Hollywood Week Continued: Groups, Rooms and More!

185 contestants started out the two hours tonight, but less than 90 finished it. There was A LOT that happened, but I will do my best to break it down for you…

First up, as the Group Round resumed, we had to resolve the cliffhanger of The Bettys, after all of their drama the night before. Jennifer Mulsch, Cherie Tucker, Cari Quoyeser, Gabrielle Cavassa and Brianna Bell took the stage for “Hit ‘Em Up Style” and it was BAD. Cherie probably would have been better if not for a big bite from the Idol bug. Only Jennifer and Cari survived…

#Tylerism Alert: “Couldn’t it have been Betty and the Boops?”

Up next was Groove Sauce with “Hold On I’m Comin’” and it was amazing. The great harmonic finish earned them a standing ovation from the judges. Reed Grimm, Nick Boddington, Creighton Fraker, Aaron Marcellus and Jen Hirsh all went through…

6-7-9 was next doing “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” It was a terrible choice for Kyle Crews (My #9) and he ended up being the only one who didn’t go through. Brielle Von Hugel, Joshua Lidet, Shannon Magrane and Amber Holcomb all moved on. Brielle’s mom badmouthed Kyle during rehearsal night but she sang a different tune when he was eliminated…

#Tylerism Alert: “[6-7-9]. Is that their shoe size?”

Make You Believers produced a hot mess with “More Than a Feeling.” Remember how I said people shouldn’t hug the sick girl? Well, Jacquie Cera proved me totally right when she hit the floor after hugging “Patient Zero,” Amy Brumfield, the night before. Jacquie managed to perform but it wasn’t good and she went home, along with Amy and Dustin Cundiff. Only Mathenee Treco survived…

The lyrics bug bit Crystal Duffield and Jasmine Antoine, as well as Brittany Zika, Romeo Diahn and Jermaine Jones…

Up next, Those Girls and That Guy who did some very weird key changes to their song. Christian Lopez from Martinsburg, WV, Alisha Bernhardt and Samantha Novacek all went home…

Line of the Night: “Oh she’s fine. Just passed out.”

Hollywood 5 gave a strong performance of “Mercy” and Ariel Sprague, Eben Franckewitz (from Loveland, OH), Gabi Carrubba, David Leathers Jr. and Jeremy Rosado all went through…

Area 451 prepared to take the stage next, but Imani Handy passed out for the second time. As her group of Johnny Keyser, Kristi Krause and Bryce Garcia prayed, Imani mustered the strength to come back. But as she started to sing, she passed out again. After she came to, she expressed concern that her other group members would hate her for ruining their performances, but Kristi and Bryce had already done that themselves with shaky notes and forgotten lyrics, respectively. They both went home, as did Imani. Johnny was the only one who went through. I picked Johnny as my #2, but I’m starting to seriously fall out of love with him—especially tonight when he kept singing after Imani passed out…

Also out were Reis Kloeckener, Symone Black and expectant dad William “W.T.” Thompson…

At 5 p.m., the final group, MIT, prepared to take the stage. During the group confessional interview, Richie Law revealed that MIT stood for Most International Team. And it was also revealed that none of the tension from the previous night between Richie, aka Cowboy, and Heejun Han had subsided. In fact, Richie stayed behind to do a solo confessional, during which he said, “I’m compromising.” Huh?

#Heejunism Alert: “He has a mouth, but he doesn’t have an ear.”

The group took the stage to do “Truth Hurts” and surprisingly all of them—Heejun, Jairon Jackson, Richie and Phillip Phillips—went through. The ending was very weird and I thought Richie’s vocals were shaky enough to send him home. If he had been responsible for Heejun going home, I would have been angry. In the lobby, Heejun apologized for what he said about Richie on TV and Richie forgave him. The apology was really not necessary, but I still love Heejun anyway…

Also going through were Erika Van Pelt, Adam Brock, Hallie Day and Elise Testone…

As the second hour kicked off, it was time for a jam session to kick off the final day in Hollywood. Adam Brock, who reminds me—and EP Nigel Lythgoe—of Danny Gokey, was awesome singing with Steven Tyler. And Rachelle Lamb impressively hit some high notes. But I wondered if maybe they should have saved their voices. JLo was a no-show for the jam session saying she had to take a phone call. Uh-huh. Sure…

With the choice of playing an instrument, or being backed only by the band, it was time for the final Hollywood solo performances…

Joshua Ledet became one to watch with the great choice of “Jar of Hearts” that earned him a standing ovation from the judges…

Colton Dixon wowed with “What About Now” while playing the keyboard…

Phillip Phillips impressed playing the guitar while singing “I Don’t Wanna Fall In Love”…

Jen Hirsh did a version of “Georgia On My Mind” that I thought was a little over the top, but it had a good ending and she earned a standing ovation from the judges. She certainly doesn’t lack for confidence…

Creighton Fraker gave a very strong performance of “What a Wonderful World”…

Several of the contestants got thrown off by the sound of thunder…

Reed Grimm planned to sing a cappella, but Ryan informed him that EP Nigel Lythgoe wouldn’t allow that and he had to sing with the band. But because of his original plan, he hadn’t rehearsed with the band the night before. Which begs the question of why no one told him the night before, but I digress…Reed was given 30 minutes to figure out a song. He was teamed with vocal coach Peisha McPhee, i.e. Katharine’s mom, who tried to get him to focus—especially when he kept trying to leave to call his mom…

Shannon Magrane did what started out as a strange rendition of “What a Wonderful World,” but the 16-year-old brought it home and got a standing ovation from the judges…

Michael Orland came to the rescue for Reed and helped him with an arrangement of “Georgia On My Mind,” but Reed still had to leave and call his mom. After talking to her, he came up with the idea of playing the drums, which made Michael O. very nervous. “God be with us on this one,” he said as Reed took to the stage. Randy declared him another Casey Abrams and he may be right. Reed gave an amazing performance, made even more amazing by the fact that he pulled it together at the last minute…

Skylar Laine took the stage after going to the hospital the night before for fluids. During her performance of “The Way You Lie” JLo said she reminded her of Reba McEntire. Steven said hers was one of the best performances he’d seen all day. Not really sure where he got that one…

Rachelle Lamb took to the stage to sing “The House That Built Me,” entering the song at the wrong point, but she managed to start it correctly the second time. However, it was obvious she had given too much of her voice during the jam session with Steven. Not sure what she was thinking there. I guess you get caught up in the moment…

Adam Brock, however, didn’t lose anything to the jam session as he wowed with his rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.” He also proudly displayed his late grandfather’s handkerchief, which Steven wiped himself with during the jam session, in his back pocket…

The solo performances over, the 98 contestants remaining were split into four rooms…

In Room 1 was Creighton Fraker, Jen Hirsh, Erika Van Pelt, Hallie Day, Adam Brock, Joshua Ledet, Johnny Keyser, Jermaine Jones, Lauren Gray, Robert Leathers Jr. and Chase Likens. Room 1 was informed by the judges that they were going through. Since this room had the cream of the crop, you knew that Chase was going to go through to another round. He got more camera time in the room than he has during all of Hollywood...

In Room 2 was Phillip Phillips, Skylar Laine, Shannon Magrane, Reed Grimm and Jessica Phillips. Room 2 went through…

In Room 3 was Rachelle Lamb, Brittany Kerr, Jennifer Mulsch, Jayrah Gibson, Sarah Phillips and Madison Shanley. Madison was irritated that everyone in the room was laughing and her irritation boiled over when Rachelle belched. The two snapped at each other as Rachelle said she had been to the doctor for her throat. The judges came into the room and sent Room 3 home…

In Room 4 was Stephanie Renae, Baylie Brown, Britnee Kellogg, Angie Zeiderman, Gabi Carrubba, Heejun Han and his pal, Richie Law. Room 4 went through…

As the contestants celebrated, Randy announced they were all going to perform in Las Vegas…

Tomorrow night, the remaining contestants will perform in groups on the Elvis stage in Vegas, singing songs from the 50s and 60s. Then, the judges will make more immediate cuts. And the previews show us we’ll get the return of the difficult vocal coach that makes contestants cry…

PHEW! That was a lot of typing…

So what did you guys think? Did all of your faves make it through?

Let’s discuss…