Finally! We Found the Talent!!!

So a show that I actually liked watching. It's always rough to watch this particular show since everyone is a bundle of nerves (except Tommy Daniels, but more on him later). I'm glad to finally have our Top 24 so we can leave the bad auditions behind. Phew!

On to my "Top 10 Things You Should Know: Final Elimination Edition."

10. The judges are really tricky tonight. Look out for distracting banter, double negatives, and a lot of "I'm sorry . . . you'll be seeing so much/more/a lot of us from now on."

9. Arrogance apparently does not pay. Honestly, I thought Sundance Head was out--we've been seeing so much of his poor performances in Hollywood, but I wonder what his final day was like. I wonder if his increasing humility throughout the week gave him the edge over the cocky attitude Tommy Daniels brought.

8. The stage is pretty cold each week, so you may want to find some shoes, Paul Kim.

7. Chris Sligh, you look more like Weird Al than Christina, but funny is good. Oh, and you can sing, too!

6. Blake Lewis must be hiding some talent besides being a human drum machine, because all I've heard from him so far is a bunch of noise. That group of four was pretty good, though so I bet he can sing a bit, too.

5. This year is a good one for backup singers. Congrats to Melissa Dolittle and Brandon Rogers. I bet we see a bunch of them before this season is over.

4. There always needs to be at least one person to bring in the votes from the tweeners and the little old ladies. Sanjaya Malakar should fit the bill nicely. He's an upgrade from last year's hanging chad, Kevin Covais.

3. This year is also the year for repeat offenders. Gina Glockson (try number two), Nick Pedro (also numero dos), and A.J. Tabaldo (holy crap! FIVE TIMES!!!) Hopefully he didn't have to go through Hollywood Hell Week that many times. Although, that's a lot of frequent flier miles!

2. Reminders from past seasons: Fantasia, in (Stephanie Edwards). Mandisa, in (Lakisha Jones). Ruben, out ("Little Ruben"--I forgot his real name).

1. The judges are really nice this week, even when they boot you. Next week, Simon turns nasty. Look out! Reality check is on the way!

Here is my final, pre-24 haiku. Enjoy!

Oh! Hallelujah!
Finally we have talent
Next week should be great!

It's really too early to have any favorites or make any marginally accurate predictions, but I'll share a few random thoughts. The girls seem stronger at this point from top to bottom, but that can change quite quickly. The guys seem to have more "wild cards," especially when you consider the group includes Sundance Head, Chris Sligh, the Human Beatbox, Shoeless Paul Kim, and a 16 year-old named Sanjaya. It should be quite an interesting set of shows next week!