It was the duty of American Idol‘s Wednesday’s results show to send two contestants away from the competition. The judges’ save is off the table (er, stage) and there are no do-overs. The epic Season 9 results show would put an end to all the Idol dreams for at least two contestants.

I know, pretty heady stuff. An appropriate lead-in opened the show, filled with dramatic music and bold graphics meant to drum up excitement. Since everyone knows that the final result won’t be read until we sit through a seemingly endless hour of banter and random live performances, it’s pretty hard to get excited at the top of the episode.

The Top 9 performed a medley of Elvis Presley songs to kick off the episode, beginning with “Burning Love” before moving into “Teddy Bear.” “Return to Sender” and “Viva Las Vegas” were also featured. The group number was actually rather horrible, which is surprising considering the artist the Idols were allowed to cover - but the songs selected for the medley really weren’t good ideas. I couldn’t wait for it to end.

The Ford video for the week was set to the tune of “Night and Day,” and delivered a socially-conscious message about going green. I actually think this was a great idea for the network who proudly boasts to being sponsored by Exxon Mobil, one of the largest suppliers of gas and oil in the world. I’m not being sarcastic at all.

At last, some of the filler was over. Host Ryan Seacrest turned attention to the vote tallies. Casey James was the first to rise to hear his results. Aaron Kelly and Andrew Garcia immediately stood to join him. All three were asked to stand at the center of the stage. None of them had great performances on Tuesday. James sang an unrecognizable tune, Kelly put forth a valiant effort that truly fell flat and Andrew Garcia’s number was just all the way bad. Any one of them could have been sent though (James more regrettably than the others), but my money was on Andrew from the world go.

Ryan Seacrest took his time about drawing out the tension before he delivered the sad news: Andrew Garcia is gone. He probably should have performed “Straight Up” for his swan song, but he made the rather bad decision to croon out something complete unmemorable instead. Andrew’s got a great voice and a truly enjoyable personality, so he probably won’t do too poorly. I think he’d be great on any one of the forty-seven American Idol-based reality shows which do nothing but discuss the series at length.

You can start donating to Idol Gives Back, the show’s star-studded telethon, through IdolGivesBack.org. Former Idol contenders and current judges have been trekked across the globe to visit the actual locations where the money is being used. A trip taken by Kara DioGuardi and third-place finisher Elliott Yamin was featured during the results show.

Money from Idol’s charity event is currently being funneled toward many building projects in Angola, Africa, where the citizens will now receive protection from malaria in addition to other services. More than three thousand people die from malaria every single day. It’s a highly preventable disease - something as simple as mosquito netting can provide the necessary protection. The Black Eyed Peas, Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige and Sir Elton John are all confirmed to be a part of the Idol Gives Back event, which takes place next week.

The somewhat low mood evoked by the video package shifted (to pure despair) when Justin Gaston and former Season 7 Idol alum Brooke White appeared on the stage, she behind the piano as usual. His vocals were all but impossible to hear as he growled along somewhere in the lower register. Brooke White sounded better than ever but looked quite bad. The look of annoyance on her face certainly didn’t help matters much. Anyone else think they looked like they hated each other?  I still can’t figure out why Brooke wore that outfit.

It was time for more results. Casey James and Aaron Kelly are both safe and Andrew Garcia was already long gone by the time Tim Urban, Crystal Bowersox, Michael Lynche, Katie Stevens, Lee DeWyze and Siobhan Magnus stood up to move to center stage. Ryan Seacrest moved down the line to re-cap the comments each contestant received from the evening before, a mixed bag of good and bad with the ubiquitous Ellen DeGeneres jokes thrown in.

Crystal Bowersox, a frequent stand-out among the Idols, was quickly declared safe and sent away. Siobhan Magnus, who had a rockier performance on Tuesday, was also sent to safety. Lee DeWyze walked with Ryan all the way to the safe seats, leaving Tim Urban, Michael Lynche and Katie Stevens standing on the stage. They would not stand for long, however, as the show had a few more minutes to kill first.

Adam Lambert performed again on the Idol stage before results were read, sending the FCC censors into apoplectic fits as their fingers hovered over blackout buttons. Offering up the usual amount of high drama, Lambert performed “What Do You Want From Me.” The number was weird, well-sung and eerily theatrical - classic Adam Lambert. The very tame choreography was expected - FOX was taking no chances on an important results night - but rather disappointing just the same. He wears more eye make-up than Madonna.

At last, Tim Urban, Mike Lynche and Katie Stevens stood nervously on stage to hear their votes. Ryan Seacrest quickly sent Tim Urban to safety, which was expected. Katie Stevens then heard her bad news, and her Idol dreams were ended. Big Mike, by the way, wasn’t even in the Bottom 3 for the week. For her good-bye song, Katie bravely tried to sing “Let It Be,” but sounded pretty shaky from the first note. It’s hard to stand up and sing for 20 million folks after your heart gets ripped out, and Katie’s still pretty young (though she doesn’t act, sing or dress like she is, one of the big reasons she struggled on the show).

The Top 7 will perform next Tuesday, an event which will be followed by Idol Gives Back on the Wednesday broadcast. Likely, some results will be squeezed into the Gives Back broadcast, so keep your eyes peeled to find out who goes home. In the meantime, get your fix by reading all our other American Idol 9 posts.