A couple of unknowns

Kristy Lee Cook, the girl who sang the same song in Hollywood as she did in her audition, makes it and while I think she has a beautiful voice, I liked her in the auditions, it just rubs me the wrong way when people repeat songs. In my book, it's an unfair advantage - you already know the judges like how you sound with that song - it's what got you to the point you're at. But I'll have to find a way to get past it now.

Brooke White, the girl who's never seen an R-rated movie, is freaking out. She's not even in the room with the judges yet and she's already crying. She walks in trying to hold back the tears, but she's really shaken up. She tells the judges that it's a big day because either way, it's a big change for her. Simon tells her that at this stage, if they tell her no, her music career is pretty much over. She says, "You're right," and you can see that the idea of that is sinking in. But Randy tells her pretty quickly that she's in and she shows the appropriate amount of joy and excitement.

Danny Noriega is next and he's another one I think is a shoo-in - he's just so good, and the producers must know how obvious the choice is because there's no waiting - they just tell him immediately that he's in.

OK... who's Jason Castro? and who's Luke Menard? and who's Alexandrea Lushington? I guess we'll find out next week, because they're all in the Top 24, but none of them rings a bell for me - if we saw them audition, I have no recollection of it. This is where I feel like the producers are trying to shape our opinions. These three now have an uphill battle - they have to endear themselves to the American public with just one performance next week, where the other finalists, we've seen at least once before, if not twice or three times already.

Ramiele Malusay, the little girl with the huge voice, makes it next. I have to say, there havene't been any real surprises so far. The people who've had a lot of air time have made it and the ones who were cut are people we saw little of and don't really care if we see again.

Shaun Barrowes is cut, as is Lorena Pinot, Drew Poppelreiter, the cutie cowboy whom we haven't seen since his audition, and Natasha Bloch.

Michael Johns, the Australian, is next and he joins the Top 24, as does Syesha Mercado, the girl who lost her voice in Hollywood, and Robbie Carrico, whom we saw a little bit of last night.