The Fab Five Light Up American Idol

Quick reality check: Did Iggy Pop appear on the Idol stage a couple of weeks ago or did I dream that? I ask only because I think Iggy came back again last night impersonating the fiddle player who cavorted through Lauren's first number.

If Wednesday's competition taught us anything, it's that all five of these finalists are in it to win it. So if you were expecting one or two of them to suddenly withdraw from the show, you can just forget it, buster.

Last night also reinforced how important song selection is, especially down the stretch run. Scotty made excellent choices with both his songs; Haley picked poorly. Twice.

Of course, if your name is James, the material doesn't matter at all. Randy Jackson anointed him the winner after a weepy rendition of "Without You".

The fact that Durbin loses feeling and subtlety unless he is wailing at Def Con 4 apparently isn't a factor. The guy cried twice and sobbed once on camera. America, we have a winner.

The 90-minute show may have been the musical highlight of the Idol season to date. But it certainly had its surreal spectacles, for instance, Jacob Lusk covering a Nazareth ballad, "Love Hurts" with the help of a harpsichordist. I thought I had died and gone to K-Tel heaven.

Kelly Preston pulled off the circuit this week, showing up in the Dancing with the Stars crowd on Tuesday and in the Idol audience on Wednesday. She's like the Vasco de Gama of reality competitions.

Anthony Hopkins got a Seacrest shout out last night, probably nothing to do with the fact that his film, Thor, opens tomorrow.

But Idol managed to snub Dax Shepard, of NBC's Parenthood, even though he was two seats away from Sir Anthony.

The judges were really on top of their games. Randy was particularly tart with Scotty, making that withering comment, "I love it, dude. I love it. I love it. I love it."

And I think Jennifer was right when she said of Haley's "House of the Rising Sun": "That song has never been sung like that before." That's' because no one ever thought to change the lyrics to: "My father was a gambling man/Down in Mew Orleans".

Your likely exiles tonight: Haley, Jacob and Lauren. Seacrest, out!

Read more Dave on Demand or follow him on Twitter @DaveOnDemand_TV