– I thought one of the bigger items of the evening occurred at the top of the show. Jimmy Iovine went above and beyond words to co-sign on Joshua Ledet. The singer may not have won “Idol”… yet, but he’s apparently already won a record deal. Iovine stated that Interscope would do everything in its power to help Ledet’s career. Ladies and gents, that’s what happens when you blow Stevie Van Zandt’s soxes off in front of Jimmy Iovine.

– Phew, thanks Seacrest for informing us that Matt, not Kiernan, was dimming the lights last night.

– Alright, so I watch these episodes live on my iPad using a Slingbox. The quality is decent but not great. I heard some chatter that Coldplay was lipsyncing its songs. For full disclosure, I’m a huge Coldplay fan. Probably the band’s biggest fan that hasn’t seen it live. I own all the albums and most b-sides. So I’m a homer for Coldplay. But I listened, intently. Chris Martin, while great, wasn’t perfect – which led me to believe he was in fact singing live. Naturally, I enjoyed both performances.

– Carrie Underwood sounded great too. Of course she is among the handful of legit stars that this show has produced over 11 seasons.

– I found Iovine’s criticism of Jessica Sanchez’s outfit as too adult and “burlesque” interesting. Here’s a guy that obviously has seen sex sell first hand, and has probably assisted in selling it himself. Yet, he drew the line with the teenager, and didn’t hesitate to criticize the show’s wardrobe and stylist department in the process. Equally interesting was JLO defending Sanchez and the show. You’d think if anything, it’d be the other way around, right?

– I love how Steven always thanks people that sing well in front of him. And JLO, a lot of people came up to you and complimented Wednesday’s show? Really? I doubt anyone gets near JLO and her bodyguard, c’mon.

– Sorry Skylar fans, America got it right. She had her moments, but the final four all have serious mainstream crossover appeal – something Laine lacked.