On Monday, Tiffany (@TVProducerLady on Twitter) and I recorded a new episode of Blerd Radio talking about the final three and comparing them to final threes of yesteryear. We determined that this year’s final three is hot to deaf. This should be a fun final two shows.

This is the week where the final three are celebrated with a trip home. They also get to sing songs that the judges have picked for them. I hope that Jenny Lo chooses Selena for Jessica Sanchez, Randy chooses Journey for Joshua, and Steven chooses Aerosmith for Phillip.

By the way, Entertainment Weekly riffed on a rumor that Jenny Lo might be leaving American Idol after this season, which begat a very entertaining quote from my friend Carletta (aka supagirlwonder). She said:

Please Jenny Lo, don’t do it. It will hurt your career to not be on one of the top shows in TV for four months. And plus, I won’t be able to see you in HD.

After the contestants sing the song the judges choose for them, they get to choose their own song, and then Jimmy Iovine chooses one for them. Remember when some of these shows would be 60 and 90 minutes? I think every show has been 120 minutes save for a few audition shows.

The judges have chosen Etta James’ I’d Rather Go Blind for Joshua Ledet. He started out slowly and built up to a huge finish with lots of vocal theatrics. However, with that suit on and the oversinging, it reminded me a little bit of Eddie Murphy’s character in Dreamgirls and I’m not sure that was a good thing. Steven says it was another Joshua moment. Jenny Lo says he brought down the house. Randall says it fit him so like a glove.

There was a Hee Jun sighting! He has a new haircut which he called a work in progress. Jessica Sanchez is next and she’s singing My All by Mariah Carey. Wow. MC does some major deep belting in this song. Why do I feel like Jessica’s being sabotaged here? This might’ve been my least favorite Jessica performance this year. Don’t they always tell the contestants not to sing Mariah? Sheesh. Of course Randall says it was the perfect song for her. Jenny Lo says she did it beautifully and in her own way. Steven says he hopes she gets used to encores and she might be the last person standing.

Phillip Phillips is singing Beggin’. I think Phillip wins the round. If I were to buy any of these performances, it would be Phillip’s in a heart beat. His performance was the most fun and least dramatic of the three. Jenny Lo says it was great. Steven says it’s beautiful to watch him unfold. Randall says it was another incredible performance by him.

Oh gee, we get to hear yet another version of Imagine. Nice song, but every year? Joshua’s performance was exactly how you’d think he would sound singing the song. I thought it was good, but we’ve heard it on this show way too many times. Steven says he was so fine. Jenny Lo says she really loves watching him. Randall says every time he sings, people feel what he does.

Jessica is kissing up and trying to win brownie points by singing I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing. I don’t think she’s really been all that nervous before, but she sounds nervous tonight. That first verse was a little hard to get through. I really wanted to like it because she had a slightly different spin on it, but I didn’t like it that much. She wasn’t really feeling it. Steven says she took a great song and made it greater. Jenny Lo says it was crazy. Randall says it started slow, but she delivered.

Phillip is singing Disease. I think he’s won this round too. Who’d have thunk it? Phillip Phillips is stealing the thunder from the Jessica and Joshua show. I think Santana will nab Phillip for his next album just to perform this song with him. Jenny Lo says there wasn’t a wow performance. Jenny Lo is trippin’. Steven says it was who he is. Randall says it was subdued and he could do it in his sleep. These judges really want that Jessica/Joshua finale like they’re Ruben and Clay.

Jimmy chooses Mary J. Blige’s No More Drama for Joshua. Hmmm. It’s not necessarily a very super well known MJB song. I guess he was a wannabe male MJB. I think it was okay, but not special. Way too much whining in the performance. Randall says people should just stand up and vote for Joshua. Jenny Lo says he’s so natural. Steven says it was over the top.

Jimmy chooses the Jackson 5’s I’ll Be There. Okay, I’m super excited for this one. She does the MJ part fine, but she really kills the Jermaine part. And she finishes up very well. It wasn’t as good as I was hoping, but still damn good. Steven says it was delicious. Jenny Lo says she sounded just like Michael and not like Jermaine. Randall says it was just okay.

Jimmy chooses We’ve Got Tonight by Bob Seiger. I don’t care what the judges say. If I’m basing this on songs that I’d actually buy on iTunes versus retread songs that we’ve heard over and over again and thus, lose some specialness in our ears, I’m going with Phillip tonight. He’s just the more interesting artist for me tonight. It was soft, subtle, and the kind of ballad that would chart for sure. Randall says it was his best performance on the show ever. Jenny Lo says it was really really sweet. Steven says he nailed it with passion.

It very much seems that they would love to book a Jessica vs. Joshua finale. But like I told Tiffany in our podcast, the young/white/male demo seems to win this show. And maybe, just maybe, there’s finally a young/white/male who is deserving (save for David Cook – he was deserving). Phillip was excellent tonight.

Seacrest out!