The top 29 are picked, with 12 more on top of the 17 last week.
There didn't appear to be any terribly weak picks tonight that I could tell and they even highlighted a decent singer (Savion Wright) who didn't make the cut.
It's hard for me to pinpoint who among these singers are gimmes for the top 13. Maybe C.J. Harris, Brandy Neely and Majesty Rose? The rocker dude Caleb Johnson may have an advantage of being the only rocker dude.
"Idol" will have the women sing on Tuesday, the men on Wednesday and the results on Thursday. There will be a vocal workshop with Randy Jackson, Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry. Not everyone will get to sing. The top 5 ladies and guys will be picked by our vote. Three more will be selected by each of the judges.
We'll start the top 13 live shows the week after.
I apologize but it appears Livefyre commenting malfunctioned for much of the hour we were supposed to be live blogging. I didn't even know it had come back to life until after 9 p.m.
We return to Casey Thrasher and C.J. Harris. Who will make the top 31? They tell Casey first. C.J. looks dejected. But good news! They are both IN.
Marrialle Sellars, who lost her dad, doesn't have the best voice but she seems to have a big heart. HCJ says she has been inconsistent, which has hurt her shot at making it this far. But she makes it IN. "I forgot how to breathe," she says.
Jena (pronounced Geena) Asciutto brings that emotive singer-songwriter thing that is hot now. HJC considers her the "sleeper" and she's IN."
Caleb Johnson from Asheville, N.C. is getting the type of edit that screams IN. He is a rocker, big and loud. And not in a bad way. HCJ thinks it's too much of a character and Keith Urban says "Rock of Ages." "Are you relevant today," HCJ said. "Do you belong in this competition?" He says yes. Ultimately, he's IN, despite the fact the edit made it seem he wasn't.
Ethan Harris has a little Clay Aiken-ish quality to his voice and vibe. "He's an interesting cat," HCJ said to J. Lo during the solo round. And he gets the IN.
Nalani Quintello, Sarina Joi Crowe, and David Oliver Willis are cut.
Majesty Rose York? She had some trouble with her lyrics but she has a lot of potential and the judges lover her enough to put through. A solid IN.
Briston Maroney. The 15 year old has a very young feel and young voice but a unique sound. I'm not sure he's ready but he might get votes if given the shot. And the judges put him through. He's very IN.
Brandy Neelly and Brianna Oakley go together and after struggling with the elevators, meet the judges. Brandy has a little bit of that Carrie/Kellie combo vibe. She is surely IN. Brianna is very pop/R&B and hits a killer note in her solo. Keith pulls the feint and acts like he's not going to put them in but they both are IN.
Kenzie Hall uses strange pronunciation and little vocal tricks to work the cuteness level to an nth degree. But it works for now and she's IN the top 31.
Savion Wright said he wanted to be an original. "I thought I showed you who I was as a person," he said. HCJ thought his solo original in Hollywood was "flat." He is OUT.
Sandie Lee from Missouri was the one of the final two girls with Austin Wolfe from Park City, Utah. Only one could go through. I have no idea who would be picked but Sandie is OUT and Austin is the final girl IN the top 50.
Ben Briley of Tennessee and Atlanta's Neco Starr are the last guys remaining. In a twist, they decide to leave it up to the public. Ben is having to battle Dexter Roberts and Casey Thrasher for the male country vote. Neco was already on the fence. He had to sing in the hangar just to make it to the hotel. There are other male R&B singers he's battling with, especially Malcolm Allen. Is he as good? He had some throat issues before his solo round but he sounded passable doing "Halo."
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