Siobhan Magnus News

In a year where 'Idol' is clearly pushing for a female winner, the first performances by the top twelve women was quite a letdown. Even the judges seemed to notice a rather lackluster group of performances from each of the twelve female finalists, with Simon seemingly growing more and more frustrated as the night went on. There were few bright spots in the evening that should have been a step up from the final performance in Hollywood, but none of the contestants progressed, with many of them taking a step backward on the first night.

AMERICAN IDOL's Top 24 semi-finalists walked the red carpet for their first star-studded special event held at STK + Coco de Ville in West Hollywood on February 18, 2010.

After learning the first seven of the Top 24 last night, tonight's episode left audiences in anticipation, waiting to see if their favorite singers would be selected through to the next round. Some of the choices seemed obvious (i.e. Andrew Garcia), while others left audiences wondering if they would receive good news or leave the judging room in tears.

On Wednesday, AMERICAN IDOL revealed the remaining 17 semifinalists in the season's top 24 contenders. (Spoiler Warning: Do not read ahead if you don't want to know yet who the top 24 are.)

Tonight episode of 'American Idol' brought the always-entertaining group auditions. The remaining contestants form groups of three to five people, choose from a select list of songs, and choreograph the number to perform in front of the judges. Group auditions always provide for an excellent episode, as it is the only time in the show when contestants are forced to depend on others in their performance.