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Updated with second half of Vegas performances and results!

Here we are... After a dramatic, chaos filled Hollywood week, the remaining 70 contenders go to Las Vegas to form groups again and sing songs from the 1950's on Cirque de Soleil's Viva Elvis stage. The competition is stiff so harsh cuts are expected. After several days of competition, who will shine in Vegas and who will run out of luck? Keep reading! This... Is American Idol!

Recap and videos after the JUMP...


So here's what will happen: Contestants will form into groups and be assigned a song from the 1950's. After performing, they will immediately know who is out of the competition and who advances (for now). The competition is very stiff and the Judges announce that while they may technically advance, final cuts will be made the next day after the Day 2 acts perform.

Day 1

Cari Quoyeser, Chase Likens, Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine
"Dedicated to the One I Love" by The Shirelles

This is a really nice arrangement and to my surprise, everyone sounds really good. Cari pulls off a quirky, old-fashioned sound here. Chase and Colton are totally outside of their element and usual musical styles but they both pull it off smoothly, they both move up on my list. Skyar is also outside her comfort zone but fits her Country style in perfectly, I love how she growls. The group harmonies are fantastic. They sang great and were enjoyable to watch. The Judges loved it too but they seem to think Cari wasn't as good as she usually is. Chase, Colton and Skylar advance. Cari is eliminated.



Ariel Sprague, David Leathers, Gabi Carruba, Jeremy Rosado
"Rockin' Robin" by The Jackson 5

After some mild drama in the rehearsal stage, Gabi is concerned she doesn't get enough solo time in the performance. David jokingly calls her a diva. Moving on to the actual performance, they harmonize well. Of course, David is pretty much in his comfort zone, given the song. Jeremy also sounds nice even though he looks like the odd man out in this group, maybe a tad bit forgettable. Gabi and Ariel are both really good, I think performance-wise, they tied. Cute performance. The Judges loved it, Randy thinks David has improved in pitch. All 4 advance.



Adam Brock, Angie Zeiderman, Erika Van Pelt, Shelby Tweten
"Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis

Adam and Erika look old enough to be the father and mother of the other two. Fun choreography. The song starts with Adam on piano, his vocals in the beginning sound a little gargle-y to me. Erika is great, she's my favorite part of this performance. Sounds a lot like Pink again. Angie channels her weirdness perfectly and it comes off well, Shelby tries to be raspy but it doesn't work. I actually think she sounds pretty weak. After much contemplation from the Judges, all 4 advance to the next round.



Schyler Dixon, Brielle Von Hugel, Molly Hunt
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers

Unfortunately, they perform in military outfits. The main problem being the outfits are more '40s than '50s but whatever, onto the singing. To me, Schyler sounds pretty weak. Brielle's part is stronger and stands out, her voice breaks in an interesting way. Molly isn't shown singing solo but the group harmonies are very strong. The Judges like Schyler and Brielle but not so much Molly. Schyler and Brielle advance to the next round, Molly is eliminated.

Wayne Wilson, Ashley Robles, Stephanie Renae, Aubree Dieckmeyer, Janelle Arthur and Tenna Torres are announced as eliminated in a montage.



Eben Franckewitz, Elise Testone, Haley Johnsen, Reed Grimm
"The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" by Bobby Vee

Reed doesn't sound particularly amazing but I love his weird dancing and he keeps the Judges and me interested. Elise carries from where Reed left off. Of course she sounds excellent, her voice breaks in a bad place but she recovers well. Girl can belt. Haley's vibrato is awesome! So glad to finally see her being shown. Eben doesn't sound particularly amazing in the first half but then he belts out this high note and kick and I gotta say, he topped David Leathers tonight. Most of this group has some sort of history and interest in theatrics so they're in their comfort zone and it shows. Wow, impressive run from Haley and solid harmonies end the performance. Easily the most entertaining performance thus far. All 4 advance to the next round!


Jermaine Jones, Richie Law
"Make It Easy on Yourself" by Jerry Butler

It seems the rest of MIT abandoned Richie, I wonder why! He's actually having a tough time finding a group at all, he teams up with Jermaine. Two baritones, this already looks like it'll be a disaster. I don't think Jermaine likes Richie, just a hunch. After some communication difficulties and arrangement issues, they're finally ready to perform. Jermaine sounds good, not special but good. Richie, however, sounds like Kermit the Frog. The chorus is just weird, it has some good harmonizing but the arrangement just makes this sound super cheesy. The Judges think it was brilliant and advance both of them.



Candice Glover, DeAndre Brackensick, Jessica Sanchez
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Buddy Holly

Radically different rendition of a Buddy Holly song, but definitely worked to the advantage of the contestants. Jessica starts, impressive vocals. Whoa! Did that growl really just come out of that little girl? Damn. That was amazing. DeAndre goes next, I didn't like him when he was in the competition last year but I like him a lot this time around. He has an amazing falsetto that captures my attention, maybe it was a bit weak at parts but the Judges were impressed. Next is Candice, who is just awesome, she totally belts those notes out. I love how this group all individually knows who they want to be as artists. The Judges flove this and so do I, they all advance to the next round.



Again, the Judges will be cutting more contestants from Day 1 after Day 2 performs.

Day 2

Adam Lee Decker, Clayton Farhat, Curtis Gray, Scott Dangerfield
"Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley

La la la I'm amused how most of the "rawker" guys ended up together in this group. Not so sure everyone wearing the same thing is a good idea, I can't tell them apart. They look greasy too. Slightly sloppy start. Adam, Clayton and Scott all sound pretty good. Ooof... Curtis, buddy. That was NOT good. Ugh.. This just slips off into the land of sloppy cheesiness. Oh yay, super cheesy ending to top it all off. They aren't even harmonizing that well. The Judges note the pitch and tempo issues. Adam, Clayton and Scott advance. Curtis is eliminated.





Getting montaged is Hallie Day, she sounds pretty good. Baylie Brown and Chelsea Sorrell sound good but we don't really see enough to judge it one way or another. All 3 advance. In the next group, we see very strong vocals from Caleb Johnson. Joshua Sanders also sounds decent but not as good as Caleb. River St. James sounds good. They dressed corny but they all advance to the next round too. In the next group, we see gospel singer Curtis Finch struggle in his group with "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley, Joshua Ledet has another shining moment. We see Shannon Magrane in the group also but no singing. Joshua and Shannon advance to the next round, Curtis and the rest of the back row are eliminated.



Britnee Kellogg, Courtney Williams, Jessica Phillips
"Keep Me Hanging On" by The Supremes

They decide not to rehearse with the band because they sing for a living. How ridiculously pretentious. It proves to be a big mistake too. The performance is full of oversinging in all the wrong places and sloppy singing on top of it. All 3 of these girls annoy the hell out of me right now. Britnee and Courtney advance, Jessica is eliminated. She then proceeds to be bitter about the whole thing and bitches about Idol not putting through "real artists". Just go away and don't come back.



Lauren Gray, Mathenee Treco, Wendy Taylor
"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles

Here comes Peggi Blu, the vocal coach from Hell last season, trying to "help" Lauren rehearse. "There's no crying in music. What's the tears? Are you on Ritilin??" Hahaha... Well, onto the performance. This is the best I've heard Lauren sound, her and Wendy go back and forth on giving us soulful goodness. Mathenee sounds decent but he's not on the same level as the other 2. Lauren and Wendy advance, Mathenee is eliminated.



Heejun Han, Jairon Jackson, Neco Starr, Phil Phillips
"I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Flamingos

Peggi Blu is back already! "I looked her up on YouTube and it was kind of scary" says Heejun. lmao. When Peggi realizes he is afraid of her, she gives him a hug. This group is basically MIT minus Richie (Cowboy). Neco sounds good in this, a little shaky in one part. Jairon sounds great, I've always liked his phrasing, he could sell albums tomorrow. Heejun sounds really nice too, he showed a different side of his voice in this performance. Phil seems uncomfortable, he's doing his electrical fidgeting thing. Not his best at all. The Judges love it, All 4 advance. Heejun starts crying in relief. Aw.



Aaron Marcellus, Creighton Fraker, Jen Hirsh, Nick Boddington
"Sealed with a Kiss" by Bobby Vinton

The members from Groovesauce unite minus Reed. I like how everyone dressed. Aaron sounds smooth in his parts. I don't think Creighton sounds fantastic. The one that does sound fantastic is Jen, I just love how she belts out notes. Nick is sorta lackluster, not even worth noting, really. The harmonies are sloppy at points. The Judges really like it, they tell Nick it wasn't his best. Aaron, Creighton and Jen advance. Nick is eliminated.



Well, all of the Vegas performances are officially done with. The Day 1 contestants come on stage again for more cuts. This is sure to be tough and brutal.

Angie Zeiderman, Britnee Kellogg, Candice Glover, Gabi Carrubba, Jairon Jackson, Johnny Keyser, Schyler Dixon plus 27 more contestants are eliminated. Harsh!



We now have our Top 42, join us for our next recap when the remaining contestants fight for a spot in the live semi-finals where America votes. See you then!
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