Carly's exit is a semi-surprise

Although it was intended to send shockwaves across America when Ryan uttered the words "Brooke, you're safe" last night, it really was not a huge surprise. Although her now infamous restart was the talk of the town, and Ryan mentioned it on multiple occasions last night alone, Brooke White's maturity after the performance on Tuesday was remarkable. She stood there with her lips pursed, accepting the criticism that she knew she would be getting. She did not talk over the judges, something she made note of before her results were read last night.

It was a definite shame, however, that Ireland's Carly Smithson was sent packing. Her performance of "Superstar" on Tuesday was arguably the best of the night, and so although it was not a complete shock, it did feel a bit undeserving. The fact that Carly went out all smiles and with class was good to see, and Simon even gave her praise, telling her to hold her head up high and be proud of what she accomplished, which was interesting considering their somewhat rocky relationship onstage over the course of the season.

Last night, most of America was introduced to Leona Lewis, the UK's X-Factor winner and Simon discovery. Lewis looked beautiful in a white knee-length dress, and the lighting made her seem angelic. It was definitely one of the best guest performances of the season, if not the best. The flames were a nice added touch as well.

One aspect that was not missed during the results show was the "Idol Live" segment (serves them right for stealing the name), as it is the filler of all fillers. Ryan's chat with Andrew Lloyd Webber was interesting, and gave more insight into why he gave advice to certain contestants. When asked if Jason followed his advice, he said "no," and commented on the song choice being "peculiar." He also thought Brooke was flawless in the dress rehearsal, which goes to show how she would have sounded had she not restarted.

When Simon brought out David Archuleta and David Cook to kick off the results, everyone knew what was coming. But the fact that Syesha Mercado landed in the bottom two with Carly was a sad but real circumstance that the remaining five finalists will have to deal with from here on in. Every week is do or die, and one wrong move could end their dreams of winning.

Although it may seem obvious that the next three to leave are Syesha, Jason Castro and Brooke (and probably in that order), nothing is set in stone. At this point in Season 5, everyone and their mother had Chris Daughtry picked as the winner, but we all know how that turned out. Just something to keep in mind as we march toward May 21.