5 Singers Secure Spots in "American Idol's" Top 24 for Season 10

Sixty-one "American Idol" vocalists-all with high hopes of being part of this season's top 24--headed to the Beatles' "Love" stage at the Mirage Resort in Las Vegas to perform the music of the four lads from Liverpool. Surprisingly, one contestant admitted that she'd never even heard a Beatles' song. Let's hope Paul and Ringo weren't listening. The evening was filled with emotions, including the breakdown of Jennifer Lopez.

Preparation

The singers were treated to a performance of "Love," in hopes that it would inspire them to do justice to these classic songs. They worked with vocal coaches, including Peggi Blu, who Ryan Seacrest dubbed as "the vocal coach from hell." Interscope Records chairman, Jimmy Iovine, no doubt intimidated the group when he showed up with a team of music producers. He reminded the hopefuls that Idol is looking for label-worthy artists, not karaoke singers.

Las Vegas

Ashley Sullivan stayed true to her drama by deciding to marry her boyfriend at one of the local wedding chapels. She seemed very proud of the fact that Britney Spears wed in the same chapel. I don't think that qualifies as a good omen. The newlywed can spend lots of time with her husband now, as her time on Idol was cut short tonight.

The singers broke into groups of 2 or 3 and had less than 24 hours to pull together Beatles' songs. Many of them turned out solid performances. I wish "American Idol" had shown all of the group performances; we were limited to portions. As the hour ended, 40 vocalists found out they were moving on to L.A. to give solo performances and possibly be put through to the top 24. Among the lucky ones were 15 year olds, Lauren Alaina and Thia Megia, country crooner Scotty McCreery, Jordan Dorsey and Robbie Rosen. Fan favorite, Carson Higgins-known for his engaging personality more than for his vocal talent-reached the end of his road in Vegas.

Los Angeles

The second hour of "American Idol" focused on the vocalists' long walk to where the judges were seated, waiting to deliver their fate. The singers had performed solo for them the day before, but viewers saw only fragments of some of those performances.

Who's In

Three of the ladies and two of the guys can breathe a sigh of relief; they secured spots in the top 24. Others, such as fan favorites Jacee Badeaux, Jacob Lusk and Casey Abrams will learn their fate on Thursday's "American Idol," 8pmET on FOX.

Naima Adedapo: This mother of two is hoping her soulful voice will be the ticket to leaving her job of cleaning toilets behind for good.

Clint Jun Gamboa: He rubbed viewers the wrong way when he booted Jacee Badeaux from his group in Hollywood, but the guy can sing.

Haley Reinhart: Although she stumbled on group night, she was able to impress the judges with solo performances.

Paul McDonald: Paul is known as the "quirky" contestant. He has a unique tone and it will be interesting to see how he fares.

Ashton Jones: She has been consistent all the way and is a good addition to "American Idol."

Who's Out and What Made J-Lo Lose It

J-Lo hated to see Holly Cavanaugh's journey end. She strongly encouraged her to come back next year. Holly came a long way from her extremely emotional audition.

Lakeisha Lewis, Alex Ryan and Deandre Brackensick ended their "American Idol" journey as well. The judges encouraged Deandre to try again.

The show ended with Jennifer Lopez delivering the news to Chris Medina that he was not moving on. She ended up being more upset than Chris was. The judges obviously have a lot of respect for Chris as he stands by his girlfriend, who was badly injured in a car crash. Chris went out with his usual style and class. Jennifer said she can't do this anymore-but I'm thinking since her contract says otherwise, we'll see her again tomorrow night.

Source: "American Idol," 2/23/2011, FOX