The Top 24 Revealed, Part 1: Did the Judges Make a Mistake?

Tonight we got some firsts. It was the first time the Top 40 had to sing one last time before walking the “Green Mile.” And it was the first time a judge actually broke down during the final eliminations. Both were due to this year’s talent, which is looking more and more like it truly could be the best ever…

The remix continued to get remixed tonight as FOX pulled a little bit of a fast one. We thought we were getting two hours of Vegas performances tonight, with the “Green Mile” episode airing tomorrow night.

Instead, we got an hour of Vegas performances and then an hour of the “Green Mile” as we met five of the Top 24.

Yes, it is 24. Somewhere between the end of January and when tonight’s episode was filmed, the show changed its mind and decided to make it a Top 24 with the top 12 guys and top 12 girls competing for our votes. I’m guessing that was dictated by the talent. FOX did eventually make the change to its press site, by the way, but it was too late to make my column…

Sadly for me, I have the feeling it won’t be the last time the show makes a change on me…

Tonight’s show started where we left off last Thursday, with the two rooms that were going through celebrating. But then Randy ended the celebration by telling them they were going to Las Vegas for Beatles night.

The 61 remaining contestants divided into duos and trios and chose their songs (They appeared to be drawn from a box.) and boarded the buses for Vegas to appear on “The Beatles: Love” stage at The Mirage.

First, the duos and trios had to rehearse with the vocal coaches. And Melinda Ademi and Thia Megia met the “vocal coach from Hell,” Peggi Blu. Peggi told Melinda about Thia: “Bury her a-- on stage.” Okay…

There was also a problem for many of the contestants because they didn’t know the music of The Beatles. So they got to sing their songs in front of Jimmy Iovine, this season’s in-house mentor, and his team. If this is any indication of what he is going to be like during the season, it is going to be VERY interesting…

Things definitely got interesting for Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, and Denise Jackson because Jimmy told them to find a different song…

The contestants went to see Cirque de Soleil’s “Beatles: Love,” but the next morning it was time to get down to business as they took the same stage to sing for their lives. The Vegas show was almost like a dress rehearsal for the upcoming live episodes. Ryan talked to some contestants in the red room and the judges gave feedback, much like they will when the live shows start.

First up were Stefano Langone and James Durbin who did “Get Back.” I thought James missed his last scream a little, but the judges loved it…

Pia Toscano and MySpace contestant Karen Rodriguez are longtime friends. They pleased the judges with “Can’t Buy Me Love.” I think Karen could be a real force to be reckoned with. As Steven said, “They jumped the fence and ran off into the field”…

Jacob Lusk, Haley Reinhart and Naima Adedapo did a great version of “The Long and Winding Road.” Jimmy had told Jacob not to oversing, but the judges disagreed and told him to let it rip every time. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come with the judges and Jimmy disagreeing with each other…

Rachel Zevita appeared to nail “Eleanor Rigby” with two other singers…

Lauren Turner appeared to nail “Let It Be” in her duet with Jovany Barreto…

Tim Halperin and Julie Zorilla did a duet of “Something In the Way She Moves” complete with keyboards…

Jerome Bell, Lakeisha Lewis and Tatynisa Wilson did “I Saw Her Standing There.” I thought it was not bad with pretty harmonies, but of the judges only Steven agreed with me…

Kendra Chantelle and Paul McDonald did a duet of “Blackbird.” Paul has an interesting tone to his voice that could grow on me…

The next groups we got only glimpses of. We saw Clint Jun Gamboa and a partner doing “Help” and John Wayne Schulz in a trio doing “A Little Help From My Friends”…

Then the scene shifted to Ashley Sullivan shopping for her wedding dress. She was totally excited because she was getting married in the same chapel as Britney Spears (Remember when she was married for like a day?). Dave, the camera guy, was her witness as she became Mrs. Suravia. But first, she had this warning for her fiancé: “You’ll go through with it or I’ll kill you in your sleep”…

The second day in Vegas got kicked off with Melinda Ademi and Thia Megia with the “vocal coach from Hell” watching. I thought Thia sounded good in their duet of “Here Comes the Sun,” but Melinda was a little weak. JLo told Randy, “That Thia is something special”…

Ashley Sullivan Suravia and Sophia Shorai did “We Can Work It Out,” which is ironic because neither one of them did. After the performance, Steven was heard saying, “Yikes”…

Lauren Alaina, Denise Jackson and Scotty McCreery took the stage with their new song, “Hello Goodbye.” Scotty showed a little range by taking his voice higher, but both the girls didn’t really show much other than their ability to run around a telephone booth, or as Steven called it the “Marx Brothers put out a fire thing.” Ironically, the judges said the song didn’t fit them. Hmmm…

Carson Higgins and Caleb Hawley somewhat butchered a song I didn’t recognize…

Casey Abrams and Chris Medina did what I thought was a fun duet of “Hard Day’s Night,” complete with the two of them bouncing on a bed. “You freaks,” Steven told them…

Aaron Sanders, Robbie Rosen and Jordan Dorsey did the great choice of “Got to Get You Into My Life” for the final performance. I personally thought Jordan was off a little and the judges seemed to agree…

The “step forward” process began and Thia, Scotty, Jordan Dorsey, Ashthon, Robbie and Lauren went through. Molly, Carson, Caleb, Denise, Melinda and Ashley did not. But Ashley took it extremely well. I think she was more psyched about the Britney Spears wedding…

Although we didn’t see them perform, Jacee and Brett both survived…

Ryan explained to us that the next round would move back to Los Angeles, where the Top 40 would take the stage one more time in order for the judges to get down to the Top 12 guys and Top 12 girls. It’s the first time that I remember that there was one more performance before the “Green Mile” episode, except for the season they did sing-offs…

The second hour was a completely separate episode complete with a re-roll of the opening credits. Ryan set up the action as the contestants would have to “walk the Green Mile,” a long catwalk to the stage where the judges waited. Personally, I really missed the elevator…

First up was Naima Adedapo. She did “Girl, Put Your Records On” for her final performance (which we saw in flashback). She made the Top 24…

Hollie Cavanagh, who wouldn’t have made it to Hollywood at all without a second chance from JLo, did “No One” for her final performance. She did not make the Top 24, but JLo told her that she wanted her in but was outvoted. She told her that in a year or two, she could come back and win…

On a side note, I would think it would be hard to walk down those steps in heels while you’re crying…

Lakeisha Lewis was also told no—much to the shock of the people in the holding room—as was Alex Ryan…

Clint Jun Gamboa did “Hello” for his final performance, but when he took the stage for the final verdict, Randy wanted to know about the deal with Jacee. Was that because the show was trying to make him look better before America votes? No surprise, he made the Top 24…

Haley Rinehart also made the Top 24…

DeAndre Brackensick didn’t make it, but JLo could be heard saying, “I hate letting him go,” as he left…

Paul MacDonald, who we hadn’t really heard from before tonight, did an original song for his final performance. But it worked and he made the Top 24…

Ashton Jones did “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” for her final song and she made it to the Top 24. I think she’s one to really watch…

Chris Medina was up next. I didn’t recognize the song he did for his final one, but it was very pretty. My hero Denise told me early on tonight that she thought he was the surprise elimination we were going to see. And, of course, she was right. I also consider this as kind of a first because it was the first time in a while that “Idol” didn’t fall for the emotional backstory. Chris would have been a huge favorite with America, so that was a HUGE call. Even Ryan was surprised. And Chris proved what an incredible guy he is by taking it so well…

But JLo did not take it as well and immediately broke down. What was interesting about her breakdown was that she wasn’t only upset for him, she was upset that she didn’t let him down in the right way. Steven and Randy tried to console her by telling her she did it in the best way possible.

As JLo continued to wipe away tears, she said, “I don’t want to do this anymore” and the words, “To Be Continued” flashed on the screen…

Tomorrow, we’ll see who will join Naima, Haley, Ashthon, Clint and Paul in the Top 24. Plus, we’ll find out if JLo will continue the eliminations or if Randy and Steven will have to do it on their own…

There are several things that I need to address here, so let me start with Vegas. I thought this was an interesting way to weed out some of the contestants, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe the performances weren’t as good as they thought they would be since we only saw an hour of them. Tomorrow’s two-hour episode revealing the Final 19 could end up being a real stallfest. And I hate those…

Now let me address Chris Medina. I think the five that have been chosen for the Top 24 so far are good choices, but it will be interesting to see who else they pick that they feel is better than Chris. And it will be interesting to see if a girl worse than him ends up making it just because they need 12 girls. Jacee Badeaux will be a VERY interesting decision. I was sure that he was a shoe-in, but now, I’m not so sure. I’ll withhold my final judgment until I see the entire Top 24, but as of right now, I think they made a mistake…

Which leads me to the final thing I need to address—JLo’s breakdown. It’s not the first time we’ve seen tears from a judge as Paula used to cry all the time. But these tears were so genuine. And that is what JLo brings to the table. She’s real. She had to tell a kind and talented guy that had touched all of them that his journey was over and she reacted like any of us would—and did in my case. And she was concerned that she didn’t do it kindly enough. It’s a perfect example of why she is working so well on the show…

So what do you guys think? Do you like the choices the judges have made so far? And what about Chris Medina? Are you sad to see him go?

Feel free to post your comments or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter…

Photos Credit: Ray Mickshaw/FOX