Tonight, American Idol reached a special milestone with the airing of its 500th episode. The show led the celebrations with cake, confetti, and a trip down memory lane with a moving montage of Idol moments throughout the last twelve seasons, featuring footage of former contestants and judges, and its veteran host Ryan Seacrest. Despite the falling viewership and continual ratings slide, Idol has just been renewed for Season 14 (and will likely be a mainstay on FOX for multiple seasons to come), proving that after all of these years, this singing competition continues to be the juggernaut all other reality shows of its type should aspire to. One cannot deny that impact that Idol has had on pop culture – just take a look at their list of alumni! During tonight’s broadcast, Idol shared video shoutouts from past winners, including Carrie Underwood, Phillip Phillips, Kris Allen (who baked a cupcake for the special occasion), David Cook, Candice Glover, Lee DeWyze, Fantasia Barrino, Scotty McCreery, and Jordin Sparks, all of which aired in-between performances from the three people who could fill their shoes…

This week, the Season 13 Top 3, who had just returned back to their second home at Idol after a weekend of homecoming festivities, each performed three songs chosen for them by their mentor Randy Jackson, the judges (Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban) and their hometown (they selected a song from the season for their hometown Idol to reprise). Caleb Johnson rocked out to “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS, “Demons” by Imagine Dragons, and an encore of “Dazed & Confused” by Led Zeppelin. Alex Preston delivered “Pompeii” by Bastille, “Stay” by Rihanna (featuring Mikky Ekko), and an encore of “Story Of My Life” by One Direction. Jena Irene sang “Titanium” by David Guetta (featuring Sia), “Heart Attack” by Demi Lovato, and an encore of Radiohead’s “Creep” (the highlight of the evening’s performances, as well as the top performance of the season overall).

Tune in Thursday night to find out who makes it into next week’s Season 13 finale. It’s gonna be a close call!