American Idol

Crystal and Lee enter from deep into the audience, and Crystal drops her microphone and has to go back for it. Lee doesn't drop his because he has it in his pocket. They tell Ryan Seacrest they're amazed at how many people are out in the audience. First we'll have the contestants' favorite songs from this season, then a song chosen for them by producer Simon Fuller, followed by what will be their release if they win.Crystal won the coin toss last week and has opted to go second.

Lee's parents talk about him being a very energetic child. They thought he would be a professional baseball player. He liked baseball and played shortstop; his dad felt he was good at it. He also wanted to be a rock star, saying every kid wants to do that. When he picked up the guitar for the first time he loved doing it. He became an artist once he started writing his own material. He's redoing The Boxer tonight. Good choice. He's letting himself go a little more with it now, now that he knows everyone loved his version of this. He ends it with a few tears in his eyes and a "thank you."

Randy Jackson tells Lee it was a great way to start it off and he thinks it will come down to a duel to the finish. It wasn't an energetic kind of exciting thing, but was a nice song. He wants him to pick it up, though. Ellen DeGeneres tells Lee she couldn't be any more proud of him than if she gave birth to him herself. She thinks he did it better than the first time even, and then she thought he was pretty good.

Kara DioGuardi agrees with Randy somewhat; she wants to see Lee push a little harder. However, it's a meaningful song that tells his story, and for that it was believable, and she loves he was connected to it. Simon Cowell has to be honest, and says this is the big one, and he'd expect a lot more passion and excitement, and this was a kiss on the cheek when he wants one on the the lips ... but not from Lee.

Crystal's dad says she found her mom's old guitar in the back of a closet, took interest, and taught herself to play. Crystal explains she was snooping for Christmas presents and thought that was her gift. She sneaked around when her mom wasn't home playing it. Her first gig was a coffee shop in the local mall, playing the same ten songs over and over. Her dad thinks she's gifted and born to do music. She's reprising her song from Billboard #1 week, Me and Bobby McGee. And I'm in folk music heaven here tonight so far. Crystal seems to pick up the energy on this one, so the judges ought to be happy with her.

Randy tells Crystal it started a little slow for him, but she picked it up near the middle, and at the end it was back to the Crystal they've known and grown to love. He hopes she makes a record like that as he thought "It was dope, Dude." Ellen has said it before, but she doesn't care as she's said a lot of things before. She's said pass the salt many, many times before, and she doesn't care. She thinks Crystal is so compelling on the stage. Her and that guitar filling up the entire room like this is stunning.

Kara loved it when Crystal first did this song and loved it tonight. It told so much about her as an artist, and she has fire in her belly tonight. Simon says this brought him back to the time when they absolutely fell in love with her, and the last three or four weeks it hasn't been great. But this is Crystal, back to her best. "We have a competition tonight, as that was terrific."

Now we're on to to Simon Fuller's picks, and his pick for Lee is Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. This is a good pick, However, it's another slower song and the judges might complain he needs to pick it up again. The camera pans out on him singing, and I have to say what big theater that is. That would be intimidating. I'm just saying ...

Randy feels this is definitely better, because he could feel Lee's passion bubbling out. It started out a little pitchy in the first couple of bars, but he pulled it together. He could feel that Lee that he loves by the end. It was a lot better. Ellen felt like Lee went off a few times, but she doesn't really care about that, as it's all about the performance for her. A couple times he really got into it, and she thought here we go, but then he pulled back a bit, but she wants to see more of him getting into it.

Kara tells Lee what makes him great as a performer is that he's emotionally accessible. She can feel every word that he's saying, like he's telling a story. It wasn't a perfect vocal, but she loves that about him. Simon thought it was a brilliant choice of song for him. He went a little off melody at parts, and what he's feeling from him tonight is that he's nervous, which is understandable. He has another song left, and he needs to understand the importance of the night and how it can change his life. When he comes out for the last song, Simon wants a 10 of 10, as he knows he's capable of that.

Simon Fuller chose Black Velvet for Crystal, which could be interesting. I wish he would have had her do a song we haven't heard before on Idol. I do like it on her, but it doesn't fit as well as Everybody Hurts fits on Lee. It's a little too rocking, and not folksy/gospel enough for what she likes to do.

Randy tells Crystal this is what he's talking about, as this is what he fell in love with on day one. MamaSox is in it to win it. Ellen mentions with the wardrobe changes tonight it's like a Cher concert in here. She knows Crystal a little bit, so knows it was hard walking down the stairs in the heels, much less singing and performing. It was fantastic, and she gives her "that," a stnaning ovation.

Kara tells Crystal tonight is the night to kill yourself and give it your all, to hit the notes you've never tried to hit. That's what she was doing; she wants it and you can tell, and that's what tonight is all about. Simon had a little bit of a problem, as he's almost allergic to that song, as he's heard it so many times in auditions where people have absolutely murdered it. But he has to tell her that she took that song and absolutely nailed it.

If Lee wins tomorrow night, his single will be Beautiful Day, which he sings live now. Wow, they picked the U2 song for him instead of writing a new song for him. He seems to have listened to the judges and is bringing it out now, trying to beat those nerves. He gives it absolutely everything he has. He sings without guitar even, and seems more comfortable than he ever has without it.

Randy tells Lee once again it started off interesting, as he was walking around, which he always loves, as walking around singing and dancing is not what he does. But by the middle of the song when he hits the high notes in the chorus, he started getting his groove back. That's the Lee he loves and remembers, the one with the strong rock voice. "Good on ya." Ellen asks Lee how he feels, and he says he feels good, as it's amazing. She tells him she has enjoyed watching the process and watching him grow to where he is now and actually taking it in. By watching his eyes, she could tell he was fully present in that song. He was taking in all these people's energy, and she loves that he's able to get to that place to do that. She's proud of him, as he did a great job.

Kara thinks Lee got swallowed up a bit in that song, as he had good moments and some not so good moments. I'm sorry, I find that rude for Lee's final song. He's grown the most in the show and has one of the most commercial voices of the season, and he deserves to be there tonight. I don't think Lee was showing he didn't think he belonged there, so again, it just comes off as rude. Like saying you don't deserve to win, but you do deserve to be here.

Simon agrees Lee made the most of it and felt a lot more effort. It's his final time ever judging this show, and he just wants to say Lee is he's the type of artist this competition is designed for, someone who needs a break, having a normal job working in a paint shop. He worked hard and has remained a really nice person throughout, and he genuinely wishes the best for him. See, Kara? That's how you do it. Lee tells the audience the whole thing has been amazing from the very beginning to right now, and he wants to be doing it for a long time. He said this his first day here, and he loves and appreciates all the support.

Crystal is singing Up to the Mountain for her coronation song if she wins, a song done by Susan Boyle at some point, looking it up on iTunes, as I've never heard it before. She sings it with her guitar and it's gospelly/folksy, and I think she's going to kill it. I'm correct. She kills it. Crystal goes for it vocally, and then knows exactly when to pull back and lighten it up a little. I haven't seen anyone do this since Kelly Clarkson, meaning someone who kills it and gives it everything in her physical and emotional being.

Randy says culminating the ninth season of this show, seeing his boy Simon leave the panel, this is what the show is about, an amazing song by an amazing singer, and he is so proud of Crystal. This is one of the greatest performances and one of her best performances and at the perfect time on this show. "That was incredible." Ellen tells Crystal they're always looking for someone unique that they don't already have out there, and she can't compare her to one other contemporary artist right now, as she's in a league of her own. She has a beautiful voice, so clear and it just pulls you in. If she makes an album, Ellen's going to buy it, and if she goes on tour, Ellen will go and watch her. If she makes a salad, she'll eat it. She's so good, and Ellen is so proud to be witnessing the rise of her career.

Kara tells Crystal it was a very important song for her. If she has had any criticism for her, it's that her walls have been up, and she couldn't see what was gong on inside of her. But tonight, that was all she could see. She was completely emotionally invested in that song, unlike any other night, and for Kara, she really blossomed just with that song. Crystal asks for permission to speak before Simon, and tells him he's been amazing this season. She knows it's his last season, and she wants to thank him for his critique and help, and she hopes he does well on his journeys, even though she knows it doesn't matter much coming from her. He returns the favor and says it was by far the best performance and song of the night, and since it will be the final critique he's ever going to give, it was outstanding.

Crystal sums this up saying the whole ride started way before this show and she's beside herself, then jokes and says she's beside Ryan Seacrest actually, then laughs and says "The comedy tour starts tonight." She's entirely grateful for her family, her life, and her son, and she's ready for anything. Ryan tells Simon they have some surprises for his last night tomorrow night, and Crystal gives a few winks to the camera.

Will Young sings the song they played when people were voted out this season, Leave Right Now, and behind him plays the best clips from the season. The final 12 are watching on in amazement to have been a part of this whole thing.