Thursday night on “American Idol” it was time for the Top 24 contestants to be whittled down to 13 – with the audience voting in the Top 10 and the judges selecting three wild card picks.
Judges Randy Jackson , Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler critiqued the Top 12 guys and gals earlier this week when the Top 24 contestants took the stage for their first live shows. But it was up to the audience to decide who will stay and who will go.
The highlights from earlier this week- at least based on the judges’ feedback – were performances by Brett Lowenstern, Scotty McCreery ,Casey Abrams, Ashthon Jones, Lauren Alaina and Pia Toscano (who actually received a standing ovation Wednesday night for her performance of The Pretenders classic, “I’ll Stand By You.”).
But others- like Jordan Dorsey, Tim Halperin and Rachel Zevita- fell short.
Still, the audience had a big say in who moved on in the competition.
So who made the “American Idol” Top 13?
Host Ryan Seacrest got right to it, putting some of the guys in the hot seat. Right away, country crooner Scotty McCreery got the news that he was in the Top 10.
Then it was a succession of buh-byes. They went to Robbie Rosen, Clint Jun Gamboa, Jordan Dorsey and Jovany Barreto.
Of course, there was always the chance that one of these guys could get a wild card slot, but that didn’t stop the tears from flowing.
Next up, the girls got some news. Pia Toscano and Lauren Alaina both got the Top 10 badge. Ditto for Karen Rodriguez, who dazzled fans with her Spanish-infused song on Wednesday night.
Also In: Jacob Lusk- a major fave of Steven Tyler- Paul McDonald, and Casey Abrams, funny guy with the stand up bass. Haley Reinhart, James Durbin and 15-year old Thia Megia also made the cut.
Out: Kendra Chantelle, Ashton Jones, Tim Halperin and Lauren Turner were told they didn’t make it.
And the deserving Naima Adedapo was also told didn’t make the Top 10. The look on Randy’s face was of complete shock.
But the prematurely ousted contestants had one last chance to show their stuff. Well some of them, anyway. J-Lo said 3 boys and 3 girls would get another shot.
That turned out to be Ashthon Jones, Stefano Langone, Kendra Chantelle, Jovany Barreto, Naima Adedapo and Robbie Rosen, who all had a chance to perform one last song.
As the judges tabulated their results, it was the perfect time to plug J-Lo’s new video, “On the Floor.”
Then it was results time.
The judges chose Ashthon Jones, Stefano Langone and Naima Adedapo to round out the finalists.
“American Idol” Season 10 Top 13 Contestants
Ashthon Jones
Casey Abrams
Haley Reinhart
Jacob Lusk
James Durbin
Karen Rodriguez
Lauren Alania
Naima Adedapo
Pia Toscano
Paul McDonald
Scotty McCreery
Stefano Langone
Thia Megia
Next week: The Top 13 will get shaped into bona fide recording artists with this season’s main mentor, legendary producer Jimmy Iovine.
The next episode of “American Idol” airs on Wednesday, March 9 at 8:00 pm ET on FOX.
