It’s Hollywood Week Part 3 and tonight we learn who some of the Top 24 will be. Typically, IDOL waits until Hollywood Week Part 4 to reveal the Top 24, but not this year. We’ll learn part of the group tonight and part tomorrow night. 71 contestants will be culled down to 24. The good news is they have a full band to back them on their last performance. The bad news is that they will get no feedback from the judges until the end of the night when they will either see their dreams realized…or crushed. Among them, 26-year-old new dad, MICHAEL LYNCHE (above) who media reports in January say was disqualified from the competition. Is it true?
Hollywood Week Part 3 begins…. AFTER THE JUMP!
The 71 contestants are split into 3 rooms. As we look back on the performances of the day, I’ll notate which room the contestant is in.
ANGELA MARTIN, 26, Chicago – Great voice. Kara is grooving to the music of “American Boy.” I don’t recall seeing Angela before, but I like what she brings…sassiness and style. (Room 3)
JERMAINE PURIFOY, 25, Cleveland, OH – Jermaine takes on a song no one else is, “Brick House.” He brings his own style to his rendition and the judges seem to like it. He show creativity and willingness to take a risk. (Room 2)
CASEY JAMES, 27, Fort Worth, TX — Casey sings “Lovely” and does a more than lovely job. The judges smile, but what does it mean. (Room 1)
Three early favorites in three different rooms. Argh!!!!!
JERMAINE SELLERS, 26, Joliet, IL – Jermaine sings “Man In The Mirror.” The judges seem to like it. I think it was just okay. It’s kinda hard to outdo Michael, especially so soon after his death. Speaking of deaths, Jermaine may have caused his when he tells the judges the band messed up and played a part he wanted cut. Kara utters, “Don’t throw the band under the bus.” I think he is about to learn that lesson the hard way. (Room 1)
SIOBHAN MAGNUS, 19, Cape Cod, MA – Early on Siobhan looked far older than her 19 years and Ellen advised her to loosen up. For her final performance, she does. She sings “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder and this young lady blows it out of the water. (Room 1)
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX, 24, Elliston, OH – Crystal is the indie girl and she sings “If It Makes You Happy” and her performance does. She has great tone in her voice, a natural stage presence and just enough creativity to make a well-known song her own. (Room 1)
ALEX LAMBERT, 19, North Richland Hills, TX – Alex is playing the yukalaylee for his final performance and singing, “I’m Yours.” He does an okay job doing Jason Mraz. (Room 1)
MICAHEL LYNCHE, 26, Astoria, NY – The new dad who missed the birth of his first child also sings “I’m Yours,” but in a very different way. I think I prefer Michael’s version. It’s a little more R&B. (Room 1)
TODRICK HALL, 24, Arlington, TX – Jason Mraz proves to be popular as Toddrick takes on the song as well. I take back what I said about Michael. Toddrick does the R&B version. WOW! A lot of rifts, but in the right places I think. (Room 1)
THADDEUS JOHNSON, 16, Oklahoma City, OK – Thaddeus has bumpy start, but a humorous one when the band starts playing the wrong song. He quickly tells them he is not “Bubbly.” He’s “Man In The Mirror.” And then turns to the judges and says, “But I’m bubbly in person.” For a 16-year-old, he has such a strong voice. Great performance. (Room 1)
CHARITY VANCE, 17, Little Rock, AR – Charity sings “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles. She has great tone in her voice. It’s not an awesome performance, but very good for a 17-year-old. (Room 2)
MARY POWERS, 29, Burbank, CA – Mary is the overconfident, single, rocker-mom. She says Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” is cake. After hearing her, I don’t want to eat any of that cake. She sounds hoarse and unappealing. Maybe her attitude is just rubbing on me. Humbleness does a world of good. She leaves me cold and I think this may be her swan song. After the performance, Simon tells fellow judges, “I think she’s interesting because she is older.” (Room 2).
LLOYD THOMAS, 29, Dallas, TX – Lloyd sings “Man In The Mirror.” We only see him for a verse before we cut to Kara asking, “What do you think?” Simon replies, “I just like him.” What I heard of the song, I didn’t like. It sounded average and boring (Room 2).
HOPE JOHNSON, 20, Arlington, TX – Hope sings “Home” from Daughtry. Just a pointer. Never sing a song that will give the judges any ideas. I didn’t like her version or her voice at all. It was rough (Room 2).
SHELBY DRESSEL, 19, Avon Park, FL – Shelby was in the Orlando auditions. She has a speech impediment that goes away when she sings and the judges loved her. She is having trouble remembering her words in rehearsal though. When she hits the stage, she remembers her lyrics and delivers a powerful “More Than A Feeling.” (Room 3)
AARON KELLY, 16, Sonestown, PA – Aaron, on the other hand, did forget his lyrics to “In The Arms of an Angel,” although what he does sing sounds amazing. When he remembers his words, he continues and sounds like an angel. I think he’s a keeper. (Room 3)
ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ, 22, Boston, MA – Ashley is one contestant that I predicted from her first audition would end up in the Top 24 and I still feel that way. Her version of “Battlefield” rocks and she looks and performs like a star. (Room 3)
LEE DEWYZE, 23, Mount Prospect, IL – Lee performs The Fray’s “You Found Me.” He does a soulful rendition that’s quite good. (Room 3)
JOE MUNOZ, 20, Los Angeles – He sings “Man In The Mirror” and does a great job. (Room 3)
HAELEY VAUGHN, 16, Fort Collins, CO – Haeley is the young woman who wants to be the first black pop country singer. She sings “I’m Yours” and does a great job at making it her own. (Room 3)
JANELL WHEELER, 24, Tampa, FL – Janell is struggling to keep her voice and she is nervous. She sings Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and while it’s not perfect, it’s good. Although after it’s done, Kara says to the judges, “Wrong song.” Janell says, “I think I blew it.” (Room 3)
Now the judges go deliver the news. One room is going home. My prediction is that Room 2 will be cut. It seems to be the weakest.
We continue seeing members of the various rooms.
Room 1
TORI KELLY, 17, Canyon Lake, CA – Singing a slowed down version of “Hot N Cold.”
LILLY SCOTT, 20, Littleton, CO – Singing “So Far Gone” and sounds awesome.
ANDREW GARCIA, 24, Moreno Valley, CA — Sings an acoustic version of “Chasing Pavement.”
I definitely think Room 1 is going on. The judges walk in. Ellen must deliver the news. She hesitates and the group looks even more nervous. She tells them they were looking for star power and that’s the problem “but not for ya’ll because you’re going through.” Of course, the room erupts.
The judges them make their way to Room 2. I predict they are going home. Simon delivers the news. He tells them, “Whatever happens, I want you to know that most of you were better than we thought you would be.” He adds, “We have to deliver the news. It’s bad news. You haven’t made it. Really sorry.” The rooms fills with tears. Their dreams of IDOL stardom are over.
Now it’s time to give the good news to Room 3 who has no idea what’s coming. Randy must deliver the news. He says, “We say this all the time, but truly I believe we’ve had the best talent we’ve ever had this year.” Kara says, “You really started out strong and then it just… It’s hard to tell you guys this, but, you’re gonna stay.” With that, the room explodes in screams and tears and joy.
Now comes the hard part. 46 contestants remain. The judges must choose 24, 12 guys and 12 ladies. They will watch back all of the tapes and choose the Top 24 for the season.
One by one, the contestants will be called and told whether they are in The Top 24…or not.
First up, new dad MICHAEL LYNCHE. He says he thinks he’s done well in his performances. Simon says he’s seen improvement in his performance, but isn’t sure whether Mike thinks he can win it all. Simon says, “Michael, this is a very good day.” He makes it through. (Side note: Published reports in January said Lynche was disqualified after his father confirmed to a newspaper that he made it to the Top 24. That would be a violation of IDOL’s confidentiality agreement. American Idol nor Fox has confirmed this and so far, nothing has been said in the show.)
DIDI BENAMI – Simon asks her how she thinks she did this week. “I really tried, really hard.” Simon adds, “You had good moments and bad moments.” DiDi agrees. Simon says, “When you were good, you were fantastic.” He adds, “DiDi, you’re one of the twelve.” Another makes it through.
KATELYN EPPERLY – We hear Katelyn’s backstory about her parents divorcing and why she really wants to be on IDOL. She faces the judges and Ellen delivers the news…the long way. Ellen begins a long diatribe about why it’s not fair to make the contestants wait and how hard it is to wait for something they just want to hear and how unfair it is to put them through this…all the while Katelyn is dying, but it was worth the wait. She makes it.
SHELBY DRESSEL – It’s do or die time for the girl with the speech impediment and the incredible voice. Randy asks how she feels about the week. She says she feels good, but it’s like a dream. Randy says there were high and low points and adds, “Unfortunately, you did not make it this year.” So Shelby is the first cut. When she leaves, Simon says, “That’s the wrong decision.”
CASEY JAMES – The guy who took his shirt off during his audition (by Kara’s request). Kara says according to his profile Casey is from a town called “Cool.” She drags it on, but adds, “It’s pretty cool that you’re going on to the next round. Another one makes it.
AARON KELLY – The 16-year-old who forgot his lyrics in his final performance. Ellen asks Aaron how his week has been. He says exciting. She asks what was the hardest part. He says, “Group week, definitely.” She says, “You’re a good guy. You can see that and I think a lot of people at home are going to like seeing that too. You made it through.”
LEE DEWYZE – Lee is pretty confident he is moving on to the Top 24. His final performance was a good one. Kara says, “Lee, you have a great big voice. I think the thing we all saw this week was a lack of confidence in your performance.” He politely disagrees and says he knows he has a lot of confidence and especially in his music. Kara says, “I have to say that we didn’t agree…until about 5 minutes ago. You are going through.”
TODDRICK HALL – He is a trained dancer with nary a voice lesson who has come farther than he ever thought he could. He sits down in the chair. The judges stare at him. He stares back. Kara says, “Uhm…yes!” Toddrick replies, “Yes? That’s it.” That’s it! He’s in.
JESSICA FURNEY – Rejected in Season 8, Jessica came back even stronger in Season 9 auditions. Her performances impressed the judges, especially when she knew a difficult verse to Gwyn Stefani’s “If I Could Escape.” She sits for her judgment. Randy says, “I won’t delay this…Jessica, you didn’t make it this time.” She pleads for them to change their minds. She swears she can do better. “It sounds pathetic to beg up here, but seriously, I have this in me.” She adds, “Do not send me home. I have {passion}. I have it. I do.” Simon says, “It’s not going to happen. I promise you that we can’t change our mind now.”
So 7 are revealed and no word on whether media reports about Michael Lynche are true. Tune in tomorrow night when 17 others make it to the Top 24. Until then…MENDHEIM OUT.
TOP 24 (so far)
MICHAEL LYNCHE, 26, Astoria, NY (*possibly disqualified)
DIDI BENAMI, 22, Hollywood, CA
KATELYN EPPERLY, 19, Des Moines, IA
CASEY JAMES, 27, Fort Worth, TX
AARON KELLY, 16, Sonestown, PA
LEE DEWYZE, 23, Mount Prospect, IL
TODDRICK HALL, 24, Arlington, TX