'American Idol' recap: Sympathy for the Bedeviled

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JUDGE DREAD

Ellen DeGeneres fibbed theatrically when Ryan asked her if the bottom three contestants were worth saving

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* And while she's not my favorite contestant, I would love it if next week Katie Stevens teaches the judges a lesson by performing a death-metal track. I mean, Kara actually had it right when she said Katie's best option was exploring a pop-R & B sound, but even if Simon disagreed, I felt like his insistence that Katie go country was more a way to dismiss Kara than to genuinely foster the Connecticut teenager's career. Ellen's subsequent vote for ''Mariachi'' was amusing, but Randy's ill-timed shout-out ''Salsa!'' once again proved his inability to read social situations and know when a joke has reached its Waterloo.

* And finally: Did I hallucinate it or was that a beluga whale sighting during David Cook's performance?

What did you think of Idol's final first Top 12 results night? Who do you think will go home next week? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and don't forget to watch last week's Idolatry embedded below. Oh, and if you don't already, do follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak.