Back to live-blogging/live-recapping "American Idol" tonight. And man, the drama has already started. It's not even 8 p.m. and already Fox has America buzzing with the "news" that Lauren Alaina is being treated for laryngitis (here after known as Laurengitis) and may not be able to perform tonight.

If Lauren can't perform, last week's eliminated constestant, Haley Reinhart, will take her place to compete against Scotty McCreery.

Two things. First, I prefer Haley over Lauren anyway. By a wide margin. Sue me. So I'm fine with Haley filling in, except she doesn't really have a fair chance if she only has today to rehearse. Second, we all kinda know in our hearts that Scotty's gonna win anyway, so whatever. I just don't want an asterisk by his name.

EXCEPT ... if Lauren "soldiers through" and earns massive sympathy votes from America, pulling the upset over Scotty.

I'm a little ticked off right now.

Here we go...

Our 'Dancing with the Stars' correspondents Chuck Small and Lenni G have been on the job with great DWTS recaps for us throughout Season 12. In this final week of performances, both Chuck and Lenni G will weigh in with their thoughts on the episodes -- both the Monday night performance episode and Tuesday night's finale. Chuck gave us his opinions last night, and Lenni G offers her insight today:

It's the finals and we have three stars doing two dances for the incredible Mirror Ball Trophy. Is this exciting or what! The first round is all about dances the judges have chosen for each couple.

First up, Chelsea and Mark with a samba. Carrie Ann joined the duo in an advisory capacity, telling Chelsea to eliminate the "perky" and get into the "sensual." Clearly, Chelsea took Carrie Ann's advice to heart, getting her "sexy" on in this routine.

Our 'Dancing with the Stars' correspondents Chuck Small and Lenni G have been on the job with great DWTS recaps for us throughout Season 12. In this final week of performances, both Chuck and Lenni G will weigh in with their thoughts on the episodes -- both the Monday night performance episode and Tuesday night's finale. Chuck starts things off tonight (check back for Lenni's recap on Tuesday).

So, after a season of spills (Maks, Karina, Kym), thrills and a fairly evenly matched cast, we're down to tonight's finals. Who will make the grab for the mirror-ball trophy?

Each star has two dances tonight, including their freestyle and a "judge's choice" dance. Mark Ballas and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are showing their abs, Chelsea's working that spray tan, and Hines Ward and Kym Johnson are going the opposite, with tux, tails and a gorgeous dress and Audrey Hepburn-esque gloves.

I'm back on recap duty tonight because Thad is reporting again from the "American Idol" viewing party in Garner. I'll try to make him proud!

The three finalists come out for a quick hello, and the first thing I notice is that Scotty is not wearing plaid. I repeat: Scotty is not wearing plaid.

Seacrest throws us straight to a filmed segment where the three finalists (Scotty, Haley, Lauren) plus ousted James Durbin meet J.J. Freakin' Abrams at his Bad Robot production company. Scotty is wearing his Garner "Blue Crew" t-shirt. If Garner High is not selling those on the internet now to raise money for their Booster Club, they are missing a huge opportunity. 

Abrams shows the Idols scenes from his latest film, "Super 8," a movie about some kids who ... do something. It must be connected to Fox in some way. I can tell you it has Kyle Chandler from "Friday Night Lights" and it's in 3D. The Idol kids just see a little and they beg for more. Don't get greedy!

Scotty McCreery and the other two "American Idol" finalists sang three times each tonight as they sought spots in next week's finale. And guess what? Randy Jackson declared that all three of them are "in it to win it!" Because Randy thinks everyone is in it to win it! (And if you weren't in it to win it, why would you be in it at all?)

In any case, Scotty won good marks for all of his performances -- one personal pick, one judge's pick and one selection from "Idol" mentor Jimmy Iovine.

Scotty's personal selection was Lonestar's "Amazed," which allowed him to show off a higher range than we're used to from the low-voiced 17-year-old. The judges called it a smart choice that was sung well.

Our 'Dancing with the Stars' correspondents Chuck Small and Lenni G will be back on the job for us with recaps throughout Season 12. Lenni G gives us her thoughts on last night's elimination.

Yes, people, it was another two hour DWTS extravaganza. The first 60 minutes were all about the importance of the free style dance on finals night. We now know that if you can't do the free style, you just can't win. Alrighty then! And, we got to see Cheryl and Drew Lachey do their "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" free style routine which was voted the best dance ever by DWTS viewers. Looking good, Drew, looking good.

As far as cliffhanger finales go, the "How I Met Your Mother" capper to season six offered slightly more suspense than your average stumble off a stepladder.

Ted resists reuniting with Zoey? Yawn. Lily is not throwing up because of food poisoning but because she's pregnant? Anyone who's watched more than two hours of American sitcoms could have predicted that "twist."

But a flash forward revealing that Barney is the groom in the wedding hinted at in the season's first episode? That works.

The smart money has Robin as the bride, even after Monday night's episode ended with Barney and Robin considering and then discounting the possibility of a rekindling of their romance. The last second appearance of Robin's British friend who Barney briefly dated seems like an obvious red herring.

But we can all agree with Barney and Robin's description of Ted and Zoey's romance, likely couched in a meta maneuver by the show's writers as an acknowledgment of the relationship as a wrong turn this season, as the worst thing ever.

Or maybe that will be Marshall and Lily's baby, for those of you who vowed to stop watching whenever that blessed event occurred.

Our 'Dancing with the Stars' correspondents Chuck Small and Lenni G will be back on the job for us with recaps throughout Season 12. Lenni G gives us her thoughts on last night's show.

It was a busy, busy semi-finals night with each couple doing two individual dances plus a "winner takes all" cha cha elimination complete with brackets. It's March Madness in May, DWTS style.

Our 'Dancing with the Stars' correspondents Chuck Small and Lenni G will be back on the job for us with recaps throughout Season 12. Chuck gives us his thoughts on tonight's elimination.

Tonight's results show is leaning heavily on the story of Ralph Macchio's injury. The judges ask Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy to reprise the Argentine tango. And yes, it's hotter than night one's! It would be a shame to see them leave tonight, but there's a possibility of that (their Instant Dance was ho-hum).

"How I Met Your Mother" tipped its viewers off weeks ago that Ted and Zoey's relationship was doomed. So Monday's breakup was hardly a surprise.

Still, give credit to Ted for crafting the perfect breakup line.