AI Season 10, 03-24-11, Top 11 Elimination

We start with a visual recap of last night, but who cares about that? I'm much more interested in the fact that Nigel Lythgoe tweeted that tonight will have a shocking elimination. But Nigel has Cried Wolfe before, so we'll see exactly how shocking his shock actually is.

Tonight, JLo is wearing a black and gold Egyptian- flavored halter dress. Randy is in black leather and red shoes. Steven Tyler is wearing the filmy leopard print shirt from last night, and truly puzzling trousers.

Ryan, like Nigel, promises shocks. Unlike Nigel, he also promises Sugarland and Jennifer Hudson.

Commercial: Movie...Sucker Punch... The Punchening... or is it The Suckening?

The Top 11 come out, and it's obvious that someone helped them to dress tonight, since they're all nattily attired- the guys in black suits, and the girls in silver spangly dresses. Note to Lauren: You're 16. Cover those things up. Now.

The reanimated corpse of Marc Anthony advises the kids on how to properly use earpieces, and gives them helpful tips for performing live on stage. And then he eats their braaaaiiinnnnsssssss.

They all sing Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and this is what Jacob should be singing. In fact, this is the best group sing of the season, pointy pose and all. And then the kids form what is obviously a gauntlet, and I think they're going to welcome JHud to the stage. The curtains open and... omigod... that's Stevie Wonder!

I can count on one hand the number of times that this show has actually surprised me, and this is one of them. They all get together and sing Happy Birthday to Steven Tyler, who appears to be genuinely touched.

By contrast, the Fordmercial is pretty lame, though Casey was finally healthy on taping day, so he's in this one.

Now on to the business of the evening. Ryan calls Pia, Scotty, and Lauren's boobs to the circle. I suspect that Scotty will be sent to the stools, but all three are safe.

Sugarland sings next. The lead singer is wearing green leggings with a saggy crotch, a black top, a red jacket belted with a wide blue sash , and purple heels. I like these guys better than most of the acts they feature on elimination nights, though I can't make sense of the song (what oh what oh you and me baby stuck like glue???).

Ryan intros an amusing Mansion Clip of James and Paul, who are both Pro Wrestling Fans. Pia, Paul,  James and Stefano "wrestle", while Naima announces, and Scotty does whatever it is that Scotty does. Then Ryan calls James and Paul down (both of whom have wacktacular hair tonight). Ryan tells them that neither is safe, and James's shocked reaction is very telling. But it's a fake-out because the curtains open and Hulk Hogan emerges. What the hell is going on tonight? That's the second surprise. Hogan tears his shirt off, and then delivers the news that both James and Paul are safe.

Commercial- Movie... Carrie Underwood is in a movie? When did this happen? it's called The Soul Surfer... The Surfening...

Next up are Jacob, Thia and Stefano. Thia looks very pretty in a brocade dress. She's ready to head to the stools, which is good, since that's where she's going, along with Stefano.

Haley, wearing a side ponytail that looks just plain silly, Naima, and Casey are the only ones left. I suspect, believe, and hope that Haley is headed home, but she's safe. And then Naima is safe. And Casey is in the Bottom 3. dammit.

Jennifer Hudson is on next. she looks fantastic (she always looked fantastic), but like many large women who lose a lot of weight, her head is now too big for her body. She looks healthy and beautiful, and I hope she stops dieting. I'm spending all this time analyzing her looks because I'm not particularly impressed with this song. There is lots of emphatic pointing and head waggling and some shouting and a few very long, high notes, but there's not much melody, and it goes on for a really long time. However, she has George Huff singing backup, which is wonderful! Hi George!

Afterwards, Ryan sends Thia to safety, and I feel badly for her because the backlash from this is going to be pretty nasty, since she really should be the one packing up.

And... wow... Stefano is safe. I am shocked, but not nearly as shocked as Casey is. Will the judges use their save? I doubt it, this early in the season. Casey elects to sing I Don't Need No Doctor, which was his audition song. He barely gets started when Randy interrupts him. Casey looks like he's going to faint. Or throw up. It's obvious that he expects the worst, but Randy says that the judges are unanimous in wanting to save Casey. They're doing it! They're using The Save!

Casey is so discombobulated that he says several very bad words that need to be bleeped, and then he cries a bit, and he hugs his parents, and thanks the judges, and falls apart, and still looks like he's going to vomit. Or pass out.

And then Ryan surprises me, for a record fourth time in a single episode, and says that the producers decided that if the judges used their save, that all 11 of the kids will get to go on tour, which is wonderful news. Ryan tempers that announcement with the fact that two of them will go home next week, and with The Save dead and gone, every single performance counts for every single one of them.

Ladies and Germs, we got ourselves a real competition. This is going to be interesting.