JUDAS PRIEST To Perform During Tonight's 'American Idol' Season Finale?

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST are strongly rumored to be performing during tonight's (Wednesday, May 25) season 10 "American Idol" finale. They are expected to hit the stage with James Durbin, the 22-year-old rocker from Santa Cruz, California, who was eliminated from "American Idol" earlier in the month but who will reportedly make a return appearance during tonight's broadcast.

Durbin performed a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "You Got Another Thing Coming" on the March 1 edition of "Idol". His rendition (see video below) marked the first time, according to AEROSMITH singer and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler, where a JUDAS PRIEST single was performed on the "Idol" stage.

Although producers have kept a tight lid on what surprises are in store for the two-hour show, the Hollywood Reporter reported that in addition to U2's Bono and the Edge performing with castmembers from the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark", Beyonc and Lady Gaga will take the stage.

Lady Gaga recently confirmed she wrote her new track "Judas" about a former lover who "loved JUDAS PRIEST, loved heavy metal."

In an interview with Britain's MTV, she said, "I've had lots of ex-boyfriends betray me assholes, we all have them and in particular there was one who loved JUDAS PRIEST, loved heavy metal.

"Originally, I began to write the song about an ex-lover, who betrayed me, who loved heavy metal music and then as I started to write the lyrics, I thought about Judas and the biblical implications and how Judas was the betrayer. So I thought of a more beautiful and liberating way to tackle the message of the song we attack the idea by saying my ex-boyfriend betrayed me and this person in my life haunts me but I forgive them and we'll move on to make room for what's good."

All five members of JUDAS PRIESTRob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Scott Travis, and the band's latest addition, 31-year-old guitarist Richie Faulkner (LAUREN HARRIS, DIRTY DEEDS) took part in a press conference yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, May 24) at the Renaissance Hotel at Highland and Hollywood in Los Angeles to answer questions about the upcoming "Epitaph" U.S. tour and to formally introduce Faulkner.

When asked if the band has had a chance to collaborate on any new material with Faulkner, Tipton said, "We haven't yet, no. It's really early days. We're still in the process of rehearsing [for the upcoming tour], and that's taken a whole lot of time, and then we had to come over here for something. I can't say [what]." (See video below.)