Ryan Seacrest started the Tuesday performance show in the backstage area, something of an unusual start for American Idol. After Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres exchanged a kiss, the host walked to the big stage to soak up applause from the waiting crowd. Ellen’s outfit, by the way, was pretty weird-looking.

The Top 10 performers of this performance round will for ever be part of the Idol pantheon. This summer, they will tour the country and continue to peddle music. After that, only a few of them - if even that many - will go on to lasting recording industry success. Will your favorite season 9 contestant soon be a Grammy-winning artist? Maybe…but first, they’ve got to get through this week’s elimination.

Usher was the mentor for the week, the theme of which is R&B/Soul in honor of the star. “To be a great performer, you really have to understand what it takes,” he told the contestants upon their group meeting. “I want you to be great.”

“This is their time to shine, and this is the stage to do it on,” Usher seemed to accept his responsibility with sincerity and seriousness.

Siobhan Magnus was the first performance of the night. “She’s actually got the voice,” Usher said after their practice session. Instead of critiquing her singer, her asked Siobhan about what she’ll be wearing on the big stage. Magnus looked beautiful as she sang “Through the Fire,” but right away she seemed a little nervous. Siobhan was stiff, her vocals weren’t as perfect as usual, and truthfully it all fell a bit flat. It was a rare miss for Magnus, who has been quite the head-turner this season. “I don’t know if it quite caught on, pitch-wise,” Randy Jackson observed, though he said he “loved the courageousness and conviction.” “To start off the evening with you, it’s like dessert before the meal,” Ellen DeGeneres praised, though she admitted it wasn’t Siobhan’s best. Kara DioGuardi also found it “didn’t work.” “I think you got a little nervous up there tonight,” she noted. “It sounded to me as if you’d run a marathon and you were singing while you were running out of breath. It was so all over the place,” Simon Cowell told her. “I think you look all over the place tonight,” he added. “And I’m getting bored of the screaming at the end,” he fired off a parting shot. The judges spent even more time talking to Siobhan once Ryan Seacrest joined the stage. Cameras followed Siobhan backstage to the green room, where a spread of snacks and the other Idols waited.

Casey James chose “Hold On, I’m Coming,” which Usher thought was a “perfect choice.” James didn’t know all the lyrics, but Usher was impressed with his guitar playing and personality. “You already a rock star,” he smiled. “He’s a guy that I would definitely keep my eye on,” Usher told cameras after their meeting. James had the honor of being the first to play this particular song on Idol, which he did with a great deal of conviction. Wearing a big smile and singing big, James truly delivered - and honestly, I don’t even like the song itself. “This was another hot night for you,” Randy Jackson cried, adding “nice job.” “You’re always good,” Ellen DeGeneres remarked. “It felt a little generic,” she noted, winning loud boos from the crowd. “I think you have more range in you,” Kara DioGuardi expanded on Ellen’s comments. “This week, in my opinion, it was your strongest week you’ve had so far,” Simon Cowell told James, saying he found himself “really, really impressed.”

“Big Mike” Lynche wanted to sing “Ready For Love,” an incredibly soft song that suits his smooth voice. Usher advised Lynche to “open this up” and project all his energy to the audience. Once on the big stage, Lynche softly strummed the guitar as he sang, instantly captivating with his beautiful vocals. His voice is so good. Randy Jackson loved the “sensitive song,” telling Lynche “I’m lovin’ every performance, dude.” “That was beautiful,” Ellen DeGeneres declared. “You did an incredible job,” Kara DioGuardi complimented him. Simon Cowell is now taking Mike “seriously as an artist.” “You did a terrific job,” Idol’s most feared judge gave Lynche high praise. “You were incredible, big Mike, you did it man,” Usher said that he, too, found the performance enjoyable. “I was in the moment,” Lynche wore a smile as he talked to cameras back stage.

Didi Benami chose the ever-boring ballad “What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?” Usher called it “a very emotional song for a very emotional young lady.” He smiled nicely at her when she cried during their time together, handling it quite well. Usher told her how to use her emotions while performing, helping Didi focus on her connection to the song. A single spot pinned Didi in its gaze as she delivered the song, which she did with a lot more vocal strength than I expected. Didi actually looked quite elegant, but everything seemed rather forced. The arrangement got pretty weird toward the end of the number. The judges didn’t seem to think much of Didi’s number. “The whole performance…kind of flat-lined for me,” Randy Jackson told her, saying “it just wasn’t great.” Ellen DeGeneres booed herself before delivering her comments, saying “It was dramatic…I just thought that was way dramatic.” “It’s over-done, girl,” Kara DioGuardi explained. “You’ve changed, you’ve lost your way…this is very confusing,” she finished. “It was like swimming in jelly,” Simon Cowell offered. “It was so over-the-top…so off-melody…it just didn’t do it.”

Tim Urban’s media nickname, apparently, is “Teflon Tim.” His R&B/Soul song for the week was “Sweet Love,” soft song which could well be beyond Urban’s vocal range. “Have you ever been in love, man?” Usher questioned as soon as the practice session started. Usher stood off to the side while Tim sang, telling him to envision a beautiful woman as he delivered the number. Urban started the performance softly, staring straight into the eye of the camera as advised. The dead-on stare was perhaps a little too intense, but this was easily one of Urban’s better vocal performances. Randy Jackson found some “pluses and minuses.” He compared Tim to a “singing waiter,” and called the number “so pedestrian.” By way of praise, Jackson offered, “at least you sang in tune.” “Put a lil’ grease on it, do a little something,” Randy explained. Ellen DeGeneres called Tim “adorable” in honor of the Idol at-home drinking game, though she found herself wondering why he chose the song. “You were walking like you were sneaking into a bedroom,” she explained. “Good for you for taking that on, but, oh boy, why?” She summed up her own comments. “It was like Broadway at times and Vegas at times,” Kara DioGuardi squirmed as she critiqued him. “I don’t think it makes any difference whatsoever what we say,” Simon Cowell waved a hand. “It’s like a mouse picking a fight with an elephant…it doesn’t matter because you’re going to smile, the audience is going to vote for you, and you’ll be here next week, so well done,” Cowell was cavalier. “I gotta say, I get picked on for a lot of things, I never thought smiling would be one of the things,” Tim Urban laughed with Ryan Seacrest. Actually, I’m really starting to like him. “They were nicer than I thought though,” Tim laughed to the cameras after all was said and done.

Andrew Garcia chose “Forever” to show his soulful side. Usher could see Andrew’s nerves clearly during their practice session. The singer took off his sunglasses to talk to Garcia performer-to-performer, explaining that Andrew needed to connect to the song. Andrew’s voice is absolutely lovely, and it was finally easy to remember that again as he sat on the Idol stage strumming his guitar. He’s back in the competition, everybody. “America, Andrew is back!” Randy Jackson exclaimed when it was all. He thought “the outfit is mad dope,” and loved the arrangement and the entire performance. “That was a really amazing, strong performance,” Ellen DeGeneres enthused. “That is one giant leap in the right direction,” Kara DioGuardi grinned. “I think it was miles and miles better than what we’ve heard from you over the last few weeks,” Simon Cowell told him.

Katie Stevens was nervous when she met Usher, though she told him that they actually met before - she saw him once at Epcot Center. He advised Katie to have “pizazz and attitude,” during her performance. “She could potentially do very well,” Usher said of Stevens after their meeting was over. Katie’s sultry performance of “Chain of Fools” was full of attitude, but the number still felt a little dated. She’s definitely seventeen going on thirty-five. Stevens certainly has the voice, but I still have no idea who she is - and I wish she would just be a young girl. Randy Jackson called it “one of the best vocal performances of the night.” “I thought the vocals were great,” Ellen DeGeneres agreed with Randy, though she “wished the song had been a little more current.” “You found where you belong, it’s right here, R&B/Pop,” Kara DioGuardi told her, but advised Stevens to make it “young, commercial now.” “I think for Randy to compare you to Christina [Aguilera]…is just crazy,” Simon Cowell said. “It was pretty good…it was very robotic. You actually came across as quite cold tonight,” he told her. “I think the advice Kara [DioGuardi] has given you is wrong,” he continued to war it out with the other judges as he delivered his comments to Katie. For weeks, Simon and Kara have been at odds over which genre Katie should sing.

Lee DeWyze thinks “creating a moment’s just performing, a genuine performance,” as he explained to Ryan Seacrest before his stage show began. Lee is currently suffering from walking pneumonia, but said “I’m fine” when the host brought it up. Usher called Lee’s practice performance “a special treat.” “You have an incredible voice, man,” Usher told DeWyze when it was all over. Lee’s performance of “Treat Her Like a Lady” was everything it should be - great vocally, interesting to see and very entertaining. “Unbelievable! Best I’ve heard you in weeks,” Randy Jackson was excited with what he saw. Ellen DeGeneres called it the “best performance of the night.” Kara DioGuardi thought it was “amazing.” “I’ve always believed in you,” Simon Cowell said. “This is the night your life may have changed for ever,” Cowell told Lee meaningfully.

Crystal Bowersox’s big surprise of the week, according to Ryan Seacrest, was her very high stilettos - very cute. The real change of her performance was the fact that she put down the guitar for the week. Instead, Crystal picked up the piano - figuratively, of course. “You got a real shot, kid. For real,” Usher told her sincerely. To the cameras, he said “I really think Crystal’s performance is going to be good.” Singing “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Bowersox appeared on stage behind the piano. Her soft, pretty vocals were perfect. When she stood up to go big, the crowd howled with delight. They had good reason to cheer - Crystal’s performance was wonderful. Randy Jackson loved it all, telling Crystal that Gladys Knight would probably love it, too. “You are in it to win it,” Ellen DeGeneres observed. “I’m so glad you took that risk,” Kara DioGuardi smiled. “Your choice of song was sensational. I thought the vocals, at times, were incredible,” Simon Cowell told her, though he found that Crystal was “uncomfortable with the piano.” He added, “do not let this process suck the identity out of you. Because what you were doing before was fantastic.” “Tonight, I took a risk, and I think it paid off,” Bowersox later told the cameras.

Aaron Kelly sang “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone,” a tune with a lot of Idol history (last season’s winner Kris Allen had much success with it). Usher advised Kelly on his theatrics and personalization with the number. Kelly certainly has the vocal chops to sing anything, but his look for the performance was incredibly odd (an Ace Ventura-ish hair swoop was in evidence, along with a rain slicker of some sort) and very distracting. Kelly is a little bit boring on stage, but his vocals are incredibly good. If he could improve his showmanship, he could really be a contender…but that didn’t happen this week. Randy Jackson thought it was “just all right.” Ellen DeGeneres disagreed, liking the song choice and telling him “good job.” Kara DioGuardi also found that she “liked it,” though she wanted more energy. “I’m not jumping out of my chair,” Cowell told him, but said “there’s absolutely no chance you’re going to be leaving the competition.”

Wednesday night, one of them will be eliminated, their dreams of stardom shattered. Will you be along for the ride? Stay up to date on all the performances, eliminations and behind-the-scenes gossip - check out all our other American Idol 9 posts.