American Idol: The Top 24

We begin with the obligatory plug for Jumper, coming to a theater near you on Valentine's Day.

Now, on to the real show. This is the last chance for the tribunal to really have a say in this competition. Beginning next week, it's up to America. Now, let me say this to the voting public: remember that this is a talent competition. This isn't about who's popular or who's hot or who you're friends with on MySpace. Vote for the best singer. Listen to what Simon has to say after the performances. I know people don't like him, but he knows his stuff.

First we have Ronald Hodge, who apparently had a rough time during the Hollywood round. And apparently, it was rough enough to get him booted from the competition.

Nina Shaw is cut; Mycale Guyton is cut; Lisa Aukerman is cut. That's four down.

Carly Smithson is up. Before they make their call, I'm gonna assume she makes it through. The judges have consistently liked her each time she's auditioned. She's the one who got a golden ticket a few seasons back, but something happened with her visa and she had to leave the country. Her Hollywood audition was pretty flippin' good. Paula strings her along for awhile, saying that this shy side of her needs to be shed. Eventually, Carly gets a yes. We have our first girl in the top 24.

Up next is David Cook, who played guitar with his performance of Everything I Do during Hollywood week. I didn't think he did a very good job, in fact, he flubbed the lyrics. But he's in. That's two.

Here comes the motorcycle-ridin' respiratory nurse. Amanda Overmeyer is a rocker chick from way back. The judges put her through too. That's three.

Brandon Green is a no; Amanda Hawkins is a no; Buck Smith is a no.

David Archuleta is very young. He's 16, which plays a factor on the judges worrying about his confidence. But the judges all think he's got what it takes. That's four.

Kristy Lee Cook struggled on day one of Hollywood. I really hope this girl makes it through. I think she's very talented, but I've kind of got a bad feeling. I mean, she may have made it with her second chance in Hollywood, but she re-performed Amazing Grace, which she had already auditioned with. But it was definitely good enough. That's five.

Here's another one that I like. Brooke White seems like a really sweet, possibly slightly naive, girl. I thought she did a really good job in her initial audition and her Hollywood audition. Randy does the suspense thing with her in tears, and finally lets her know she's in. That's six.

Danny Noriega had a really good Hollywood audition. He's in. That's seven.

Jason Castro is a yes; Luke Menard is a yes; Alexandra Lushington is a yes. That's eight; nine; ten.

These that are sent through during a montage are the ones that won't last long in the next part of the competition, because we never see them. We never saw their back stories. We don't know them, we're not invested in them. So fewer people will vote for them. That's just the way it is.

Ramiele Malubay is next to go up that elevator. She's in too. That's eleven.

Shaun Barrowes is a no; Lorena Pinot is a no; Drew Poppelreiter is a no; Natasha Block is a no.

Michael Johns had a really good Hollywood audition with Bohemian Rhapsody. He has a very strong voice and Simon said he was the "best audition of the day." So he's in. That's twelve.

Syesha Mercado had a rough time in Hollywood. On the first day she lost her voice. She was able to pull it together and had a pretty good audition, but was it good enough for the judges to let her through? Guess it was. That's thirteen.

Robbie Carrico is also a yes. That's fourteen.

Garrett Haley is a yes; Kady Malloy is a yes; Chikezie Eze is a yes; Amy Davis is a yes; Alaina Whitaker is a yes; Jason Yeager is also a yes. That's twenty.

Only four spots remain. Asia'h Epperson is up next. Sadly, her father passed away just before her audition. Despite that, she blew the judges away with her performance. That's twenty-one.

David Hernandez didn't blow anyone away. Paula liked him, what with her "whoop" during his song. Simon said no while the other two said yes. But he's through. That's twenty-two.

Josiah Leming is up next. Now, I gotta say, I'm not a fan of this kid. I don't really like the tone of his voice when he sings. And I think it's just weird how he has that faux British accent going on sometimes. He just slides in and out of it when he's singing and when he's talking. It's weird. And strangely offputting. I really hope they don't put him through, because if they do, I have a horrible feeling that Josiah will be this year's Sanjaya. Thank you judges, it's a no. Good bye Sanjaya Jr.

Two spots left, one guy, one girl. First up are the guys: Colton Berry and Kyle Ensley. Colton, I don't remember much about. Kyle is the one who wants to be a politician someday. He looks a lot like Patrick Dempsey did back in Can't Buy Me Love. He's the one I'd like to see get through. I think he has a lot of potential. But I was wrong. This is another instance of me agreeing with Simon, who really wanted Kyle to go over Colton. But it's Colton that's in the top 24. That's twenty-three.

Here come the last two ladies: Joanne Borgella and Cardin McKinney. I honestly don't know much about either of them. I don't remember their initial auditions and I don't remember their backstories. Apparently from tonight's recap, Joanne is a model and Cardin moved to Nashville to pursue her music career. Both had very good Hollywood auditions, but based on the clips they showed, I have to go with Joanne on this one. And I was right. That's twenty-four.

Next week we, the people, begin to make our voices heard. This is the time when more people will vote for the next American Idol than will vote for the next president of the United States. Maybe I'll predict the winner next week. We'll see.