OK, let's start from the top. Tonight, the final eight are trimmed in half to the final four. These four acts will have the chance to perform for the final time, and then next week, we will learn who wins. Host Jerry Springer calls tonight the finale, but since we don't learn the winner tonight, I'm going to disagree.

The first person to find out he's safe is Cas Haley. His first performance will be chosen by the judges, and they go for "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You." His challenge is to be remembered more than Elvis or UB40. He sounds characteristically great and isn't reminding me of UB40's rendition at all. The Hoff says he rose to the challenge and brought his own style to the song. Sharon says he's found his comfort zone and that he's not as edgy on stage. Piers says it wasn't better than Elvis, but that he has grown into more and more of a star every performance.

Next is Butterscotch, who is assigned Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On?" She doesn't beatbox at all, and her voice doesn't sound quite as strong on its own. I don't think it was her best ever. The Hoff says they chose this song to see if she could pull off just singing, and he says she did. Sharon says her favorite part is her at the piano singing (which she did at the beginning), but that she handled the challenge. Piers says he missed the beatboxing, but she says it's coming in her next performance.

Then ventriloquist Terry Fator learns he's safe, and the judges assign him a more contemporary song (Piers' words), "Friends in Low Places." He can't have been totally unprepared for that since he already had a country puppet. The Hoff says he's unbelievable. Sharon asks if there is anyone he can't impersonate. He says, "Not that I've found." Piers says he finds country music boring at the best of times, and he says Terry rose the challenge and made it entertaining.

Now is the part that I watched first -- Julienne Irwin finds out she gets the final spot in the Top 4.

Jerry talks to the eliminated finalists. Robert says he feels like he got a good start and he's waiting for the record labels to call. Jason Pritchett says he has so much momentum. Jerry tells the Glamazons they must feel proud. One of them says thanks for the love and support from the audience. Sideswipe says they're excited to have had a chance to show America what they can do.

Then Julienne sings her judges' choice song -- "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts. Last week, they told her to "be 14," and I don't see how this song helps her achieve that. The low parts are a little rugged, but she closes very strongly. Hoff repeats exactly what he said in the clip before her performance -- that they wanted to see if she could handle a contemporary song. He says she did really well despite a "really tiny mistake." Sharon says it's a tough competition and tough acts to follow. She says she liked her singing that song but is looking forward to her next performance. Piers: "I really don't like you. ... I said you'd be going home, and you proved me wrong. I also said the reason you'd be going home was that your voice wasn't good enough for the final, and you just proved me wrong again." She says she almost had a heart attack when Jerry announced her as the last finalist through.

Cas Haley is up with his final performance (and his choice of song), "Sir Duke." There are like 14 other musicians up there with him! It's a fabulous song, and he does it up right. Hoff says he was fantastic. Sharon says she's a fan already and that all she can says is that she loves him and best of luck. Piers says Stevie Wonder is his musical hero, and that Cas matched him pound for pound. Pier says he wondered at the beginning of the show who the perfect winner would be and decided it would be someone who was humble, who loves his family and has something about the "pride of America" about him. He says he thinks Cas is now the pride of America.

Butterscotch's last performance is "Dance to the Music" with a ton more beatboxing. She's got a whole backup crew breaking all over the stage. She's adorable, but I like her performances more when they combine the beatboxing and the singing more. The Hoff says she was terrific and that it was her "best ever." Sharon says she is so multitalented and she can't even understand how she does all that sound herself. Piers says he has waited the entire competition for her to really own the stage and that she did it tonight and that she was absolutely in her zone. He says it was brave of her to do what she wanted to, though "it may not win the show."

Terry comes back with Winston the impersonating turtle (I missed Winston's original performance, so I have no basis of comparison here). Winston does a Roy Orbison impression, singing "Crying." Piers is grinning like a 12-year-old boy up there (like you can actually picture what he looked like at 12), and then he catches himself. Hoff says Roy Orbison is one of his favorites, and Winston was just awesome. Sharon says she thought Winston had a Ringo Starr wig on at first. Piers says he thinks Terry is going to be crying all the way to the bank because he's going to win a million dollars.

Closing the performance finale is Maryland's own Julienne Irwin. She says the judges usually say she picks songs that are too big or too old for her, and she wants to show Piers that she is good enough to win. Her final choice of song is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" because it's all about dreams. She says the show is a dream she doesn't want to wake up from. She is sitting on a moon up at the top of the stage. That shocked the heck out of me, and I couldn't figure out where she was at first. It's a countrified version of the song, and definitely among her strongest performances. (Nice time to trot that out!) The audience goes crazy, and she looks absolutely thrilled. Hoff says she started off a little shaky, but that she kicked it into high gear, "and that's what this competition is about." (This competition is about a lot of things to Mr. Hasselhoff.) "You are a star." Sharon says she doesn't know who's going to win, but that her parents must be very proud of her. Piers says he still doesn't think she has enough to win, but that was a very good performance. He adds that if people give votes to make him look stupid, she will get even more votes. Jerry asks her to talk to America, and she says, "I guess just send out the message of that song. I know there's so many kids in their rooms -- just like I am -- singing, too, and if you really persevere and drive, you can be here next year."

What did you think of the performances? Who do you think is going to win?