American Idol saw its pool of hopefuls whittled down to the top 5 at the close of Wednesday's results show. The hourlong elimination process featured performances by Rascal Flatts, Shakira, Lady Antebellum and Sons of
Sylvia. When all was said and done, AI season 9's most colorful character, Siobhan Magus, was booted from the competition. Here's how it all went down.

Country superstar band Rascal Flatts opened the American Idol results show action with a rendition of their hit Unstoppable. I'll preface this by noting that I love Flatts, but man, this was not one of their finer offerings. The guys just sounded uncharacteristically weak. Bummer.

Up next was the Ford Music Video of the week, which involved the top 6 decked out as vampires and a red Mustang. Riiiight. Ah, the dominance of pop culture. Then we got to see the top 6 meeting the director of the new upcoming Shrek movie, Shrek Forever After. M-kay. (Sometimes I think they need to try much too hard to fill the results show hour.)

And finally, some American Idol results action! Pay attention, because this could get befuddling. Host Ryan Seacrest called on Siobhan Magnus first, and sent her to the other side of the stage. Aaron Kelly was next to stand, and Ryan told him to hit the center of the stage. Michael Lynche was told to stand right next to Ryan, while Lee DeWyze was sent to stand near Siobhan. Casey James then joined Michael, and finally, Crystal Bowersox joined Aaron. Ryan walked Siobhan to stand next to Michael and Casey, and proclaimed them the week's bottom three. Bummer, Siobhan and Casey are among my AI season 9 faves.
After a break, former AI winner Carrie Underwood introduced Sons of Sylvia, who went on to perform. I don't think I'd ever seen a lead singer playing a violin while singing. In case you have no clue who Sons of Sylvia are, they won Fox's The Next Great American Band. I'd never even heard of that show before Wednesday, so I guess it must've been uber popular, right?

by Sherry Wight