PUBLIC MARKS from vacelts with tags "Alexis Grace" & "american idol"

To round out the full hour American Idol needs to give us the one name of the person being eliminated this week, we were treated to performances by three Grand Ole Opry members - Brad Paisley and a duet by Idol’s own Carrie Underwood and guest mentor Randy Travis. But the performances would be overshadowed by the shocking news of who was to go home.

It’s Grand Ole Opry Night on American Idol and that means Simon is going to be extra hard to please. We all know how little the Brit likes country music so it’s a real test to see which of the Top 11 can impress him tonight.

The first elimination of American Idol’s Top 13 saw the birth of a new rule and sent two hopefuls home after nearly 33 million votes. Now the field has narrowed to the traditional 11 contenders and the judges still have a save card they can play.

Finally, we’ve gotten to the part of American Idol I love - when the real competition begins. The performances tonight were a huge step above what we’ve been tortured with the last three weeks.

Tonight marked the first results show of American Idol’s eighth season, but instead of sending just one or two contestants home the night ended with only three survivors.

The auditions are in the bag and Hollywood is but a faint memory as American Idol begins to whittle down the Top 36 to our Final 12. Tonight, the first 12 contestants pull out all the stops in their first live performance and Alexis Grace comes out swinging.