American Idol: Goodbye, my almost Idol

American Idol recap: On Thursday night, America bid adieu to another Idol hopeful. Which contestant was sent packing after their hometown performance?

Thursday night's American Idol began with an ode to Phil Phillips, as every show should, with the contestants covering Phil's hit, "Home."

It then quickly turned into a confessional for Harry as he tried to defend himself and explain why he gave the contestants constructive criticism on Wednesday's show. One would think that the reason Harry gave criticism would need no explanation; he's a judge and that's what he's paid to do. 

But as much fun as it would be to rage on about the injustice of picking on Harry for being good at what he does, American Idol quickly forced this writer into a calm submissive state by welcoming Phil Phillips back to the Idol stage to perform his new single, "Raging Fire," from his sophomore album of the same title.

Ah, Phillip - it seems like only yesterday that you stole my heart with your quirky little dance moves and eternally grey clothing - now you're all grown up and singing with John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen, in grey clothing whilst doing your quirky little dance moves. It's refreshing to see that little has changed since winning American Idol; Phillip is still awkward, nervous and clearly still moved to the core by music which is why it's so easy to be moved by him. 

Then came Randy's choice of performers, Kodaline, from Ireland, who sang, "All I Want." The band was perfectly adequate but sounded like nothing more than a Coldplay tribute band. It's interesting that the first two choices of performers to debut on American Idol have been from the UK and Ireland.

Before we knew it, the stools started to fill up. First with Emily Piriz, then with Jena Irene and finally MK Nobillette. With Jena being sent back to safety, it came down to Emily and MK. Last night, Keith assured Emily that she would be back next week so MK looked visibly shaken. But it turns out that Urban is no Oracle and MK was sent to safety leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves while Emily wreaked havoc on auditory senses with a wretched rendition of "Stars."

For those of us who weren't blinded by bias, it was clear that Emily did not warrant the sole save of the season but it was evident that Jennifer Lopez felt differently when she announced with a growl that the decision to not save Emily was not unanimous. Thank heavens for the democratic process!!!!

Anyone else notice that the girls are dropping like flies this season, much like the boys did last year and the Idol pendulum swings on . . .

What did you think of the results? Happy to see Emily go? Happy with my 66% accuracy in predictions? Drop a line in the comments below!