When Ryan hints that we're about to see "the emotional conclusion of Adam Brock's journey," that seems like a bit of a giveaway. We rejoin him at 6:00, waiting for the judges to tell him what's going on already. We get a replay of his emotional, if not entirely sensical, speech from last night about how he needs to sing. "I love to watch a man cry," Steven says before finally, reluctantly, telling him he's going through. Adam falls right out of his chair with emotion, hugs them all, and shows them the picture of his daughter on his phone that put him in this state to belong with. It doesn't seem to have the same effect on them, oddly. Then he gets to call home to break the bad news that he's not coming home yet. No, actually, both he and his wife are both really excited, and Adam wants her to tell their daughter that she'll see him on TV. He's pretty modest if he thinks this will be the first time.
Jeremy Rosado is up for one of the remaining nine spots in the Top 24. We're reminded of his position in the Brat Pack that includes Eben Franckewitz and David Leathers, Jr. and dates all the way back to Savannah. For his final judgment song he did a ballad that seemed to give all three judges goose bumps and got all three of them on her feet, Jennifer nearly jumping out of her skirt at the end (not that that would have been hard). Today, Jennifer gives Jeremy props for giving other competitors standing ovations all through the competition, which sounds like a nice thing to say to someone you're about to cut loose. But then she adds that his performance yesterday was "transcendental." He's in the Top 24. "Who says nice guys finish last?" Ryan asks. Hey, there are a still a lot of opportunities to come in last.
The judges still seem to be taking their sweet time, as it's now 6:45, meaning it took three quarters of an hour to tell two people yes. Meanwhile, the remaining eighteen people in there would probably be fretting about getting one of the remaining eight spots in the Top 24 even if they hadn't been stewing in there all day, which they have.
One of them is Shannon Magrane, the sixteen-year-old who forgot her lyrics in the initial group round but blew the judges away with "What a Wonderful World" during the final Hollywood round, and also seems to have done a great job yesterday (or is it now the day before yesterday?) with "The Trouble With Love." She comes and sits down with the judges on the edge of the chair, but the real drama is backstage, as Ryan talks to Shannon's mom and baseball-player dad and brings up Steven's inappropriate comment at the Savannah auditions. "Hot, humid, and happening," Ryan quotes back to them. They seem to be cool with it now, though. Out onstage, Steven tells her she's in the Top 24, and she wriggles backstage promising not to let them down. "Does your daddy still hate me?" Steven mock-whines. Well, he's not coming out onstage after Shannon breaks the news to give him a man-hug.
Then there's guy named Scott Dangerfield, who made it to Hollywood last season and Jennifer loved him, but he had to bail. I think he was one of those guys in the "Jailhouse Rock" group last week, but yesterday his final song was "Folsom Prison Blues," which isn't exactly a vocal showcase. Now, in front of the judges, Jennifer says she wasn't feeling it this year, so he's not making to the round. "It is what it is," he says shortly on his way to the exit. That's just about my least favorite curse.
Coming back from the ads, some unnamed contestants get the axe, although I remember Wendy Taylor, who I guess is too old now to come back year. Too bad there aren't any other singing competitions.
Skylar Laine is pretty worried, especially after Chelsea Sorrell made it through on last night's show, and she doesn't think the Top 24 is big enough for the both of them. We're reminded that Skylar was one of the people laid low by the Idol Bug in Hollywood, with a hospital wristband to show for it and everything. Yesterday she sang "Fancy" by Reba McEntire, and rather suffered by the comparison, I'd have to say. She admits in an interview that it wasn't her best work. Today, Randy talks to her about her country thing, which she says she's all about, but then Steven says he wants some rock and roll too, which she's also all about. Mainly she seems to be all about telling the judges what they want to hear. Anyway, she's through to the Top 24, and as much as she wants to jump off the stage and into the water to celebrate, she knows her mom will kill her so she holds off. "Someone has to do that," Steven foreshadows.
Then we rush through Hallie Day, Chase Likens and returning contestant Aaron Marcellus getting the good news that they're in the Top 24. Only three spots left, y'all. And half of a show.
It's 8:00 PM when we come back, and the remaining guys are getting increasingly nervous. We're reintroduced to DeAndre Brackensick, who was also sent home at this stage last season. Apparently he sang almost an entire song in falsetto yesterday. The judges are worryingly (for him) sympathetic when he sits down, but then Jennifer says they'd be crazy not to let him into the Top 24. His face goes all lemony before he rolls on the floor and starts hugging everyone in sight, and even some people who aren't.
Remember Jermaine Jones, the big baritone self-confessed momma's boy who was Richie Law's last victim? He interviews that he hopes his overall performances will carry him through, since he doesn't seem entirely satisfied with his performance yesterday. I say the argyle sweater vest he wore without a shirt for that performance was worth summary elimination on the spot. We learn that he had a minor meltdown in the waiting room earlier in the day, crying about not wanting to disappoint his family until he got a comforting hug from some blonde hobbit. Finally, he sits red-eyed in front of the judges, and Randy says he's been up and down while Ryan bucks up Jermaine's mom backstage. "Jermaine," Jennifer begins, and...ads. He'd be less nervous if he knew he was being interrupted by a commercial break. But then, when he comes back, Randy says he needs a little more work, so no Top 24 for him this year. Look, they switched it up on me! He gets long hugs from all three of them, then goes back and hugs his mom, who doesn't seem disappointed in him at all.
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So now there's room left for only one boy and one girl in the Top 24, and there are three girls left: Ariel Sprague, Shelby Tweten, and Jermaine-hugging hobbit Hollie Cavanagh, all of whom walk out together holding hands. We see Ryan interviewing Shelby, and a snippet of her audition in Aspen (or, more accurately, a clip of Jennifer declaring Shelby's singing "beautiful," which is more important than hearing the actual singing). We see that Ariel just squeaked through in Savannah, and Hollie Cavanaugh is...well, someone we just saw for the first time being dwarfed by Jermaine. So even though she sounded good singing "Please Mr. Postman" in the Vegas group round and did well yesterday with Carrie Underwood's "Change," this kind of looks like a two-way race between the other two girls, whom we've actually seen before. In any case, by the time they reach the judges, it's been a very long walk. But at least there are three chairs for them to sit in, which relieves what otherwise might have been an awkward situation. And I called it wrong, because Hollie's the one going through. Well, good, she seems nice.
After getting congratulatory hugs from the judges, she has to give consoling ones to the other girls. It's a little awkward as all three girls reunite with their parents backstage. Only one spot left, but Ryan promises a shocking development later. Better be good. I say this knowing full well it won't be.
We come back at 9:00 Vegas time, and it's down to just Mr. Steal Your Girl David Leathers, Jr. and mini-Bieber Eben Franckewitz, who have been sitting in there for twelve hours, presumably soaked in their own urine by now. We flash back to David in Savannah and Eben in Pittsburgh, and Eben's successful group rounds. But not David's, which is a bad sign for David. Yesterday, Mr. Steal Your Girl sang "I Want You Back" and Eben sang "You Are So Beautiful," and seeing their performances yesterday side by side like this, it's pretty apparent which of them will survive. They head out to meet the judges arm-in-arm, and Ryan reminds us that David is two years older than Eben, even though they're the same height and look the same age. The judges give them both plenty of chances to suck up before telling them that they both have things to work on (namely David's overconfidence, and Eben's underconfidence, and also David's pitch, so uh-oh) before telling them that the last spot is going to...Eben. Yes, that's totally what I thought too. The two boys leave the stage in two very different moods and get different kinds of hugs from their parents. With his dad's hand on his shoulders, David admits he's devastated, but Eben deserves it and he, David, will be back. Maybe sooner than we think.
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So that's it. Finally, Ryan presents the Top 24: Adam Brock, Phil Phillips, Eben Franckewitz, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Aaron Marcellus, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Chase Likens, DeAndre Brackensick, Creighton Fraker, and Jeremy Rosado. They're all forced to dance alone in front of the camera, even those who shouldn't, which is most of them, as Ryan tells us they'll be performing live Tuesday. The girls will go on the air Wednesday: Shannon Magrane, Brielle Von Hugel, Jen Hirsh, Hallie Day, Jessica Sanchez, Erika Van Pelt, Baylie Brown, Chelsea Sorrell, Haley Johnsen, Hollie Cavanaugh, Elise Testone, and Skylar Laine, all of whom are, at the very least, accomplished hair-dancers. And it looks like my spell-check dictionary is about to get bigger.
But now it's time for the big twist Ryan's been teasing all night: someone's rejoining the competition to make the guys into a Top 13, for reasons that aren't explained and makes this show look like Big Brother. It's going to be either Jermaine Jones, David Leathers, Jr., Richie Law, or Johnny Keyser, who didn't even make the Top 42, and whose capricious reinstatement would thus be likely to trigger exactly the kind of outraged controversy this show thrives on. And over the credits, Steven gets undressed and jumps in the pool surrounding the stage. It couldn't have been Jennifer?
M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter, or just e-mail him at m.giant[at]gmail.com.
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