Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson - Michael Becker / FOX
After sifting through hundreds of thousands of undiscovered singers hoping for their chance at the big time, American Idol finally revealed the lucky 24 contestants who will go on to sing for America’s votes.
As with every season of Idol, we didn’t get to this point without some drama. There were a few shocking cuts and some ‘why on earth did they make it’ moments on both of the top 24 reveal episodes this week.
On Tuesday night, we met seven of the semi-finalists: Michael Lynche, Didi Benami, Katelyn Epperly, Aaron Kelly, Casey James, Todrick Hall, and Lee Dewyze. The drama on that episode was supplied by Jessica Furney, a second-time Hollywood week performer who got cut so close to her dream. She didn’t go down in a river of tears; instead, she opted for one pathetically long beg and excuse-making session.
The 17 remaining semi-finalists were announced last night. They are:
Janelle Wheeler: Janelle impressed many with her genre-bending rendition of Estelle’s “American Boy” on her first night in Hollywood, but things pretty much went downhill from there. She struggled to find her sound, but with her good looks and flashes of vocal brilliance, she could surprise us.
Tyler Grady: The drummer turns frontman! Tyler has been a fav from the very start for his grungy, 70s inspired look and came-to-play attitude. Hollywood week wasn’t perfect for him, and he could easily get annoying, but for now I’m glad to see Tyler’s face and shaggy hair advance.
Lacey Brown: Lacey came this far last season only to get cut in place of the would-be trainwreck of a contestant Megan Joy. There was no double reveal this year. Lacey sat alone and got the really good news that she’d live to sing another day.
Crystal Bowersox: Crystal is definitely not your everyday Idol contestant, but that’s exactly what makes her so exciting to see in the top 24. She’ll mix things up with her piercing voice and authentic approach to music. Let’s just hope the karaoke-like themes won’t wash her of her soul.
Katie Stevens: This was a no-brainer. Kara already called Katie the “potential winner,” so there was no surprise when Katie got the good news, even though Ellen DeGeneres tried her best to fake her out.
Lilly Scott: Hollywood week got us our first good look at Lilly, and it was an impressive one. Sadly, the other looks weren’t as good. Still, Lilly has a lot going for her. She has a good voice, and she’s quirky. It’s the same combo that Megan Joy enticed the judges with last year. Hopefully, she’ll work the combo better.
Jermaine Sellers: The self-proclaimed “church boy” is also somewhat of a diva. He let his ‘tude show when the band changed his song arrangement up on him during his final audition and he decided he’d throw them under the bus, even though the change barely hurt his performance. Still, his amazing voice can’t be denied.
Ashley Rodriguez: Another no-brainer. Ashley isn’t here for her talent; she’s here for her commercial appeal. The judges harped on it when she auditioned in Boston, and mediocre after mediocre performance later, she’s still here. The producers will surely be disappointed if she doesn’t step it up for America — the SS Hype Ship is so transparent.
Alex Lambert: Sadly, he’s no relation to last year’s dynamo Adam Lambert, but Alex has an interesting voice, the ability to play the ukulele (that’s, like, WAY important), and seemed to have a good personality whenever he got screen time.
Haeley Vaughn: And here is where I rant. Haeley is here to bring the “interesting” or “unique” factor. I applaud Haeley for stepping out of the typical R&B box placed on many of the black contestants in the competition (usually by their own doing), but “interesting” or “unique” should not make us overlook that painfully grating voice. From the very start with her audition in Denver, she showed her weakness by not finding the correct melody for Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name.” The tempo was so rushed and the words spat out at such a rapid pace, the song was unrecognizable. She failed again during group night when she forgot the lyrics to Gwen Stefani’s “Great Escape.” Her final audition, singing Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” should have been the last straw, as she sang a bit too quickly for the band and hit some incredibly sharp notes. But nope. She brings the “interesting.” That’s good enough.
What makes her advancement even more unsettling is the fact that Angela Martin was cut after trying three times to make it through despite some enormous struggles in her life. Inconsistency seemed to be the cause of her cut, but, um, hello! Haeley’s consistency boat capsized a long time ago. And they gave Angela the news like they never wanted to see her again. “There are other way to do it,” Kara told her while trying to comfort her. How rude!
Andrew Garcia: Surprise? Yeah, neither am I. Andrew’s place in the top 24 was secured as early as his audition. He secured his place in the top 12 with his re-imagining of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” the first night in Hollywood. My guess is his very first performance in the top 24 will secure his place in the final two.
John Park: John wowed guest judge Shania Twain in Chicago with his sweet lips and nice “bottom end,” and he clearly kept it up in Hollywood.
Lesser knowns Joe Munoz, Paige Miles, Siobhan Magnus, and Michelle Delamor also make it through to sing for your votes.
The final spot is filled by Tim Urban, but we never get to see him receive his good news. That’s apparently because he didn’t get good news. According to Idol blog MJ’s Big Blog, Tim was cut and his place went to curly-headed crooner Chris Golightly. Chris was later disqualified for failing to disclose an “old contract” with producers and was replaced by Tim. Lazy editing show Chris with the rest of the top 24, but Tim is shown during the introduction dance at the end of the episode.
The competition begins next Tuesday with your top 12 girls performing, followed by the 12 guys Wednesday.
Congratulations to AI’s top 24.