Top 3 showdown begins

MANILA, Philippines - The smoke has cleared and the season’s Top 3 has emerged — country crooner Scotty McCreery, audition frontrunner Lauren Alaina and big-voiced Haley Reinhart.

After tallying the almost 72 million votes cast last week, this season’s resident rocker James Durbin got the lowest number of viewer votes and was sent home.

Tomorrow night at 6, on GMA News TV Channel 11, catch the highly-anticipated sing-off among Lauren, Scotty and Haley Reinhart. The Top 3 will perform three songs — one individual choice, a song chosen by the judges and a song chosen by in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine.

The three will also be seen during their extraordinary trips back to their hometowns. Scotty makes a triumphant return to Garner, North Carolina, Haley has a jampacked homecoming show in Wheeling, Illinois and Lauren makes an emotional trip home to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was recently devastated by tornadoes.  

The following night is results night with Nicole Scherzinger and rapper 50 Cent taking the Idol stage for a performance of Right There. Italian trio Il Volo, performing their version of O Sole Mio, are also featured guests. And, of course, on Friday, the final two who will face off in the finale will be revealed.

Scotty. Lauren. Haley. Who will make it to the finale?

More dynamite performances ahead as American Idol nears its finale. Catch the performance night Thursdays, 6 p.m. (with same day replay at 10 p.m.) and results night Fridays, 6 p.m. (with same day replay at 10 p.m.).

And next week, Season 10’s final performance night airs via satellite on May 25, 6 p.m. (with same day replay at 10 p.m.) and the much-awaited finale airs live via satellite on May 26, 8 a.m. (with same day replay at 6 p.m.), on GMA News TV Channel 11.