This in from MTV News West Coast editor Katie Byrne, who was on the “Idol” scene last night, and witnessed the shocking force of nature that Fantasia has become:

The skin-tight bodysuit. The flaming red hair. The faux makeout session with Ryan Seacrest. One thing’s for sure: Fantasia made one heck of an impact during a frenetic performance of her new single “Bore Me” on last night’s “Idol.”

Being in the audience for the gale-force performance, the first thing I noticed was the stunned silence and gaping mouths — none more so than Simon Cowell’s, as evidenced in an instant-classic cutaway shot of him as soon as the Season Three Idol hit the stage with her bootylicious backup dancers.

And a funny thing happened as the madness rolled on: The squeaky-clean ArchAngels, the parents with young children, and basically the whole friggin’ crowd started eating it up. ‘Tasia has a way of not giving you the option to like or dislike her; you just take her for what she is. And we were all immediately back under her spell, as if she were singing “Summertime” for the first time.

But this wasn’t our “Summertime” songstress from ‘03. Pieces of her were there, to be sure, but it was like she was possessed by the ghost of James Brown — and I mean that in a good way. Seeing the performance makes me want to hug every prescient “Idol” voter who saw the down-and-dirty diva that this powerhouse would become.

So what did you think of Hurricane ‘Tasia? And are you as excited as I am for the storm to hit a town near you?

Editor’s Note: It’s crazy serious and difficult for the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, but our soldiers still find time for a little fun and escape: just like many of you, they love their weekly dose of “American Idol.” We made friends on the Internet with some members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne division (Fort Bragg, what up!), who will be sending us their review of each “Idol” installment.

Our soldiers each week (L-R): PFC Joshua Miranda, 22 (Orlando, FL); PFC Nathan Puckett, 19 (Cynthiana, KY); SPC Cory Combs, 21 (Plymouth, MA); and SSG Steve Cody, 27 (Los Angeles, CA)

Only two of our soldiers caught this week’s “Idol” performances (Joshua and Steve), and even halfway across the globe, they could see Syesha Mercado’s elimination coming a mile away. For their money, our boys in camo are betting that the “Idol” crown will be placed on the noggin of David Cook on next week’s finale. Here are their impressions of this week’s renditions, after the jump. Read more…

So do you ever have that feeling that your boss is keeping tabs on you at all times? Like you leave work, you’re at home sitting around in your sweatpants watching TV, and he’s still watching you?

We thought this was kind of paranoid…until last night. Because lo and behold, while we were innocently watching Ryan Seacrest talk about whatever on “American Idol,” who stared back at us but the Notorious B.G. — Brian Graden, that is, President of Entertainment for MTV Networks Music Group (which is a really big title, for those who can’t figure it out).

B.G. got some Marilu Henner-sized face time during last night’s finale-determining episode. While Emily Van Camp and Gavin DeGraw got paltry cutaways, Graden clocked in at 23 seconds by camping out behind Seacrest’s mark, just inches away from Syesha’s dad.

So Bri, who’d ya vote for…?

Every now and then, we at MTV News wonder not about the Postal Service but about the postal service. Like, how much longer will it take for us to Get With The Times and pay all our bills online? How many more months until grandma learns that electronic mail is the way to go, and stops expecting us to send her “letters” that strain our distant memories of cursive? What greater purpose could there be left to snail mail…??

Well, thanks for filling the void, “American Idol”! Because today we have been happily reminded that the purpose of ye olde-fashioned mail is clearly…to have something to stick an “American Idol” stamp to. And here we have the chance to unveil to you the very latest in that prestigious line of sticky squares fit to make the American Philatelic Society proud: Ms. Jordin Sparks!

And because we care about you, we’ve posted all the other stamps in “Idol” history after the jump. Read more…

This in from MTV News exec producer Jim Fraenkel:

For those of you who’ve been following our “Idol In Iraq” series here at Newsroom, here’s a little bit of backstory about Private First Class Nathan Puckett — the 19-year-old soldier who made our weekly “Idol” installments happen.

Nathan came to the attention of MTV News strictly by chance…through my Facebook account.

About three months ago, I received a friend request from Nathan. We had no friends in common, so after accepting, I asked why he’d reached out to me. He told me that I looked like someone who had been in “a military class” with him. “Looks like I’m wrong,” he concluded. “Anyways, how’s New York? I’ve never been. After I get out of Iraq, I’m probably gonna try to visit one of my friends up there.”

The two of us struck up a friendship online. Our stations in life, it seemed, couldn’t have been farther apart, geographically or otherwise: I was the executive producer of MTV News, while Nathan had enlisted in the Army “right out of high school.” But we soon discovered common ground… Read more…

Editor’s Note: It’s crazy serious and difficult for the US Armed Forces in Iraq, but our soldiers still find time for a little fun and escape: just like many of you, they love their weekly dose of “American Idol.” We made friends on the Internet with some members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne division (Fort Bragg, what up!), who will be sending us their review of each “Idol” installment.

Our soldiers each week (L-R): PFC Joshua Miranda, 22 (Orlando, FL); PFC Nathan Puckett, 19 (Cynthiana, KY); SPC Cory Combs, 21 (Plymouth, MA); and SSG Steve Cody, 27 (Los Angeles, CA)

So, not all of our soldier pals got to catch this week’s “Idol” performances (SSG Cody was the only one who did, and he only caught the last half of the episode), because they were off doing what our nation’s servicemen and women do — real classified-type stuff. That means there isn’t a complete briefing from our Iraq-based “Idol” hounds this week. But even though he’s halfway around the globe, in one of the world’s most unstable countries, Cody still could tell that dread-head Jason Castro’s number was going to be the one called.

Surprisingly, SSG Cody didn’t even mention Paulagate in his report, but it does seem he’s got a little thing for dark horse Syesha Mercado — but that’s something he’s got to work out himself.

SSG Cody’s impressions of this week’s “Idol,” after the jump. Read more…

So last night the “American Idol” crew was whittled down to three. Ciao, Jason Castro! (Cue violins at John Norris’s house.)

Now we are left with David Cook, David Archuleta, and Syesha Mercado, and the competition is really heating up. Because it’s great to be in the final three and all — but how many of you remember the number three’s of seasons past?

(Um, we’ve posted a photo of Syesha above because — not to be too presumptuous — let’s just say that an office pool of the 29th floor would reveal that most of us are betting our paychecks a David vs. David showdown.)

Can you remember all the number three’s? It may not be as easy as you’d think. Check your answers after the jump. Read more…

So that’s it, brother. You had to know it was coming after Tuesday night…

But let me say this about Tuesday: it may not have been your finest moment, but “I Shot the Sheriff” was a way more interesting choice from the Hall of Fame songbook than the umpteenth version of “Stand By Me” and “Proud Mary.” And for Simon to have suggested “you don’t touch that song”? Huh? As if anything is inviolable on “American Idol” — please. A sanitized version of “Imagine” is OK, stripped of its atheist, socialist teeth, but a “karaoke” version of Marley’s fight-the-power anthem is not? Spare me the double standard.

Not that I am making excuses for the performance, JC — not great. And then Dylan — fine choice, I’d rather hear it than that old classic rock radio wheezer “Baba O’Riley.” But you can’t go up on the lyrics. You said you were “thinking too much” and not just letting it flow. Bad time for that to happen. We all know that you weren’t the first one to do it this season, still…

And the outrage in the blogoverse about Jason’s eye-widening, his supposedly “flippant” reaction to the judges, his lack of appropriate remorse over his blown performances, his ever-present smile. WTF do you people think this is? It’s a singing contest! If you ask me, he took it as seriously as “American Idol” ought to be taken. So, let’s see — when Simon told him to pack his bags, should he have had a “Brooke moment” and broken down? Should he have been shaken to the core? Please. He acknowledged that he “screwed up” two songs he knew and loved, and that’s it. No more penance is needed.

I have to believe at some point — maybe between Mariah Carey week and Andrew Lloyd Webber week? — this kid from Texas realized he was in a club that he didn’t really belong, or feel all that comfortable in. Oh well. So much for a little dose of realness in “Idol.” It was refreshing while it lasted.

Congrats, viewers. Now you’re back to the show just the way you like it: polished, scrubbed, respectful, and boring. A future Broadway star, another Daughtry and…(cough) I don’t even know what to call that study in arrested development.

Jason, sorry you got the boot. I doubt you really thought you were gonna win this thing, but thanks for a good run, some nice song choices, and exactly the right attitude. Good luck, dude. It will be a less interesting show without you.

We here at MTV News want to let the “Idol” fans out there — and specifically the “Idol In Iraq” fans — know that we have not forgotten you. There will indeed be another installment of “Idol in Iraq”…it’s just that, well, our friends in the Army’s 82nd Airborne division were a bit too caught up with the very serious business of serving our country this week to catch the last round of the show. They did, however, share with us that their unanimous reaction to Brooke White getting booted off was: S’about time!

No worries. Our friends will return later this week with their reactions to the competition as we near the final three. And what’s more, PFC Nathan Puckett (Cynthiana, KY) recently visited with us in Times Square, so we’re looking forward to posting some footage of that very soon. So check back with MTVNews.com for more.

While the rest of us are anxiously watching the clock in the hours leading up to elimination night on “American Idol,” some lucky fans are checking out the action firsthand. MTV News and Docs VP Laura Hill was one of those people last night.

I’m not going to say anything about the show itself because presumably if you’re reading this you’ve already seen it and have your own take on things, but more important, Cantiello is only about a 1000% better than me at recounting all things “Idol.” I’m just an interloper. I’ve worked on hundreds of shoots in my career, but I still find it fascinating to be behind the scenes of one. Here’s how it went:

No problems walking onto the lot — a quick bag check and a pass through the metal detector. There are about 300 people waiting in line. There are those with wristbands (VIPs), those with soft patches (pit people) and those with tickets (general-audience schlubs like us). The ticket is beautiful — the likes of which we at MTV can’t spend that kind of money on, even for the VMAs, but that’s the difference between basic cable and a network show with high ratings and some heavy-hitter sponsors. Sigh.

After the jump: The show, way too much Natasha Bedingfield, and Laura’s newfound TiVo appreciation. Read more…