Well, It has begun!! The Final 24 have all taken the stage. And I have this to say - why did they ever change the rules to have 6 guys and 6 girls. Last year, the guys were superior. This year, the girls are kicking butt and taking names.

With the exception of Blake and Chris (the one who looks like Justin Timberlake), the boys were boooooooring or off-key enough to make me think, you people heard 100,000 people in how many cities, and THIS was the best you could come up with.

The girls were just amazing, with a few exceptions. They chose difficult songs, the rocked it out and they BROUGHT it. I liked the two bookends, first and last. Great performances, as well as # 4, 6, 9 and 11 (sorry, I just don't know their names yet). I agree. Lakisha is in a class by herself. I just hope she didn't just blow everything in one night, but I doubt it.

Btw, the beautiful NJ girl brought some major suckage. Has anyone else seen the picture of her on the toilet??

I like the guy who looks like Jack Osbourne. He makes me laugh. I thought that Jordin Sparks and Lakisha Jones were great from the girls team.

We'll see tomorrow who is sent packin.

I have them DVR'd but haven't had time to watch them yet...

I just learned yesterday Lakisha actually lives in Baltimore, Maryland and works for a branch of the same bank that one of my sister's does, so she was all excited. Nicole is watching this year, but not me. So root Lakisha on if you can.

I don't watch Idol, but my wife does. Then we watch "LOST" after Idol. So last night I happened to catch the last 10 minutes or so of Idol as I was getting ready to watch "LOST"


That girl has some voice. However I did not think that it was fair for Simon to make the statement that he made after she was finished singing, saying that the other 23 mine as well go home.


Don Cardi

You know my wife and I are watching, SB!

The guys on Tuesday stunk up the joint. I'm with you - this is the best they can come up with?

The girls were really good last night. I'm not good with the names yet either, but Lakisha and the first girl (who sounds like Beyonce) were fantastic. So was the girl who didn't sound so well during the audition and Hollywood rounds, but brought it last night. She has the same bluesy/soul sound of Christina Aguilera (but of course, nowhere near as good). The "background singer" girl was really good too.

Simon? Fair? Silly DC!! Lakisha is what is known as Simon's Anointed One. Each year, Simon picks one contestant that he favors, and this year, she is it. At least this one's talented.

Shows you how much I know about the show.


Don Cardi

And Paul Kim, he of the bare feet and the lucky underwear, is the first to be voted off.

I'm finally watching the last couple of episodes on dvr right now and it's amazing how much stronger the women are this season! The men were rather embarrassing to watch *cringe*

The song that they sing when someone gets voted off isn't that " It's Not Over " By the person who should've won last season Chris Daughtry?

Yes, Mig, it is inded Chris Daughtry, but I can't say that I agree that he should've won last season. I was an Elliot Yamin fan.

What did you think of Fantasia last night?

I think he should have won. He is tons better than Taylor.

Speaking of Elliot, his debut album is coming out March 20th.

In the UK now we have the X-Factor show...
More Simon Cowell taking the mickey out of people type format....
Have you not had this show Stateside yet?
It's pure quality

Boys were better tonight than they have been. I still like Blake the best. I think he's fun and talented. Sanjaya, on the other hand, needs to go far, far away, where I won't need to hear his boring, boring singing or see his big scary teeth ever again.

Assuming the girls manage to bring it again tomorrow night, though, the guys are going to have a hard time once the final 12 is selected.

They did do better tonight except for Sanjaya. He needs to go. I like Phil. I didn't know he was in the Navy. Hopefully he'll stick around for awhile. I still like Chris(Jack Osbourne) Let's see how the girls do tomorrow.

Actually caught it (mostly) live tonight!

I agree with the two ladies above (on top of?) me... Blake, Phil and Chris -- and the Mr Clean guy -- are up there. And backup singer Tito Jackson, whatever his name is. And that other guy. lol

As for the women, it'll be really impossible for any of them to beat Lakisha -- if this indeed remains a *singing* competition as opposed to a beauty contest.

PS - I didn't think Rudy deserved to be voted off before many of the others.

PPS - I wasn't a Fantasia fan, and still am not - but she did do a great job w/ that song. Good luck on Broadway! (PPPS - Did she gain a ton of weight or something?)

PPPPS - Antonella, from Point Pleasant NJ - is like 20 minutes from me... must check out the beach more this summer... lol

Geoff, have you seen the "photos" of Antonella? Just do a search. It will save you a trip to the beach, since I believe there are some of her sunbathing topless, or so I've heard.

Either Fantasia's dress was too small or she's too big. Not a good look. Maybe she's taken to eating with Al Gore.

I thought the guys were better last night except Sanjaya - he couldn't get the crowd into it and it did look like some sort of high school singing competition.

I've been calling Chris Sligh "Sideshow Bob" because of his crazy hair. I'm not a big fan of his. Something about him comes off as insincere. There was something about his whole back-and-forth with Simon, his subsequent apology and his comments during the taped segments, as if he was trying to trick the audience into thinking he was a good guy.

Unless she does a terrible job tonight. Mandisa started out great to.

DS, I know what you mean about Chris Sligh. He's a bit annoying. However, he did very well last night. I was relieved to see Sundance do well. I really liked his audition, and then he was so awful. Plus, how awesome is the name Sundance Head? Dialidol.com predicts that Nick and Brandon will be going home tomorrow night.

I believe Sanjaya will get the sympathy vote for the next couple weeks (like Chicken Little from last season)...but soon enough people will see through him.

In the men's category, I'm really pulling for Sundance. He probably had the best male audition of this season...but his subsequent performances have paled in comparison.

For the girls, I like Jordin, LaKisha, and Melinda Doolittle.

I haven't really been blown away by anybody this season, but from what I've been seeing...the girls are the ones to beat this year. The men just aren't that good.

And what about the controversy surrounding Antonella Barba? Topless photos, bottomless photos. There's even photos of her posing in a wet t-shirt in the fountain of the National WWII Memorial in D.C.

And she's still in this competition?!

Antonella - she sucks and blows! (have you seen THAT photo?) She was not only really, really bad tonight, but then had the nerve to compare the judges' criticism of her to Jennifer Hudson not winning Idol?? She is a spoiled little turd.

Solid performances from Stephanie, Sabrina and Jordin. Excellent performances from Melinda and Lakisha.

Now that's spoken like a true Bronx girl !

As long as America is voting Antonella will be okay.....I don't find her to be that attractive personally, but every 14 year old boy (and JG) is just loving those photos.

Best performance of the night (IMO, of course): Melinda Doolittle. Fantastic performance (followed closely by LaKisha, who also turned in an incredible performance). Jordin also did a great job.

Who should be eliminated tomorrow:

Antonella and that the one who sang "Queen of the Night."

And then Antonella should be punched in the head. By me.

I wish they had a # to call to vote someone off. I'd call it several times for that snotty Antonella. Hopefully she'll get her walking papers tomorrow.

How many gets voted off tomorrow night? Still 2 from each side?

I believe it's two from each side again, Mig.

I concur with everyone - Melinda was the best performance of the night, followed by LaKisha. Everyone else was a distant third. For me anyway, Jordin seemed a little off (she was obviously emotional after hearing her dedication tape). She's still one of my favorites though.

Antonella can roll her eyes back to New Jersey, but she won't be voted off tonight. Darn that JG.

I think it'll be the dog walker and the Queen of the Night girl.

Well, Dialidol has Haley, Leslie, Gina and Stephanie as too close to call. They firmly have Nick and Brandon as the bottom 2 for the boys.

I thought Stephanie was wonderful (she did the Beyonce song) and I personally voted for her a bunch of times. I can't imagine WHY she would be voted off, except that perhaps people think she's safe and don't vote, or maybe they didn't like that she sang in her nightie.

Well, Pickler didn't get any smarter since last year... lol