American Idol Season Eight Hopefuls- Final Judgment

American Idol has whittled down the hopefuls to fifty-four. Only thirty-six of these American Idol hopefuls will make it through the final judgment and sing for America. All of the American Idol hopefuls met in a Mansion dubbed the Judges' Mansion.

This year American Idol decided to add in a twist. The American Idol judges were undecided on some of the hopefuls. Each was paired up with another undecided contestant into a sing off. The hopefuls have to pick a song and belt it out right then knowing everything was riding on this one performance.

The first two hopefuls to face the American Idol sing off were nice guys Cody Sheldon and Alex Wagner-Trugman. These two hopefuls had become friends over the American Idol audition process so it was tough competing against each other. The judges deliberated and thought Cody had the look but the winner was Alex Wagner-Trugman who had a much better voice.

The next American Idol battle was between hopefuls Jenn Korbee and the quirky Kristen McNamara. They both sang and waited for the Idol judges to make their choice. During the deliberations, American Idol judge, Simon Cowell asked, "Should we pick the very attractive blond girl (Jenn) or the other one (Kristen)?" Both hopefuls were brought back and were given advice. Simon interrupted to deliver the news by saying to Kristen, "You made it through, but I completely disagree with this decision." A stunned Kristen didn't know if she should be happy or cry as they left the room.

The third American Idol battle seemed to bring out the darker side of Simon as well. Hopefuls Frankie Jordan and Jesse Langseth both picked bad final songs. After Frankie sang Simon said, "That's definitely made it easier." Jesse also got a dose of Simon after her song when he said, "that was a horrible song." Even after telling Jesse she was the winner, Simon got in more digs. Simon said, "Frankie, if it's any consolation you wouldn't have won anyway." Perhaps Simon should leave the consoling to Ryan from now on.

The fourth American Idol battle was between the overly emotional Nathaniel Marshall and the forgettable Jackie Midkiff. Both hopefuls gave okay performances. Kara felt that Jackie was so good there shouldn't have been a question. The other judges disagreed and picked Nathaniel Marshall. I think the judges were wrong and should have let them both go home. There were some really good singers that they cut who were much better.

Before I mention the results of the final American Idol battle of hopefuls, let me add some other highlights from American Idol's final judgment day. Lil Rounds actually received a positive comment from Simon. He said, "She's fantastic. She's a good old fashioned singer." That was one of the few nice comments out of Simon's mouth about any of the hopefuls.

Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle's wacky performances had me scratching my head wondering why he kept getting through of all the hopefuls. He can sing but he is a walking farce. Apparently the American Idol judges needed a laugh and put him through. The best part was when he found out he said, "This is unbelievable." To which Simon replied, "Yes, it is." Not to be outdone, Nick said, "Thank you Simon for the jab, ow!" pantomiming getting hit in the back.

Remember when Simon said that if they forgot the words they were out? Apparently that wasn't the case for everyone of the hopefuls. Joanna Pacitti in her own words "forgot the lyrics in every song." Stephen Fowler forgot the words in his final performance and then just walked off stage after hitting his keyboard. Their reward, they moved on to sing on the American Idol stage.

In a surprising move, ET Online reports that American Idol producers decided that Joanna Pacitti was ineligible for the show and has been removed from the the list of hopefuls. Speculation for Joanna Pacitti's removal range from the fact she had a record deal to worries of the appearance of impropriety with American Idol executives. Joanna Pacitti will be replaced by Felicia Barton.

When Tatiana Del Toro, the ever giggling singer, walked in for judgment, Simon told her, "Try for once not to be annoying." Fat chance. She did accessorize well by wearing a bracelet from American Idol judge, Paula Abdul's line of jewelry. Paula mentioned it and Tatiana gushed how she wanted the ring and cried when it sold out. Paula pulled the ring off her own finger and gave it to Tatiana. Much to my dismay, Tatiana is through to the next round of hopefuls. Why is the show punishing the viewers this way?

Another one of the hopefuls that American Idol got wrong was Jamar Rogers. He was there with his best friend, Danny Cokey who lost his wife. Jamar took chances that the judges felt didn't pay off. He didn't make it. Jamar was exciting to watch and didn't do the same boring songs. He has a good voice. He should have made it over several others. He was a great sport about it and told Danny, who did make it, that he was behind him all the way.

So the final American Idol battle was between the tough guys. Matt Breitzke is a welder and Michael Sarver is a roughneck on an oil rig. Both hopefuls sang very well for their final song. The decision was tough, so tough that the judges picked them both. Good going guys.

The final list of the thirty-six American Idol hopefuls are: Nick Mitchell, Jackie Tohn, Anoop Desai, Von Smith, Alex Wagner-Trugman, Adam Lambert, Taylor Vaifanua, Jasmine Murray, Arianna Afsar, Casey Carlson, Megan Corkey, Mishavonna Henson, Stevie Wright, Joanna Pacitti, Felicia Barton, Kendall Beard, Kristen McNamara, Alexis Grace, Scott Macintyre, Lil Rounds, Jesse Langseth, Allison Iraheta, Danny Cokey, Ricky Braddy, Matt Giraud, Ju'not Joyner, Jorge Nunez, Brent Keith, Stephen Fowler, Michael Sarver, Matt Breitzke, Jeanine Vailes, Nathaniel Marshall, Kai Kalama, Anne Marie Boskovich, Kris Allen and Tatiana Del Toro.

Get ready to vote next week as we get closer to finding out who the next American Idol hopefuls will be. Which of the American Idol hopefuls will Simon degrade and verbally assault in the next episode?