Thankfully, this is the last three-night “American Idol” week I’ll have to endure for a while. I love me some “Idol,” but yeah, I’m ready for the two-night version again.

Happy to make the Top 12 are, in alphabetical order, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, Chikezie, David Cook, Kristie Lee Cook, David Hernandez, Michael Johns, Ramiele Malubay, Syesha Mercado, Amanda Overmyer, Carly Smithson and Brooke White.

To almost no one’s surprise, Kady Malloy and Luke Menard were among the four who headed home.

Both were admirable contestants, but Malloy’s natural, beautful vibrato was stifled by terrible song choices. Her talent felt especially raw when she had to sing her post-rejection song. Yikes, that was terrible. I will miss her, though. I will always believe she is better than what she conveyed on the show.

What can I say about Menard? Nice guy, never really connected with the audience in a way that screamed “Idol” champ. But I’m never going to be too tough on a guy who tours with an a cappella group. Not that I did that last weekend in Boston or anything….

Then came the real surprises. Or, in retrospect, were they really all that surprising?

Let’s start with Asia’h Epperson. Yes, not only gorgeous and upbeat, but also inspiring for her decision to go ahead with the “Idol” audition despite the death of her father days earlier. I agree with her that we all grieve in different ways, and I love that she felt that it was something her father would have encouraged her to follow her dreams.

But despite her Rashida Jones-like beauty and positive attitude, her voice was inconsistent. At its best, her voice paired up beautifully with Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and the post-elimination version of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” At its worst (“All By Myself”), it exposed a nasal, throaty sound that was downright unpleasant. And as good as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody Was” the second time, the pre-vote version of the dated Whitney Houston track was completely outdone by Syesha Mercado’s superior version of a more transcendent Whitney Houston track (“Savin’ All My Love For You”).

And while I didn’t predict Epperson to be eliminated yesterday, I did suppose that “Idol” voters only strive to save their favorite one or two singers. I think Asia’h might have been a lot of people’s third-favorites, but that doesn’t cut it when it comes to staying alive in “Idol.”

I dish the “ish” about Danny Noriega after the break.

Danny Noriega was a riotous interview on “Idol.” Whether he was making Simon Cowell grin with his witty retorts or talking about his days—or day—as a punk rocker, the audience knew there’d be something to talk about by the end of the night. Unfortunately for Noriega, his vocals were amateurish. An above-average amateur, yes, but with him I always felt I was watching a decent high school talent show than a decent “American Idol” contestant.

And then there was the YouTube video in which Noriega shared his Christmas wish with the world. For those who don’t know, it jokingly involved Santa Claus doing something to mothers that would result in felony charges. Now, I’ve read remarks by his supporters saying that this tone, and far worse, is just what kids today are talking about; and I’m willing to accept that. But perhaps for the first time, he realized that there are ramifications for saying these things—especially since he made the conscious decision to record it and distribute it on YouTube for everyone to view. And then, oh yeah, competing on the country’s top-rated show. Whoops.

A few quick follow-up thoughts about last night’s broadcast:

1. Blake Lewis sounded bad last night. And I like the guy.

2. For whatever reason, I dig that Lionel Richie loved David Cook’s version of “Hello.” If Cook makes it to the final, I’m hoping he puts down the guitar and reenacts that video. How great would it be if he created a clay bust of Richie himself while singing?

3. I’m with Cowell in dreading the call-in portion of “Idol” results shows. The only way they won’t be awful is if someone pranks them. Let’s root for that. Otherwise, my DVR fast-forward button will be ready.

So how does this Top 12 rank among others in the history of the show? That’ll be my next blog post topic. In the meantime, which four do you think should have been kicked off?

(Photos courtesy of Fox.)