Phil Phillips will be flying to his hometown Leesburg this weekend, paving the way to a possible win. CREDIT: Michael Becker/FOX

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Hollie Cavanagh had a great run but picking a Bonnie Raitt song did her in.

There were 70 million votes, 10 million more than last year. Jessica Sanchez was the first announced to be safe, followed by Joshua Ledet. Hollie joined Phillip Phillips for the final minutes, but Ryan Seacrest never said he was necessarily in the bottom two so he probably wasn’t.

Jessica, Phillip and Joshua are now guaranteed hometown visits. For the second time in two years, Georgia gets a hometown visit. Last year, it was Lauren Alaina.

Hollie, when she made it to the semifinals, was one of those half-dozen blond women, virtually indistinguishable. For a time, her performances were just so so. She had a good voice but her interpretation skills were a bit stiff. Then a few weeks in, her competitive juices kicked in, she took advice and began singing better, with more confidence. Her top 7 “Rolling in the Deep” received plaudits, as did her “The Climb” top 6 and “Bleeding Love” top five.

Even though she may have picked the wrong song Monday night, she definitely wins the “Idol’ award this year for most improved. And how could you not love her Texas/British hybrid accent?

Next week’s results show will feature Adam Lambert and Lisa Marie Presley. Lisa Marie Presley?

Jimmy Iovine’s comments:

Phillip: “[On first song, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," where he had Miss Saxy] He’s hearing his voice in his head. That’s a magical thing to watch. [Song two: "Volcano"]. He finally delivered on the promise that we’ve been looking for all year. He sang the song like he wrote it, understood it.”

Hollie: “[On "Faithfully] All the thing that concern me about Hollie – over singing, over dramatizing, actually aided her in this song. This is a very dramatic song. This kind of worked for her.” [On "I Can't Make You Love Me"] I thought she understood the core of the song. She did not. She didn’t have the personal experience or professional experience.”

Joshua: ["You Raise Me Up"] It might have worked if he had kept it simple. But instead, he went for the full glorious gospel rendition. That didn’t work. I’d try to talk him out to put songs like this on the album… he can’t use that trick on every song. ["It's a Man's Man's Man's World"] He created a piece of magic you rarely see on the ‘American Idol’ stage… it was so so captivating. I want to see it again again and again. That’s the first time I’ve felt that way. Now how can we find an original song that good on his album? Heck, let’s just do that song.”

Jessica: ["Steal Away"] Was impersonating a great older jazz blues singer a good idea? No. She ended up going back to that trick of hers when she was five years old. Everyone knows the rabbit’s going to come out of the hat. ["And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going"] This she brought her artillery in the right proportion.. she brought her power, the dynamics. It was flawless. She murdered it. As a matter of fact, Tommy Mottola emailed me and said, ‘I’m going to her first concert.’ It was shock and awe.’ ”

Last year, he noted, he knew Scotty was going to win. This year, he’s not so sure. Indeed, I have no idea who’s going to win. It could be any of the final three. And that’s a good thing for “Idol.”

In other “Idol” news:

Phillip Philips told E! he plans some major surgery to help his kidney stone problems before the tour starts. Aerosmith will perform on the “Idol” finale. “Idol” ratings slipped last night to around 16.5 million viewers and a 4.5 18-49 rating.

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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk