The producers of American Idol invited Rock and Roll Hall of Fame record mogul, Clive Davis to judge the three finalists this week.

He brought class to the competition along with nostalgia and great song choices.

Jasmine Trias, Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo put their best voice forward to win the hearts and votes of America.

Here, as always this season, is last night's American Idol III "Play-by-Play."

Clive Davis

The man with "The Golden Ears" is best known for having discovered and/or cultivated the careers of legendary singers such as Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, Aerosmith, Patti Smith, Dido, Sarah McLachlan and Carlos Santana.

The music industry's most influential executive has chosen to support American Idol because the artists who have come out of this television show have had Number One records. They have competed in the Top Forty, MTV and VH1. He praised American Idol for transforming the previously "lagging along" pop record industry. Thanks to performers like Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, pop music is once again hitting Number One charts.

Davis, the founder and head of BMG Entertainment's Arista Records for twenty-five years and now the King of J Records, is clearly as passionate as ever about promoting pop stars and their music.

Recently, he executive produced Clarkson, Studdard and Aiken's debut albums. His record label also released the "Greatest Soul Classics" album starring twelve of this year's American Idol finalists.

And it is likely, we presume, that he will help produce at least one of the upcoming top three finalists first CDs.

As Chairman and CEO of J Records (which stands for Davis' middle name "Jay,") Clive has released albums for Luther Vandross, Busta Rhymes, O-Town, Angie Stone, Deborah Cox, LFO, Next, Monica, Alicia Keys, Olivia and Jimmy Cozier. He has also created a joint venture with Wyclef Jean's new label YClef Records on which the Product G&B will release a new album. And most recently, J Records signed rap legend Erick Sermon.

Needless to say, at 71 years of age, after founding Arista Records in 1975, the young Clive Davis is still rocking.

American Idol III Three Finalists

Three beautiful women.

Each one as unique as the judges.

Two similarities among them were noticeable during last night's show: One is the apparent friendship between the three girls, and the other was there exceptionally long eye lashes.

Three Contestants, Three Songs

This evening, the contestants sang three songs: one of their own, one selected by the judges, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, and one selected by Clive Davis.

Host, Ryan Seacrest asked the girls how they had decided who would go first. In response, Fantasia and Diana joked that they did it professionally and scientifically. Diana said, "we played Rock, Paper, Scissors."

The evening performances began with Jasmine Trias. She sang Saving All My Love For You.

Last night, Jasmine was dressed elegantly from head-to-toe. Her hair was pulled up showing off her beautiful eyes and smile. She wore a short black pleated dress and a slinky turquoise top with a blue leather flower at the neck. We hoped the flower would have brought her good luck much like the Hawaiian flower she would wear behind her ear at the beginning of the season. While she looked stunning and the audience certainly expressed their love for Jasmine, the judges were much more critical.

Randy Jackson called her first performance of the night "good but not all the way there, yet."

Paula agreed. She said, "It's tough because if you are going to pick a song like that, you need to sing as well as Whitney, if not better, especially during this point in the competition."

"No one can sing better than Whitney Houston," said Davis. The "King of Pop" would know. He praised Jasmine for capturing the tenderness at the end despite a bit of sharpness throughout.

Simon called Jasmine's performance "much like dinner with Paula Abdul: Sweet but forgettable."

Ouch!

While our reaction was similar to the judges, we found a "wow factor" in Jasmine Trias' total package. She is gorgeous and has the potential to be a powerhouse. Time and maturity will inevitably help make her unforgettable.

Bringing star quality soul into the house, Fantasia Barrino brought it home last night with Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools.

The crowd responded, fervently.

Randy told her, "I've just got to say. One. two. three. It doesn't matter. You are a winner."

"It's about capturing the hearts of your audience," Paula said. "And you did it." You picked the right songs."

Davis added, "You took on our national treasure, the Queen of Soul with your own stamp and your own uniqueness."

With the audience still applauding he proclaimed, "You nailed it!"

Simon chimed in with similar praise. "You demonstrated what we are looking for in this competition, and that's originality," he said. "You demonstrated what you are all about," he said to Fantasia.

Singing Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Diana DeGarmo had a powerful first performance, as well, but it was not quite as strong as Fantasia's.

"It was infectious. But it was good cabaret. Not unique," Clive Davis said.

"You shouted that song," said Simon. "You need to do a lot more with your next two songs."

Jasmine's Second Song Selected by Paula Abdul

Paula made a great choice for Jasmine: Natalie Cole's Mr. Melody.

"I thought this was light. I felt the jazz riffs were not believable. And this was not your best moment," said Davis.

Simon's reaction: "So what." "Not boo," he said. "Just so what."

Fantasia's Second Song Selected by Simon Cowell

Simon chose Fantasia's second song, Fall in Love. He selected it because it is a throw-back to another era. He thought it would be fun and would show off her talents.

During her performance, it was fun to see Simon clapping and smiling as Fantasia strolled down, off the stage, by her brothers, her daughter, and the judges.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Sign us up. Where do we buy tickets?

Randy was on fire with his response. He compared Fantasia to Mary J. Blige and the spirit of Aretha. "You're the bomb. I love you," Randy shouted amidst the applause.

Paula said she'd like to take Randy's compliments a step further.

Abdul's response: "I don't think you even need this competition anymore." Paula added, "You're a triple threat. You're going to be seen in movies, in television, and you're going to be filling stadiums."

Clive added, "I'm going to say what Paula did, but in a different way."

He said, "If this were no competition, and I went to a basement in Kansas and saw you sing like this, I would sign you right away."

Bringing a bit of sarcasm to bear against those who vote against Simon's opinion, Cowell said tongue-in-cheek, "I'm going to be tactical here because you need a sympathy vote. That was the worst thing I've ever heard in my life," he said.

"Now they're going to feel sorry for you," he added.

Go Fantasia!

Diana's DeGarmos' Second Selected by Randy Jackson

Believing DeGarmo has the pipes to pull off Because You Love Me Jackson chose this song which was written by his friend, Diane Warren and sung by Celine Dion.

We were impressed. Randy said she pulled it off but called it just "Awight."

Paula praised her for her pipes. However, she hoped she would have brought something unique to the song.

Clive appreciated her tender ending. "You came down and captured the emotion," he said. "This was a much better song for you."

Simon gave her performance "7 out of 10." He called it a compliment.

After one of the many breaks, which included one of the highlights of the night, an ad for Harry Potter Ryan Seacrest introduced, the winner of Canadian Idol was in the house tonight.

Last up, were Clive Davis' choices. He selected some of his favorites of all time based on the finalists personalities.

Clive Davis Selected "All By Myself" for Jasmine Trias

Randy praised her for hitting her high notes, but he said he was looking for a connection with her and didn't find it. Paula thought her performance was an improvement compared to her rehearsals.

Clive was quite profound in his critique. While he also praised her for hitting her high notes, he said this song was about loneliness and being dependent. As a result of her "overblown ending," he felt it came off as strident, as compared to "sharing the loneliness of not wanting to be alone anymore."

Simon called her a lovely girl. He believes the reason she is still in the competition is because of her strong following in Hawaii. "For me," Cowell said, "It has to end tonight."

Clive Selected A Song For Fantasia with "Stun" Potential

Clive said when he discovered Whitney Houston singing Greatest Love of All it stunned him. He said he believed Fantasia could have a similar effect with this song.

Once again the crowd went wild. Randy had nothing but praise for her performance.

Paula simply thanked her, expressing how honored she felt to be in Fantasia's presence.

One simple word from Clive: "Wow!"

"What does it say behind you?" Simon asked. "American Idol." Simon threw up his hands indicating "This says it all."

Guest Judge Davis Selected a Peter Allen Song for Diana

Melissa Manchester turned Don't Cry Out Loud into a big hit. Diana DeGarmo was given the challenge to make it her own. She certainly made the last, long note her own.

Her revealing black top and red revealing wrap pants unfortunately did not add to her performance. A mere technicality.

Randy told her she brought it back on this song. "That was the perfect song for you. That was great!" he offered.

Paula called her performance "flawless." She agreed that it was the best song for her voice.

Clive told her she nailed it, and did the song proud.

Simon encouraged her to write a letter to Clive Davis saying "Thank you very much for booking me a place in the final." He added, "That's what he just did."

Two young ladies will make it into the finale.

Who is it going to be?

Tune into Fox tonight to find out.

And tune into IdolonFox.com for all the highlights of last night's performance along with information about the tickets going on sale this Saturday. This year's Top Twelve Contestants will go on a live tour.

Inspire and Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King

Other American Idol Stories Published in RuggedElegantLiving.com:

05/18/04, American Idol Celebrity Special: Randy, Paula, Simon, Jasmine, Fantasia & Diana Speak to Host Ryan Seacrest, :

05/11/04, American Idol III Divas Sing Disco

05/04/04, American Idol III's Five Finalists Sing Big Band Beat with Nigel Wright & The Penguins

04/27/04, American Idol III Sings Gloria Estefan's Latin Pop Music: La Toya London Turns Up The Heat

04/20/04, "American Idol III Sings Barry Manilow Hits Customized for Each Finalist by the Legend, Himself"

04/20/04, "American Idol III Contestants Perform The Music of Barry Manilow"

04/15/04, "American Idol III's Jon Peter Lewis Gets The Death Penalty After Singing 'Jailhouse Rock'"

04/14/04, "American Idol III Finalists Sing Movie-Themed Songs with Quentin Tarantino As Guest Judge"

04/08/04, "American Idol III Three Sings Elton John Classics; Camile Velasco Sings 'Goodbye..."

03/18/04, "American Idol III Top Twelve Finalists Narrow to Eleven"

03/17/04, "American Idol Offers Two Hours of Soul Singing As The Competition Heats Up"

02/11/04, "American Idol's Barrino, DeGarmo, Hudson, Lynche, Metzger, Thomas, Walcott, Webber (and Ryan Seacrest as Will Hung)"

02/05/04, "One American Family's Favorite Contestants from "American Idol III's" Top Thirty-Two"