Something special happened on American Idol this week. For seven weeks now, we’ve been waiting for contestants to have that elusive “moment” — a moment that transcends the “reality show” competition and delivers the kind of magic that makes us believe in the spirit of Idol.

Overdramatic? Maybe.

But while in seasons past, contestants had Simon Cowell helping to cultivate such moments, this year they’re like a herd of lost sheep, attempting to dodge unnecessary criticism from producer Jimmy Iovine and wade through the sea of (more than often incoherent) praise from the three judges. So if and when they reach that moment — and, to my delight, a couple of them did on Wednesday night’s show — they have no one to thank but themselves.

And that’s something worth celebrating.

Let’s break down the Top 6 solo performances and duets on this week’s colorful Carole King-themed show:

Jacob Lusk, “Oh No, Not My Baby”

Bum notes (and WTF outfit) aside, Jacob managed to find a song this week that, like “You’re All I Need to Get By” five weeks ago, fit his natural swagger like a glove. It was so nice to see him sink his vocal chops into a song with a relaxed yet sparkling energy, rather than his typical melodramatic choices. The ending scats were a perfect touch.

Lauren Alaina, “Where You Lead”

Lauren could sing the alphabet and it would sound like countrified goodness, but what she’s desperately needed for weeks now is to have an aforementioned moment on that stage, steep with emotion and conviction. Did she deliver with this lightweight ditty (shout out to my Gilmore Girls!)? Not quite. It was authentic and entertaining, but I’m still not convinced she grasps the scope of her technical talent. And that’s a problem with four weeks left in the competition.

Scotty McCreery, “You’ve Got a Friend”

Unsurprisingly, my favorite Scotty performances have been those where he’s tackled songs outside the country realm (“For Once in my Life”) — and subsequently nailed them. He brought the earnestness of the best country music to “You’ve Got a Friend,” but also more passion than he’s shown all season. I particularly loved the tinge of vulnerability he weaved throughout, as well as the lovely ending run.

James Durbin, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”

If McCreery had a baby moment, James — who has been compared to Adam Lambert this season, not always favorably — had a full-grown moment in what I’d dare to say was the best performance of the season thus far.

From the flawless a capella intro, to the gorgeous lilting vocals, to the way he wasn’t afraid to soak the performance in endearing, pleading sensitivity — this was a performance.

I’ll admit that in the first few weeks of the competition, I wasn’t convinced of James’ raw vocal talent, given his track record of pitch problems. He’s since proven himself, though, and it’s clear that he has that intangible Idol formula of talent, vision and staunch sense of self that could easily carry him to the Nokia Stage.

Casey Abrams, “Hi-De-Ho That Old Sweet Roll”

When he kicked off the number deliciously with a few bluesy bars, there was no doubt he picked the right song, especially backed by that delightful ensemble. But disappointingly and unfortunately unsurprisingly, the vocals slowly swam past the melody and into his signature growls, masking what could have been a vocally fantastic performance. I wrote in my notes, “I wish he would sing more” … and that, right there, is the issue with Casey.

Haley Reinhart, “Beautiful”

Haley's light bulb moment when Jimmy Iovine explained the significance of emphasizing “get” in the song (which she did) caused me to have my own light bulb moment: Haley’s worked harder to master her performances than perhaps anyone left in the competition.

I don’t always agree with her vocal choices, and I still think she could’ve killed this competition had she taken another year to go through vocal training, but I have to give her credit for commitment to her craft. Her rendition of “Beautiful” wasn’t perfect, but it was punctuated by bravado and conviction, and I respect that she holds nothing back.

Producer Manipulated Duets

There’s not much to say about the series of duets, all of which I enjoyed but none of which truly blew me away. Casey and Haley gave the best of the set with “I Feel the Earth Move,” probably because the jittery number needs a lot of embellishment, which is right up the kooky duo’s alley. Lauren and Scotty’s performance of “Up on the Roof” was lackluster at best, but Lauren sounded amazing — much better than her solo performance.

And James and Jacob on “I’m Into Something Good”? Weird, awesome and campy. Oh, and there was some singing in between. (Also, can we take a moment to remember this ridiculously awesome duet from Season 8? K, thanks.)

On last night’s results show, the voters ended up sending Casey home for the second time, and I can’t say I’m shocked nor upset, even if his Season 10 catalog as a whole is miles better than Jacob Lusk’s. I loved how Casey left with a smile on his face, hugging all of the contestants’ relatives in the audience and performing his face off on “I Put a Spell On You.”

Maybe it takes being eliminated once before to give a killer swan song, but for whatever reason, Casey left with a bang — and a possible romantic nod to Haley? You be the judge.

Quote of the Week

“We’ve got to stop comparing (the contestants) to themselves and their progress every week. We have to compare them against each other. There can only be one American Idol.”

-Jimmy Iovine. ARE YOU LISTENING JUDGES?

Get more of Tara Seetharam's pop culture musings on her website www.taraseetharam.com and follow her on Twitter @TaraAshley.