lil and Matt.

With over 36 million votes… wow… Matt Giraud was the contestant with the lowest votes. Quite a surprise for me tonight – not that he was in the bottom three but that he was the lowest of those in the bottom three. I was hoping the judges would save Matt… the crowd went wild when the judges pulled out their “save” and kept him in the comptetition. I wonder how it will affect his performances for the future – if he will work that much harder and if his fans will pull together to keep him.

Tonight made American Idol history – with the judges saving a contestant who they didn’t feel deserved to be going home tonight.

Next week it means two people will be going home, and it’s Disco week (that should be fun, and I can only imagine what Adam Lambert will pull out for that genre)…

I thought LaKisha did a great job on it.

So, it surprised me a bit when I found out that it may have bothered some people — probably those huge Jennifer Hudson fans. Just wondering if anyone else out there felt the same way.

Then, the ones who REALLY can’t sing get so defensive.

In past years, I’ve felt terrible for them — but this season I can’t help but laugh right alongside of Randy, Paula, and Simon. Give me a break — really when you’re trying out for American Idol — you have to know that there’s a chance you’ll end up on TV — and there’s a chance you’re not going to represent yourself well.

I usually avoid watching the auditions, because it’s painful to hear. But I did catch a few of them and there were a few contestants I’m really anxious to see develop. I don’t know their names yet, but in past seasons of American Idol, I’ve been pretty good at predicting who will go on and who will go home — it’s not all about talent, but also about how they connect with the audience.

I remember when Jennifer Hudson was on — she has an amazing voice — but I predicted (much to the dismay of my sister-in-law) that she would go home. It wasn’t because she wasn’t good, or that she deserved to go home. It was that the other contestants seemed to connect to the audience and have stronger personalities. She seemed too reserved to have the popular vote.

Anyway, I hope you’ll give your feedback too. Let me know what you think as the season goes on.