Ryan welcomes us to the 300th episode of American Idol… just one week away from season 8′s fiinale!

Here’s the recap of the May 12 American Idol, where the top 3 finalists sang two songs – one selected by the judges, and one of their choice.

Ryan Seacrest tells us a bit about the finalists’ hometown welcomes:

First, Danny Gokey returns to Milwaukee and a text from Paula Abdul, whose choice for Danny Gokey is “Dance Little Sister” by Terrance Trent D’Arby. Randy said he had a lot of energy and sounded good, it was “dope”; Kara said it keeps him in his money tone but thought the dancing was too gyrating; Paula said he did really good; Simon said the dancing was a bit desperate, but vocally it was very good.

Kris Allen goes home and Kara/Randy text the song choice “Apologize” by OneRepublic – Randy really liked it; Kara said at this stage he needs to be hitting it out of the park and wanted him to make it his own; Paula said she’s proud of him, despite a bum note that was loud; Simon said it was a competent version of the original, but got a dig on Kara for accusing Kris of not making it his own.

Adam Lambert gets his hometown text to sing “One” by U2 – Randy said he’s hot and in the zone, but didn’t love so much him coming off the melody, but said he’s really talented; Kara said he proved you can do a song in a completely different way and make it unbelievable; Paula said something about “one” american idol she’s staring at; Simon said it was a brilliant song choice and brilliant performance.

Ryan gives the rundown on Idol Gives Back and Carrie Underwood gives a report from Africa.

And on to round two… contestants’ choice:

Danny Gokey’s song choice was “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker – Randy said he showed that he’s here because he can really sing; Kara said it was stunning; Paula said he left them breathless; Simon said it didn’t need rearranging, but called it a vocal master class.

Kris Allen’s choice was “Heartless” by Kanye West – Randy said he liked it better than Kanye’s and The Fray’s version and it’s better than the original; Kara said it was brave and fearless with an acoustic guitar and was perfect; Paula said “bravo;” Simon said he almost wrote him off after the first performance, but has now changed his mind.

Adam Lambert sang “Cryin’” by Aerosmith – Randy said he should be a rock star; Kara asks how he hits those notes and talks the next day, says we’ll see him at the finals; Paula said he sets the bar so high; Simon said it’s easy to assume he’ll sail through to the finals.