"Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special" airs on FOX

It was as if the clock was turned back to 2005 during FOX's primetime lineup this evening, as Carrie Underwood commanded the stage for a full two hours with her variety special "Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special."

Carrie took to the stage nearly a dozen times to perform songs from her latest album Play On including "Cowboy Casanova," "Temporary Home," "Songs Like This" and "Mama's Song" among others. Watch her perform "O Holy Night" below:

Carrie had many friends on to perform with her during the special, including Brad Paisley, Kristen Chenoweth, Christina Applegate and fellow Idol winner David Cook. Cook performed Carrie's favorite song on his album, "Lie." Watch the performance below:



Probably the biggest surprise during the special was the amount of camera time Carrie's funny bone got. She played matchmaker with her sister Stephanie, at which she kept finding the least plausible pairings like Johnny Depp and Jack Nicholson posers. Carrie also demanded her mother get off the stage when she attempted to do a Vegas-like number.

But the funniest segment of all was when Carrie kicked off the night showing flashbacks of how she was able to rise to stardom on Idol, which included bribing the judges with cash, dognapping Ryan Seacrest's pug named Simon, using a voodoo doll to get Constantine Maroulis kicked off the show and psyching out Bo Bice before the finale by saying things about his appearance.

One thing is apparent from this special - if Carrie ever decides to give up singing (which she should never do), she could carve out a career for herself in comedy.

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Preview of Carrie Underwood's Christmas special

FOX has been ramping up the promos for Carrie Underwood's two-hour Christmas variety special called "An All-Star Holiday Specia," which will air on the network tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET. Below is an interview Carrie did with Entertainment Tonight promoting the special:

Guest performers that will be taking to the stage include Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton David Cook and more. It will include performances of Christmas classics in addition to Carrie's own music catalog.

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Flashback: Syesha Mercado's "I Will Always Love You"

Syesha Mercado was many times written off as a non-factor on Idol's seventh season, but performances like her take on Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" during Top 9 week's Dolly Parton theme night

Even though the song has been performed countless times on Idol over the years in the style of Whitney Houston, Syesha was able to find a way to make the song work for her by a technical standpoint. It might have come off a little bit like a copycat performance, but there is no denying Syesha's vocals were first class here.

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Flashback: Michael Johns' "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right"

Just one week before his shocking elimination, Michael Johns took on one of the most heartfelt songs from Dolly Parton's catalog, "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right," and turned the Idol stage into a veteran's showcase pedestal during Top 9 week. The magical performance can be relived below:

Although his time left on the show was not long, Michael showed that one spectacular performance could turn the tide in one's favor, even if only temporarily. If he had been given the chance to extend his time on the show, it's a good bet audiences would have seen comparable performances from MJ.

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Ramiele hangs up her cowgirl boots

Although Ramiele Malubay's departure last night was the right decision, it was still sad to see her go. Ramiele sang a teary-eyed "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" as Carly Smithson, Brooke White, Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado rallied behind her, and went out strong.

The thing about Season 7 is there is no remaining contestant can be categorically described as "awful," something that has never happened in seasons past. Everyone has had at least just as many great nights as they have had off nights, and the judges' comments on the whole have skewed more positive.

Last night, audiences were treated to performances by The Clark Brothers and Dolly Parton, both of whom managed to get a rise out of the studio audience. Parton's graciousness was unmatched, and her performance coupled with the "Idol Gives Back" preview video caused Brooke to start crying right before she was told she was in the bottom 3. Her status as the third-lowest vote-getter was not as big of a surprise as many thought, because Brooke kind of blended in with the others and was perceived as being "boring."

Kristy Lee probably did not deserve her spot in the bottom 3 this week, but since everyone is really just that good, it does not make a huge difference one way or another. Odds are she or Jason Castro will be out next week.

The show was kicked off by a giant group performance of "9 to 5," including a venture to the judges' table and dancing in the audience. But the highlight of the night was probably when Simon "apologized" to four different directions of the studio, making up for all of the ones he owed different people like Carly, and he called her "cute." Very un-Simon-like.

Ryan took not-so-interesting 'Idol Live' phone calls, which were even more useless than last week. The most exciting question was probably to David Cook and Michael Johns about which song they would like to sing on the tour together, and Michael said "Islands In the Stream," which got lots of laughs.

Next week will be interesting, because there will be three doses of Idol, which will be enough to tire anyone out (inspirational songs or not).

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It ain't eze to say goodbye to Chikezie

As Ryan said those final words - "Syesha, you're safe" - Chikezie Eze knew his time on the nation's most-watched television program had come to a sudden end. The 22-year-old from Inglewood, Calif., sang the Luther Vandross song "If Only For One Night" one last time before leaving the stage.

Minutes before the results were read, Simon said the reason Chikezie was in the bottom three in the first place was because he picked the wrong song. Simon was right.

America had fallen in love with Chikezie's two Beatles tunes in the past two weeks, but his reversion to the soulful ballad this week reminded the voting public of the boring performances he was known for in the semifinals.

Aside from Chikezie, audiences were treated to Kimberley Locke's return, as she performed her new single "Fall" off her sophomore album Based on a True Story. The Season 2 third-place finalist looked stunning and sounded as good as ever.

Earlier in the show, Ryan once again took calls from America in the "Idol Live" segment of the show. Most were boring with the exception of a call from Vanessa, who asked Simon if he considered himself the most attractive person on the show.

"It's not what I say, it's what other people say," he replied, prompting Paula and Randy to shake their heads and laugh. Paula said she had now heard it all from Simon.

As for the two other finalists that found themselves in the bottom 3, one deserved it while the other did not. Syesha Mercado was one of the better vocalists on Tuesday, and she most definitely did not belong in the bottom 2. In her place should have been Ramiele Malubay, who was probably the weakest female this week. Jason Castro's placement was right on the money and he merited his spot based on his boring delivery of Sting's "Fragile."

This week, Kristy Lee Cook managed to deliver in a big way on a powerful song, which she absolutely needed to do in order to stay in the competition. With Dolly Parton mentoring next week, it looks like she might be around for a while.

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