American Idol Hollywood Auditions Final Cut As Seven of Top 24 Revealed

From the theme song that played through the first few minutes of tonight's episode of American Idol, the final Hollywood cut, it was clear that the theme of the show was "hope." Watching the stories of young people pursuing their dreams, trying to provide a better life for themselves and their family is what American Idol is really all about.

The February 16th and 17th episodes of American Idol are the final Hollywood auditions where the judges will narrow the contestants down from 71 to the final 24. As in past seasons, the 71 contestants are divided into three rooms to wait it out, all the while knowing that the contestants in one of those rooms will be heading home. My one critique of tonight's episode is that too much time was spent waiting to see which of the three rooms would be eliminated. I would prefer more time being spent showing the individual auditions. The way the show went it is difficult to say which contestants performed better than others, and I know that there were auditions that we will never get to see at all.

There were a few performances that stood out for me. The first one that comes to mind was the performance of Charity Vance, the 16-year-old from Chicago. I think she has a really pretty voice, but unfortunately the American Idol judges didn't agree with me as Charity was in room two, which was the room that was eliminated. I also enjoyed the performances of Lee Dewyze and Didi Benami and 16-year-old Aaron Kelly (even though he forgot the lyrics).

The memorable moments of Tuesday night's American Idol final Hollywood auditions did not involve the contestant's performances, but their reaction to making the final cut or not. One of the best moments of the show was seeing Mike Lynche "Big Mike" first lift up Ellen and Kara and then Ryan Seacrest in his exuberance at being selected one of the final twenty-four. Watching Jessica Furney begging the judges to include her in the final 24 was just too painful to watch.

I enjoy American Idol, but I prefer watching the show once the final 24 contestants are selected, and we have the opportunity to watch the contestants perform entire songs. It does appear that season 9 of American Idol will have some of the most talented singers we have seen in awhile. There are quite a few talented female singers, which is something that was lacking last season.

The first seven contestants announced tonight were:
Didi Benami
Katelyn Epperly
Michael Lynch
Casey James
Lee Dewyze
Aaron Kelly
Todrick Hall

The rest of the 24 will be announced on Wednesday night's episode of American Idol.