It's homecoming time on "American Idol."

The Fox singing contest will document the three finalists — songbird Lauren Alaina, crooner Scotty McCreery and jazzy Haley Reinhart — returning to their hometowns before they tackle three separate tunes on the "Idol" stage in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. The songs were selected by judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, mentor Jimmy Iovine and the singers themselves.

McCreery, the deep-voiced 17-year-old front-runner from Garner, N.C., has never appeared as one of the show's low vote getters. That isn't the case for twangy 16-year-old ingenue Alaina of Rossville, Ga., and feisty 20-year-old fatale Haley Reinhart of Wheeling, Ill. Alaina was at the bottom once two weeks ago, while Reinhart has been there four times.

One of the singers will be dismissed Thursday, and the winner will be crowned on the Nokia Theatre stage next week.

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The judges on "American Idol" will round out the Top 12 tonight by picking three singers from eight who were rejected by America.

Based on how well they did the last time, Von Smith and Ricky Braddy seem the likeliest winners in this wild-card round. But they need to be every bit as good on the show, at 8 tonight on WOFL-Channel 35, as they were last time.

The judges obviously admire Megan Corkrey's voice, look and manner. But she would be advised to cut down on the awkward movements when she sings.

Tatiana Del Toro has talent, but her drama-queen style will be a quick turnoff for viewers. Anoop Desai
was a disappointment last time. Yet he was better than Matt Giraud and Jasmine Murray, who tanked in the last round and are lucky to be getting another chance. Jesse Langseth is very pretty, but can she stand out in this field?

Lil Rounds, of course, made it to the Top 12 in Wednesday's show. She has been anointed the new front-runner. Jorge Nunez and Scott MacIntyre also made the cut. And "American Idol" bounced back this week after a couple of forgettable weeks. And the importance of the wild card? Remember that Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken received important boosts from this round.

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""Bikini Girl" - Half-Naked Before "Idol"
"American Idol" Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell definitely made an impression last night, and judging by her modeling reel over at LovinLife Creative Media, one thing's for sure - the skank bit is no act. The slutty shtick doesn't stop there though - girl's also a part
of a clothing line so trashy, even Shauna Sand wouldn't be caught dead in 'em."

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1. Kris Allen performs in front of the judges on "American Idol's" semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25 Fox Photo / February 25, 2009
2. Megan Corkrey performs in front of the judges on American Idol's semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25. (Fox / February 26, 2009)
3. Will he get a wild card? Anoop Desai performs in front of the judges on American Idol's semifinal round airing Tuesday, Feb. 17. (Frank Micelotta / FOX / February 18, 2009)
4. Matt Giraud performs in front of the judges on "American Idol's" semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25
5. Danny Gokey performs in front of the judges on American Idol's semifinal round airing Tuesday, Feb. 17
6. Alexis Grace performs in front of the judges on American Idol's semifinal round airing Tuesday, Feb. 17
7. Allison Iraheta performs in front of the judges on "American Idol's" semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25
8. Adam Lambert performs in front of the judges on "American Idol's" semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25
9. Scott MacIntyre performs in front of the judges on American Idol, Tuesday, March 3.
10. Jasmine Murray performs in front of the judges on "American Idol's" semifinals round, Wednesday, Feb. 25
11. Jorge Nuñez performs in front of the judges on American Idol, Tuesday, March 3.
12. Lil Rounds performs in front of the judges on American Idol, Tuesday, March 3
13. Michael Sarver performs in front of the judges on American Idol's semifinal round airing Tuesday, Feb. 17. (Frank Micelotta / FOX / February 18, 2009)

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