AI Season 10, 02-24-11, Thursday, Top 24 Eliminations

To recap the recap- Naima, Paul, Hayley, Clint, and Ashthon are already in the Top 24. And we're in LA, not Las Vegas, in some warehouse tricked out like an alien storage facility from The X-Files. JLo is having a hard time with the ejection of Chris Medina, complete with real crying, and cast-iron mascara. She gets it together eventually (as though there was any doubt- the woman survived Gigli, American Idol cannot break her). So we continue on.

Karen Rodriguez, shown from an earlier performance in high waisted black pants and a strapless top, sings in Spanish and sounds nice. She walks the long mile in a black, scoop-neck tee, a short floofy skirt, heels, and a top-knot. She's in.

Ryan says something about the Top 12 Girls. Hmmm. I thought they weren't going to divide them out by gender this year.

Robbie Rosen sings a breathy final solo on the stool of seriousness. He hears the verdict in a leather jacket with pushed up sleeves. He's in.

For some reason, I suddenly notice the Judging Footwear. Randy is wearing black and white hounds tooth shoes, but that's nothing compared to Steven Tyler's tan Mary Janes. And I swear that they have bows.

Tatynisa floundered in polkadots, and then did better in a one-shouldered, tight, red dress. She walks the mile, solidly packed into a gray knit dress. Tatynisia babbles for quite awhile before getting the nod.

Brittany and Jimmy get no's, but we don't know either one, so we don't care.

Ah, now I remember Tim Halperin. He accompanies his original final solo on the piano, and he's in.

Julie Zorilla is wearing a full skirted, strapless concoction that reminds me of Julie Lawry from The Stand. she doesn't do it for me at all, but she gets a Yes. In her excitement, she picks Ryan up, and they both fall over.

Ryan joshes with the cowboys, and they're all adorable.

Scotty McCreery will never live *nuts of wonder* down, but he makes up for it with his solo. I really love his deep deep voice. I'm not much into Country, but I could listen to his CD. He's in.

Unfortunately, that means that pretty pretty John Wayne Schulz isn't in. However, he has a pleasant voice, and have I mentioned how pretty he is? I suspect he'll find his way to Nashville, and success. Soon.

Jovany, of the egregious abs, is in. I am not excited about this.

Well, that's 12 of the Top 24, and so far, we have 6 Gals and 6 Guys. So much for no gender equality.

Lauren Turner is a maid. Did we know that? Did we know Lauren at all? She's wearing a black leather jacket, and a short sparkly skirt. She has a big voice, and big hair. She's in, and her friend pretends to fall down in a dead faint and makes Ryan nervous.

Aaron, and a girl we've never seen before (with gorgeous eyes, and a bit of an attitude) are sent home.

Rachel Zevita is in some sort of 40's costume as dreamed up by someone who knows nothing about the 40's. She's a repeat auditioner, and former opera student. Her personal style (which tries way too hard to be Quirky, and only succeeds in being Exhausting), and her singing style (which tries way to hard to be cutting edge, and mostly succeeds in being ear-shattering) will get old very quickly. I'll have time to find out, since she's in.

Kendra Chantelle does not a thing for me. She's in, but I suspect she's cannon fodder.

Though I would be delighted if Jordan Dorsey went home, I am pretty sure that he's not going anywhere. I find him arrogant and generally unpleasant, and I'm right. He's in.

Okay, we're up to 16- 9 Gals and 7 Guys.

Good Heavens- someone please remind Lauren Alaina that she's only 15. She has several decades during which she can dress like a 32 year old on her way to the Barfly Prom.  Right now, I think she should cover up a bit. And of course, she's in.

Stefano Langone, with all the scars, is more cannon fodder.

Jackie Wilson wants to know why she is being sent home, which is never a good idea. But her old old boyfriend comforts her.

I can't possibly be lucky enough to get rid of Jacob Lusk, and his 12 or 13 voices. The more I hear and see of him, the less I like him. And I disagree with Randy absolutely- Jacob's God Bless the Child was an overwrought mess- a very long way from the best performance in the history of the show. And nope, I am not lucky.

Pia Toscano has a generic voice and style. She's in.

Simple math, and the sneak peek at the final 3 guys vying for the last spot (and the fact that Casey isn't among them), tells me that James Durbin is in. I'm glad about that, and I hope that the stylists convince him to ditch the butt scarf.

You may have heard the news that Casey Abrams was taken to the hospital yesterday, with stomach pains. As far as I know, he's still in the hospital, and his diagnosis has not been announced. All of the news reports also gave away the fact that he is part of the Top 24, which was already pretty obvious, so it wasn't much of a spoiler. However, he won't stay in the Top 24, or on the show at all, if he isn't released in time to tape the episode tomorrow. I hope he feels better, because I want more from him.

There are just two girls left, and only one will get the nod. I am not particularly impressed with either Thia or Jessica, but based on previous air time, I assume Thia is sticking around. They're definitely a contrast, with Thia in a little girl pink party dress, and Jessica in tight, black leather. This is Jessica's 7th try for AI Fame and Fortune, and any residual good feeling I might have about her evaporates with her rant about how she should be the one staying, and how this mean and terrible show ruined her 25th birthday. I hope she just insured that there will be no 8th opportunity.

There are 3 guys left, none of whom can count. Brett Lowenstern sang a fairly terrible original song for his final solo. Jacee Badeaux had a nice solo, but he's still not ready for this. Colton Dixon, with the long-lost sister, actually sounds pretty good. Brett gets the nod, to no one's surprise. This is the absolute best thing that could have happened to Jacee- give him a couple of years and a voice change, and he can come back and knock our socks off.

So- the Top 12 Guys are: Brett, Jovany, Jacob, Paul, Clint, Robbie, Stefano, Jordan, Tim, James, Casey, and Scotty. The Top 12 Gals are: Naima, Julie, Karen, Lauren, Kendra, Ashthon, Rachel, Hailey, Thia, Lauren, Pia, and Tatynisa.

Next week- three episodes, and audience voting. Let the fun begin!