'American Idol': The Beatles, Viva Las Vegas and Part I of the Top 24

Immediately after the finish of Hollywood Week on "American Idol" the chosen 61 contestants were informed it was on to Vegas for more auditions. It seems this season is an endless auditioning process. Once they arrived some met with vocal coaches, especially one coach that made Simon Cowell seem like a lamb in comparison. The contestants were paired in duos and trios with their respective Beatles songs. It was a challenge for many contestants, because one claimed she had never heard a Beatles song in her life.

If this contestant watches television, she has heard many a Beatles songs, especially if she has watched past seasons of "American Idol." At any rate all of the contestants got an extraordinary education with this group's vast array of music from attending Cirque du Soleil's The Beatles Love show. Once their own Beatles song performances were over more cuts were made. Then it was back to Los Angeles for another audition to determine the Top 24.

Vegas Here We Come, The Beatles Songs and Marriage

All aboard the bus they rode eastbound through the desert into what is known as Sin City or Las Vegas. While on the bus they sat with a singing partner or group to learn their Beatles song. Once in Vegas there was no time for gambling, sightseeing or any other fun activity. It was work, work, and more work. Some had a difficult time with their vocal coach. Her name is Peggy Blu and she is to be feared. She's affectionately known as the "vocal coach from hell."

Ms. Blu's treatment to the duo of Thia Megia and Melinda Ademi was extremely harsh, though they always sounded timid when starting their song. No wonder Peggy was seriously frustrated. Jimmy Iovine, the mentor for the Beatles songs auditions, had worked with John Lennon. He was the prefect person to give sound advice to the contestants and their chosen songs. It seemed Iovine was not too happy with some of the groups.

Out of all the chaos Ashley Sullivan managed to find some precious time to get married to her faithfully loyal boyfriend who was at her side during the auditions, including Vegas. She got married in the same wedding chapel as her idol, Britney Spears. Now she auditioned her Beatles song as Ashley Surava.

Highlights of the Beatles Love Fest

Since Wednesday night's (February 23) episode was two hours I was thrilled there would be a lot of Beatles performances for the entire show. In typical Idol fashion we probably saw maybe 30 to 40 minutes of some groups performing, minus commercials and a lengthy introduction. Of course the second half was devoted entirely to one of the most sleep-inducing episodes of all time on "American Idol", revealing part of the Top 24. Most of the performances were good, though a few stood out for me, because it is my favorite Beatles song or they gave fabulous performances.

There was one group that tried to be unique, quirky and cool by adding some "A Hard Day's Night" slapstick to it. The trio of Lauren Alaina, Scott McCreery ("Baby lock them doors and turn the lights down low" fame) and Denise Jackson sang "Hello Goodbye" coming out of a British telephone booth. Then they ran around it during the chorus. The judges didn't like it so much, neither did I for that matter. My absolute favorite performances were the keyboard duo of Tim Halperin's and Julie Zorrilla's rendition of "Something." It is one of my favorite Beatles songs of all time.

I liked how they played the keyboards at first and got up to sing to one another. Another brilliant duo, Kendra Chantelle and Paul McDonald, singing "Blackbird" added their own interesting solo vocals and harmonies to it. The judges were absolutely enthralled by their performance. Lastly, the trio of Jacob Lusk, Haley Reinhart, and Naima Adedapo gave an outstanding performance of "The Long and Winding Road.", though Randy Jackson wasn't feeling it.

Partial Top 24 and Jennifer Lopez's Breakdown

Sadly, Ashley Sullivan Surava was cut in Vegas, though she was grateful for the experience and to also get married. Many others that had been featured prominently in Hollywood Week and the earlier auditions didn't make the cut to go back to LA. It was back to Los Angeles for another audition round called "Singing for Your Life." They performed for the judges one more time before each contestant took the long walk to the judge's panel.

Basically it was informing a few who made it and those that did not. Thus far the ones in the Top 24 are: Naima Adedapo, Clint Jun Gamboa, Haley Reinhart, Paul McDonald and Ashton Jones. The ones cut was 17-year old Hollie Cavanagh. Lopez encouraged her to keep trying a in a year or two, because she has a lot of great potential. Deandre Brackensick, Lakeisha Lewis and Alex Ryan were also sent home after being so close.

However, the most difficult cut of all when Jennifer Lopez had to deliver the news to Chris Medina. He is the one with the story about his fiancé who was in a severe auto accident. When she informed Medina he did not make it into the Top 24 later on she stated this was too difficult and broke down crying. Thursday night is more of the same repetitive "you made it or you didn't make it" till the last Top 24 is finally revealed.

SOURCES:

American Idol - Official Site for Videos, Photos and Community, American Idol.com

Jim Cantiello, "'American Idol' Recap: The Top 24 Begin To Emerge From Sin City", MTV.com