Idol Chatter & Voice Views

This might have been classic rock week on American Idol, but the guest performers were all country.

Casey James and Carrie Underwood, one of the most successful Idol champs ever, returned to the Idol stage Thursday night.

And it wasn’t only entertaining, it was touching.

Casey took the stage first to sing “The Good Life,” the third single from his self-titled 2012 debut album (which can be picked up on iTunes right now for the bargain price of $6.99).

Even though Idol insisted on showing Casey letting down his hair and shedding his shirt for Kara DioGuardi in a rather embarrassing Idol audition clip, Casey was a good sport.

He even showed up with personalized gifts for each of the Idols. A very nice touch, Casey.

Carrie took the stage later in the show, and we got to see an old Idol clip of her pondering the flight to L.A. for Hollywood Week.

“If I got the opportunity to go, it would certainly be interesting to see how I would do in the big city,” Carrie said at the time.

Eight years, millions of albums sold and six Grammys later, she was back to sing “See You Again,” the fourth single off her latest hit album.

Oh, and she happens to be in the middle of a tour that’s taking her to big cities all over the U.S. to perform sold-out shows.

Carrie sounded great, of course. Her new song sounds like a hit, of course.

But the best moment came after she stopped singing, when Carrie started talking to Ryan Seacrest and about the road ahead for the Idol contestants.

She started to tear up, a genuine show of appreciation for where it all started. Very touching.

Idol will continue the string of past contestants as guest stars next week when Kelly Clarkson and Scotty McCreery return to perform on results night.

I have two theories about why Idol has finally started showcasing former contestants on the results show.

1. It’s a cost-cutting measure at a time of declining ratings.

2. It’s an effort to drive home Idol’s Season 12 motto: There might be other singing shows out there, but we’re the star-makers.

Regardless of the reason, it’s something the show should have started doing long ago.

Here are the photos from last night.