So who saw this coming on “American Idol?” It’s not so much the results that were shocking, but how fast they eliminated semi-finalists to reach the Top 12, which was actually at Top 13. It was truly one of the most exciting episodes I can remember, and as always, there were some good choices and bad choices by both America and the judges.

It went down like this….there were ten seats to the left of Ryan Seacrest, and they would be filled from the 24 seats to Seacrest’s right based on America’s 40 million votes. The Top 5 guys and Top 5 ladies would fill those seats. But after that, the judges would choose three guys and three gals to sing for their lives in order to fill the remaining two chairs as wild cards. Really? They were going to do all of that in two hours? Well, yes they were, and yes they did.

First, Seacrest invited the contestants down to the middle of the stage in groups. First up, Scotty McCreery and Robbie Rosen. Only Scotty made the Top 10, and Robbie was relegated to waiting to see if he’d have a shot at the wild card. Wow. That kid showed so much promise and this is just a testament to how talented the field is this season. This went on for about an hour and a half, and here were the results….

Top 10—Scotty McCreery, Pia Toscano, Lauren Alaina, Karen Rodriguez, Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk, Thia Meghia, Paul McDonald, Haley Reinhart, and James Durbin.

Not in the Top 10—Robbie Rosen, Clint Jun Gamboa, Jordan Dorsey, Jovanny Baretta, Ta-Tanysha Wilson, Julie Zorrilla, Kendra Chantelle, Ashton Jones, Tim Halperin, Naima Adedapo, Lauren Turner, Brett Loewenstern, Rachel Zevita, and Stefano Langone.

The judges then chose their wild cards—Robbie, Stefano and Jovanny; and Ashton, Kendra, and Naima.

Ashton went first and sang “And I Am Telling You” by Jennifer Hudson, and I’m sorry, I don’t get why they chose her. This reeked of Simon Cowell and the fact that J-Lo called her a diva on Wednesday night. She did not deserve that shot more than Lauren Turner did.

Stefano was next and sang “I Need You Now,” and it was just awesome. I wondered why he didn’t just sing that one on Tuesday.

Kendra sang “Georgia on My Mind” but did way too many vocal acrobatics with it.

Jovanny sang “Won’t Let Me Go” which I believe is a Jon Secada song, and he also tried to pull a Karen Rodriguez and sing half of it in Spanish. But hey, he really belted this one and probably would have made the Top 10 had he chosen this one on Tuesday instead of that sappy Edwin McCain song.

Naima did Donnie Hathaway’s “For All We Know” and really brought it, again.

And finally Robbie did Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word,” the same song he sang in order to reach the Top 24. It was great again, but was it enough?

Then they showed J-Lo’s new video (gotta pimp your own, right?) and it was all auto-tuned just like everything else on pop radio today. Plus it was distracting with all of her outfit changes and with that dude singing and rapping counter to her. Very strange, but hey, it was better than Paula Abdul!

And then, the moment of truth. Who would be the wild cards? First, Ashton. Are you freaking kidding me? She should not have had that chance, let alone should not have reached the finals. Yikes. Next, Stefano, who did deserve it. But wait, there was more….a Top 13?? Yes, and Naima got the final spot. Whew. I thought she blew Ashton out of the water and was glad she also made it, but not that Ashton got in at the expense of Robbie. That just sucked, and I can guarantee that Ashton will be one of the first to be booted off.
And then I have a problem with Karen Rodriguez making it in too, but she did that on the strength of, well, appealing to the Hispanic community. I also didn’t think Thia deserved a spot over Lauren T, but that’s all on America.

So there you have it folks—your Top 13 finalists on “American Idol!” I guess I should rank them power rankings style and we’ll do this each week…..

1. Casey Abrams
2. Lauren Alaina
3. Jacob Lusk
4. Scotty McCreery
5. Paul McDonald
6. Pia Toscano
7. Naima Adedapo
8. James Durbin
9. Haley Reinhart
10. Stefano Langone
11. Thia Meghia
12. Karen Rodriguez
13. Ashton Jones

Thanks for reading folks, and see you all next week!

Last night’s episode of “American Idol” proved one thing–the talent pool, at least so far among the guys, is through the roof. But before they began singing, host Ryan Seacrest announced that on Thursday’s results show, the Top 5 guys and Top 5 girls will be announced, and that the judges would advance the rest as wild cards, meaning that the judges are eliminating contestants this week, not America. America is only voting for their favorites. Very interesting. But regardless, these judges know talent, and are primarily responsible for the wealth of talent this season. With that, let’s break down last night’s performances…..

THE REALLY GOOD
Clint Jun Gamboa kicked things off last night, not an easy assignment, but he knocked it out of the park with a flawless version of “Superstitious.” He had great energy and inserted a few legitimate screams that were not falsetto screams. Steven said that Clint started strong and ended strong; J-Lo said Clint got the jitters out; and Randy said it was brilliant and not a karaoke version like they’ve had in the past on the show.

James Durbin, the guy I was just back-handedly accusing of doling out fake Adam Lambert screams, delivered a rock solid version of Judas Priest’s “You Got Another Thing Coming.” It was probably the first time anyone sang Judas Priest on the show, and it was awesome. Steven said it was “crazy good;” J-Lo said she loves the way James performs; and Randy said “This is how you do it!”

Jacob Lusk did Luther Vandross’ “Still in Love” and once again showed that his talent is otherworldly. Steven called it “Divine intervention;” J-Lo said Luther is her favorite artist, and that although he’s gone, we now have Jacob to carry the torch; and Randy said Luther would be proud. Indeed.

Casey Abrams closed out the night with a stunning, emotive version of “I Put a Spell on You” that was original and absolutely kickass. Steven said that it was as good as it gets; J-Lo called him sexy and that said Casey proved that he “wants this bad;” and Randy said he loves that Casey transforms himself to fit each song. The main thing is, dude was amazing.

THE GOOD
Scotty McCreery is about as authentic a country singer as they’ve ever had on this show, and he delivered a great version of John Michael Montgomery’s “Letters from Home.” Steven said it was a great song choice, J-Lo said Scotty was born to sing country music; and Randy said Scotty was a great “throwback” country singer. Yep.

Stefano Langone took on Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” and delivered one of his best efforts since first auditioning for the show. Steven said his voice cut through; J-Lo said Stefano is consistent; and Randy said it was like watching a real concert and that his version of the song could be on the radio right now.

THE PRETTY GOOD
Tim Halperin did Rob Thomas’ “Come On Over, “ and it was an okay song choice, but not a good choice for Tim to dance. Steven said the song did Tim no justice and I agree with that assessment; J-Lo said the song didn’t showcase Tim’s strength but that he did it well; and Randy said Tim has been better before.

Robbie Rosen is only 17 and a great young singer, but he had the misfortune of following Durbin’s Judas Priest. Robbie did a really cool guitar-centric version of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.” It was good but not anywhere near the lofty awesomeness we’ve come to expect from young Robbie. Steven said it was a great ballad; J-Lo said she loves the way Robbie “tells a story;” and Randy punctured Robbie’s balloon by saying it wasn’t his best and was pitching in spots.

Paul McDonald did an interesting version of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” and as Steven said, he’s got real character. J-Lo added that Paul has character in both his moves and in his big smile; and Randy said he loves that Paul is so quirky and different. Yeah, but he wasn’t nearly in the class of some of the others last night.

THE JUST OKAY
Jovany Baretto went right after Clint, so doing a sappy ballad was both risky and smart. Jovany did Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” but he didn’t do much with the song other than sing it fairly well. Steven said he loved it, J-Lo said “You did it!” and Randy said he didn’t get it and that it wasn’t unique enough. You go, Randy Cowell! But I agreed with him completely.

Jordan Dorsey did Usher’s “OMG” and it really was just “eh.” It sounded like a tough song and not a great choice for Jordan. Steven said it wasn’t his favorite Jordan performance; J-Lo asked Jordan if that was “who he is;” and Randy said it was a bad choice and not even close to the original version.

THE NOT SO GOOD
Brett Loewenstern did The Doors’ “Light My Fire” and for my money, was pretty bad. Steven said Brett brought it home and J-Lo said she liked it. Randy said it was pitchy but fun and cool. Whatever….I just didn’t think it was very good, and I think the judges were just posturing because they made a mistake letting Brett make the cut last week.

So there you have it. Tonight the ladies perform and then we have the results tomorrow night. What did you think of the guys? Let me know in the space below and see you all back here tomorrow….

Okay, so we have finally arrived. “American Idol” last night reached the Top 24, meaning it’s now in America’s hands to vote and out of the hands, mostly, of judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. That, of course, is good news for J-Lo, who had an extremely difficult time, and started crying as the episode ended Wednesday night, saying, “I don’t know if I can do this….” Well, that was a short cry that the producers made a bigger deal out of. She got it together in the first 30 seconds of last night’s episode, and the judges had those contestants march down a mile-long hallway one by one to learn their fate.

First up, the bubbly J-Lo wannabe, Karen Rodriguez, and she was the first one through, due in large part to her “connection” with J-Lo. Next was 17 year old Robbie Rosen, who would learn his fate from Tyler, who is horrible at delivering good news! Anyway, Robbie was in, and that’s good for America, because this kid is really awesome. Next was Tatanyisha Wilson, who was a yes. Then two people I never remember seeing sing were eliminated. Okay.

Next up, Tim Halperin and Julie Zorrilla, who sang an amazing Beatles duet in Vegas, and they both made it. Then Scott McCreery and John Wayne Schulz, the two male country singers in this thing–Scotty made it and John didn’t, on the strength of Scotty’s amazing final performance. I’ve been a moderate fan until now, but this kid really is something special. Then came Govanni, the Marc Anthony clone, and well, of course he made it! Lauren Turner was next and I don’t remember her from before, but I remember her after seeing her sing last night. Wow. Taiwan Strong and Erin Kelly were sent home, but I don’t remember much about her. Did the producers do that on purpose? Rachel Zevita, who has auditioned the last few years but didn’t advance to the live TV round, made it this time. She is very strange but indeed talented.

Then came some rapid fire good news–Kendra Chantelle, Jordan Dorsey, Lauren Alaina (my pick for winning it all right now), and Stefano Langone. Jackie Wilson from Nashville was sent home, but not before putting up a futile fight. I liked Jackie, but at this point it was a numbers game. Then more good news–Jacob Lusk, Mrs. Mike’s favorite; Pia Toscano; James Durbin, the dude who lost his rocker dad at 9 and has Tourette’s Syndrome; Casey Abrams, the eccentric harmonica dude who is sort of like a way more talented Taylor Hicks.

Then they brought in the final two girls, Thia and Jessica–and 15 year old Thia made it. Jessica was pissed, and I don’t really blame her. She is damn good and Thia is 15. It’s like the producers wanted a 15 year old in just to show they were right in reducing the audition age. Then the last three guys were marched in, with one spot remaining in the Top 24–Jacee, Brett, and Colton. Of the three, Colton was WAY more talented than the other two. But it was Brett they let through, maybe to show America that you can’t bully a kid forever.

So here is a press release from Fox about the Top 24.

So who do you like, America? I like Lauren Alaina, Casey Abrams, Robbie Rosen, Tim Halperin, Julie Zorrilla, Paul McDonald and Haley Reinhart. That’s off the top of my head–it sure changes once they have to sing live for the nation. Yikes. The guys sing for us Tuesday, the ladies Wednesday, and then a TWO HOUR results show on Thursday. Get committed, folks…and I’ll see you back here next week…..