"American Idol" is in its final stretch, and while much of America is excited about May 24th's final showdown--and shocked over James Durbin's exit in fourth place--I think there are a few other also-rans who really got robbed this season, contestants I would have liked to see get a shot at the finale. Season 10 was packed with talent, so much so that many awesome singers who would've sailed through in any other season (um, at least last season) were sadly left on the sidelines this year. So let's hope some of these people audition for "American Idol" Season 11--or maybe "The X Factor" or "The Voice"--in the future.

PIA TOSCANO

After her show-stopping, jaw-dropping performance of "All By Myself," this little lady with the big pipes was hyped to possibly win this whole competition--or at least make the top five. When she instead went home in NINTH place, it was one of the biggest elimination shockers in "Idol" history, right up there with Chris Daughtry and Tamyra Gray. Pia will be just

Last night, the top 4 "American Idol" contestants were coached by Lady Gaga, and it was, unsurprisingly, one of the most exciting episodes of the season. And in today's installment of "The Day After," my Yahoo! Entertainment colleague (and fellow little monster) Matt Whitfield and I have strong opinions on all of the performances.

Did Gaga give the contestants good advice, or did she just scare the Judas out of 'em? Did the conservative contestants' spooked reactions to Gaga prove just how out of step this old-fashioned show is with today's pop market? Did Scotty McCreery alienate viewers with his blatant pandering to his Christian fanbase, or was covering a 9/11 anthem a genius move? Just what DO the judges, especially the under-bus-throwing Randy Jackson, have against poor Haley Reinhart? And most importantly, who is going home tonight?

Today, we debate all this and more. Check out our convo below--and be sure to join in by posting your comments, too!

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Sarah Sellers, one of the most-robbed "American Idol" contestants of Season 10 and a food blogger when she's not singing and performing, has been posting her "Idol" viewing-party snack recipes in Reality Rocks all season long, each night cooking up a feast that corresponds to that week's "Idol" theme. For Elton John Week, it was British pub grub; for Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Week, she fried up Elvis-inspired fritters; for Movie Week, nachos and pizza were the main attractions; for 21st Century Week, it was healthy nouveau cuisine; for the Carole King theme, she put her own twist on items from the restaurant named after Carole's song, "Hard Rock Cafe"; and for last week's "Now & Then" theme, it was a real potluck, with a modern crab tart appetizer plus an old-fashioned meatball recipe.

So this week on "Idol," Lady Gaga is the mentor, and the top 4 are singing the classic songs of Leiber & Stoller. Considering that the stick-skinny Gaga barely looks like she eats solid food these days,

Oh, how richly ironic that Lady Gaga, who is arguably the biggest player in the pop game right now, mentored the top four this week on "American Idol." I mean, this a show whose two biggest frontrunners, country kids Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina, are so ultra-conservative that Gaga's very leotarded, skunk-wigged presence had Scotty kissing a cross pendant and begging God for forgiveness ("Apparently he's a bit more conservative than I imagined," mused Gaga), and rendered Lauren too afraid to even sing the word "evil" in an Elvis song.

"You're not a kid, you're 16," Gaga told them from behind the 29 pounds of spooky space-alien makeup caked on her poker face. "When I was 16 years old, I was way too weird to be on 'American Idol.' They would have shut the door in my face."

Yes, in that one utterance, Gaga defined everything that is wrong with "Idol." She proved that pretty much no one on this show is ready to compete with what's really going on in the pop marketplace, which is total