Well, well, well. In the third and final week of The 24 Who Managed To Make It This Far, after the final 8 girls on Tuesday night turned my Idol world upside down (sort of, I'm exaggerating slightly for dramatic effect), the final 8 boys took my world and put it into a blender and turned it into a smoothie. Or at least a slushie.

Formerly bad was pretty good. Formerly good was shaky at best. And Tim Urban not only continued to work his magic on Simon and me, but Ellen fell under his spell as well. Let's get to it, shall we?

We open with Lee Dewyze, singing something called Fireflies by something called Owl City, and his voice is straining a bit but he gives it the ol' Lee Try, and since I like him I forgive the vocal issues. I listen to this song on the Internet afterwards and I do appreciate the treatment he gave it. I like this boy, he is like a cross between poor sweet dear departed Chris Penn, singer/songwriter Michael Penn and Christopher Walken. Simon continues to love and support him, and I hope he makes it through, because of all these duds this season, I do think this kid has the potential to rise above. I worry that they gave him the opening spot. He is playing his guitar, which turns out to be tonight's gimmick.

Poor Alex Lambert is second, wearing more Goodwill clothes, with his mullet looking ever more mullet-like, and his guitar strapped to him like a life preserver. He sings Ray LaMontagne's Trouble, which helped Taylor Hicks win Idol back in what used to be the show's worst season ever (except it gave me my beloved Elliott Yamin). I of course wonder if he vomited before he took the stage and based on the sour look on his face I'm thinking he did. He might have done well but he looks so bleak that I'm not sure. Simon gives him the classic Mike Brady Buck Up speech, which is, he tells him to think of Randy in a bikini while he performs.

Tim Urban, whose hair is looking particularly cream-rinsed tonight and who seems to be bathed in a halo of white light, takes the stage to sing Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah while strumming his guitar. If you ever want to melt my heart sing me Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It's what Jason Castro did. I think it is a bold move for this weak singer to make, and holy crap if he doesn't pull it off. He wisely avoids the falsetto parts of the song, going more for loud and strong than soft and sweet, and his eyelashes are amazingly long. Ellen terrifies him by leaving her seat, jumping up on the stage and hugging him, but he has the presence of mind to go with it, and to ooze gratitude to the judges, and damn if we don't have a contender on our hands here. A real legitimate contender. He could be president.

Oh Andrew Garcia. There are no more hurtful words in the English language than "you peaked too soon." The spectre of Paula Abdul hangs over your shoulder and the success of your Straight Up in Hollywood week has become so overwhelming to you that you opt for Xtina's Genie In A Bottle. My feeling is, if you are going to just lose your mind and do this, you should've opted for What A Girl Wants. Whichever judge called you desperate was right.

Casey James sits down to play his guitar, sings Keith Urban's You'll Think of Me, is less bleaty than last week but again, I'm over him. Meh.

Aaron Kelly, you little Leprechaun you. So sweet and innocent on the outside, with the mind of Tommy Mottola and the heart of Rupert Murdoch on the inside. He sings Lonestar's I'm Already There (the only song I hate more than this one is that Christmas Shoes song) and it is a genius calculated move, which Kara fails to see and which Simon slaps her silly for, and this kid has nailed down the Grandma vote and the 12-year-old vote and God help us all.

Todrick!!! Ryan tells us that Todrick is going to sing Queen just as my husband climbs into bed, and I tell him, oh good timing, you are about to witness a complete massacre, and then poof! Todrick comes out wearing Adam Lambert hand-me-downs and goes all come-to-Jesus on Find Me Somebody To Love and even Simon has to give him props. It might be too little too late, but if you are going home tonight Todrick, you can go with your head held high and your feet en pointe.

We close with Big Mike, who is wearing another suit (although really, the boat shoes have got to go, dude) because he has decided that the Giant Banker look is the way he will win this, and he sings Maxwell's This Woman's Work. Get it? Last week he sang It's A Man's World. This week, This Woman's Work. He does the falsetto, he does the growling, he stomps the stage, and Kara freaking cries. Really Kara? Crying? Respect for his wife? Your childless life? What? Simon feels compelled to hug her (my God this is weird tonight) and everyone declares Mike the winner. I find an element of falseness in this young man, something completely manufactured within him that he tries to portray as honest, and to me, that colors this and every other performance of his. He's smart, Michael Lynche, and he'll go far here, but he won't get my vote.

So, who will go home tonight for the boys? It might be safer for me to say who I think is safe: Tim Urban, Aaron Kelly, Casey James and Big Mike. The other four are vulnerable. What do you think?