The night may be about who actually wins, but I always tune in for the awesome guests. Here’s what I took away as the best and most memorable parts of the show.

• 5. Kiss me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

So kicking off the Tom Jones medley was the long-lost finalist, who instead of doing the baritone-talk that Jones usually does during his cover of “Kiss” by Prince, Stefano just went for it and falsetto-ed the hopscotch out of his part, probably putting a big smirk on the Purple One’s face. You know Prince has to love “Idol.”

• 4. Carry Me, Carrie/The Raw McGraw

I love old-school country in a big way… but not the new stuff so much. However, Tim McGraw hits that sweet spot for me, and the fact that when he did his duet with Scotty and kept his Cowboy hat so low nobody could see his face… that was country. Also, Carrie Underwood prodded Lauren to life, at least just a little, strutting around in her-now classic shorts and super-shiny legs.

• 3. Always Bet on Black

So I don’t really like Casey from this season… he always seemed to be taking the pudding out of the competition and playing it like it was a joke, and less about actually performing well. I mean, if he wants to be the newest member of Primus, more power too him, but it was just too cartoony. With that said, I forgot that Casey was even on stage when the master of “cartoony” was revealed to be reclining on stage behind a couch: my man JACK BLACK. Sure, it’s weird that I say I don’t like Casey’s cartoonyness and then applaud Jack’s, but Jack does it right: You can see the sincerity and love for performance behind his not-so-perfect pipes. Casey… just growls.

• 2. Shelia E!

It kind of hit me out of nowhere, but I absolutely loved Marc Anthony’s performance Wednesday night. Personally, I’m not a big fan of his, but maybe because he was singing in a language I didn’t understand, I was able to appreciate his vocals and stage presence more… it also didn’t hurt that his wife, and “most beautiful woman in the world,” Jennifer Lopez, was smoking up the stage in a white fringe dress at his side the whole time either. And the legendary Shelia E playing drums…. awesome guest move.

• 1. It’s Amazing!

We all knew that judge Steven Tyler was going to have his moment in the spotlight eventually, and when that time came, he delivered. I was pleased as punch to hear him take on the Aerosmith tune “Dream On,” and hitting all the crazy falsetto high notes at the end. It’s one of my favourite songs of all time, and his voice sounds as good now as it did 20 years ago. I also hope it silences all those idiots out there who swear it’s a Led Zeppelin song every time it comes on the radio (Yeah, they’re out there).

Bonus mention: Clarence Clemmons doing his thing in the shadows during the performance of the Lady Gaga circus spectacular. You couldn’t hear his sax until the end, which was too bad, because it was the only ounce of musicality during that five minute stretch. Do people actually buy this “Lady Gaga” nonsense? The songs are boring, and her singing is only as good as the characters featured on “Deep house dish” at best. It’s boring, snooze inducing stuff starring a scantily clad blonde with pyro. /rant over

Now, who is watching “X-Factor” this fall? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

About Tyrone

Tyrone Warner has been with CTV.ca since 2005, covering news, entertainment and everything related to CTV. When he’s away from the computer, you can find him writing, recording and performing his own music, running his own record label and dabbling in photography, painting and creative collage. Follow him on Twitter!