It's another Wednesday (May 11) night on "American Idol." Things are tense enough that at least half of the Final Four can't even muster smiles when they're introduced by host Ryan Seacrest. Bo Bice and Vonzell Solomon find the necessary reserves to crack a grin, but Carrie Underwood and Anthony Fedorov just clap for themselves with blank determination. Will that uncertainty be a sign of things to come? Probably. Will this recapper sit through a clip package from last night's show? Certainly not.

"Islands in the Stream" is tonight's group sing, apparently an unflushable remnant of Tuesday's country half-theme. The contestants are all capable of carrying a tune, but harmony is still too complicated, so they don't even bother. It's still a drowsy arrangement and it looks as if the singers are making up their choreography on the spot.

Wait. The group sing is followed by a Ford Focus commercial, but neither of the scruffy men driving across the country is Bo or Anthony and neither of the featured automobiles is Carrie or Vonzell in drag. Were they too busy to produce an "Idol"-affiliated commercial this week? First Scott Savol goes home and now this.

Whew. There's my Ford commercial. Bo has a funky hairstyle, "Ready to Go" is on the soundtrack and driving a Ford is like taking a roller coaster to the moon. All's well with the world.

To fill more time, we get to see the original auditions that got the Final Four into the competition in the first place. Vonzell's tendency to over-sing has been with her from Day One, but she's also had her confidence and winning smile from the beginning. Randy says she's grown a lot and learned to believe in herself. Anthony still sings out of the top of his head and the Clay Aiken comparisons have always dogged him (or pushed him forward). Paula says that Anthony's got his own identity now.

After a long bank of commercials, we're treated to Carrie's audition tape, which was replayed relentlessly during early promotions for the show. After seeing Carrie only once, Randy already sensed that it was the performance and stage presence that would hamper her. Simon, who told the press back in January that Carrie was his pick, stands by his support. We never saw Bo Bice's audition. Simon called him brilliant at the time (and snuck in a much-needed John Stevens joke), but Bo appears to have grown (in facial hair at least) more than any of his fellow Finalists.

Ryan announces that the three surviving singers will be leaving tomorrow on a jet plane to return to their hometowns, where they will eat at their local churches, be toasted at their old high schools and be saluted as heroes by thousands of people who didn't know they existed just four months ago. The loser will just go home to hugs, tears and pats on the back (before returning to celebrity status for the "Idol" finale and tour, of course).

So much time has been killed that the elimination gets rushed along. Bo is safe, as well he should be. Carrie, who will go through the motions for another week, runs squealing into Bo's arms. Will Anthony or Vonzell be booted?

It's Anthony. We get a long highlight reel where we recall, perhaps for the last time, that for Anthony, making it this far was the American Dream.

As Anthony's Ukrainian landsman Yakov Smirnoff used to say, "What a country."

Perhaps they can take the stage together in Branson someday.