The American Idol top 24 for Season 10 was slow to finalize. Still, the American Idol top 24 had to be released last night for Season 10 to go forward. In the show’s typical fashion, it had to drag out the announcements, as first illustrated on Wednesday. They only revealed five names on the week’s first episode, and a sixth was leaked after he was taken to the hospital. But after two more hours last night, the top 24 is finally locked in.
Warning: Spoilers follow
On Wednesday night, Naima Adedapo, Ashthon Jones, Clint Jun Gamboa, Paul McDonald and Haley Reinhart were the only ones to get picked. Fans knew that Casey Abrams would make it last night – but only because it had leaked that he was hospitalized for severe stomach pains.
The rest of the American Idol top 24 for Season 10 was slowly leaked at last on Thursday. Along with Abrams, McDonald and Gamboa, the men include Robbie Rosen, Scotty McCreery, Jacob Lusk, Brett Loewenstern, Stefano Langone, Tim Halperin, James Durbin, Jordan Dorsey and Jovany Barreto.
For the women, Adedapo, Jones and Reinhart led the cut starting on Wednesday. Now they are joined by Lauren Alaina, Kendra Chantelle, Thia Megia, Karen Rodriguez, Pia Toscano, Lauren Turner, Tatynisa Wilson, Julie Zorrilla and Rachel Zevita.
Now that the top 24 is set, Season 10 can move onto the more serious stages. The pretenders and jokes from the audition stage have been weeded out, though there’s still a long way to go for those who survived.
Although the semifinalists’ performances won’t be seen until next week, they begin taping today. For Abrams, it is still unknown whether he can be checked out from the hospital today, but if he isn’t, he would still be disqualified.
That drama around American Idol is more real than the kind orchestrated by the show. After Wednesday’s emotional episode, in which Season 10 favorite Chris Medina was sent home and Jennifer Lopez broke down, there were less surprises to work with last night.
Whether that will be the case in the semifinals is yet to be seen. If Abrams can’t make it, however, it would eliminate one potential favorite for America to choose from. But they would still have 23 others to finally judge for themselves nonetheless.
Next week, the top 24 will face the music from the country, as Season 10 has its first live results show next Thursday. But before that, the top 12 men – or 11 – will have their performances aired on Tuesday, with the top 12 women to be seen on Wednesday.
Sources
Entertainment Weekly- “American Idol recap: 500 Miles to Seacrest”
Broadway World- “American Idol Reveals Top 24 Semifinalists – The List!”
Fancast- “American Idol: The Final 24 Offers Few Surprises”