A brutal new twist sent some contestants home before they even made it to Hollywood. Then, the remaining contestants had to perform in lines of 10, with only 104 remaining Tonight, they'll have to face the pointless Group Round. Will they step up to the challenge or will the drama of it all get to them? .... This ... is American Idol!

Recap and videos after the jump ...

Casey Thrasher, Ben Briley and Dexter Roberts are quick in forming the group, naming it Backstreet Cowboys. 

Malaya Watson isn't having it so easy, since her group has 5 people but they need to be 4 or 3. "We feel like we have 5, we're gonna bring it" she says. She doesn't want to let George Lovett go.

Savion Wright, Ryan Clarke, Madelyn Patterson and John Fox planned their group since their met at the Austin auditions. Since they formed so fast, they are the first group to make it to the vocal coaches.

Jessica Meuse is having a hard time with her group. One of them is sick, the other one, basically has no personality, since she can't even remember his name. He's having some problems with his harmonies. She kinda wishes she was with more prepared people. Poor Jess.

It's midnight. Malaya Watson (who had to let George go), Christina Collins, Queen Bulls and Olivia Diamond from Loud and Fierce tensions are beginning to flair. They begin arguing in front of the coaches. 

Carmen Delgina and Terrica Curry can't find a group. Fortunately for them, MK Nobilette and Emmanuel Zidore are left without a group, since they couldn't stop bickering and had to split. 

Jess is becoming more and more frustrated with Matthew, who keeps singing in unison with her. "You don't understand how hard it is to be a broke ass musician. I've tried so hard to get here, I've played so many shows in smokey bars until 4 am and I'm sick of them. I don't want to get screwed up in this opportunity" she says, while crying. Clark, the sick member, decides he can't sing. He asks the already frustrated Jessica if he should leave the competition. Of course the girl is gonna tell him to leave. So Clark quits and that leaves Matthew and Jessica without a group. Jess tells Matthew that she thinks if they get into different groups they'll be ok. He agrees, so they part ways.

Jess tries joining the Backstreet Cowboys who reject her but don't even tell it to her face. That's harsh. "I've gotta use the bathroom" Dexter tells her. He then hugs her. Matthew finds a home with Caleb Johnson and CJ Harris, of the Freedom Breathers.

Emmanuel and Carmen are already fighting with MK and Terrica. Emmanuel seems like a drama queen to be honest. I bet it was hard dealing with him.  They start a search party for Terrica since MK left them.

Loud and Fierce's rehearsal goes terribly. They girls start blaming each other. "I refuse to lose this thing" Oliva screams. "All good, that was interesting" charming Malaya says. Also having issues is Sam Woolfe, whose having trouble without the guitar.

Jess finally found a group, which is an awful fit for her folky style. They already know the song, "Single Ladies", and keep changing the dance moves, making it extra hard for her. The group is called Sparkles and it's made up of Nica Nishae, Carol Watson, Stephanie Hanvey and the trio's unofficial group member, Stephanie's stage mom. "We can't say no to pinkie" she says. Jess is getting annoyed by her, who keeps giving her advice as if she was a 16 y/o girl.

Munfarid Zaidi, Jena Asciutto and Allie Odom of the group Clarity keep rehearsing, even when member Sikenya is gone, since she lost voice. Allie thinks it's not fair to them, even though it's not Sikenya's fault. She's going to wait to see if she's able to perform just before the performance begins. So Clarity begin turning their group into a trio.


After all the drama, Group Day finally begins!

Three Mo Days - Tony Foster Jr, David Oliver Willis, Sarina Joi Crowe - "Too Close" (Alex Clare) - They are one of the few groups, if not the only, to evade the drama. They've all been here before (last season), so they know what not to do. Great phrasing, lovely harmonies. This was a wonderful performance, no one weak link here. JLo loved the harmonies but wasn't sold by the choreo. David and Sarina are in, Tony is cut. I don't see why. He doesn't either, so he asks JLo. She apparently doesn't know. Harry tells him he spent 80% of the performance looking at his feet. He's got a point.

Backstreet Cowboys - Ben Briley, Casey Thrasher and Dexter Roberts - "I Want it That Way" (The Backstreet Boys) - I like the fact that they also picked a Backstreet Boys song. The choreography is non existent but their vocals are pretty great. Ben went a little over the top with the runs but besides that, a good performance. All 3 advance.

It's a group montage! George Lovett and Neco Starr perform a sexy cover of "Treasure", Neco still shining with a Bruno Mars' song. George and Neco sound a lot alike actually, I don't think there's a place for both of them in the finals. Paula Hunt, sounding awesome, and Andrina Brogden perform "Done" by The Band Perry, while MK Nobilette and Briana Oakley take on "Royals". They are all in. Joining them are: Brandy Neelly, Emily Piriz and Kenzie Hall.

Spencer Lloyd, Megan Miller and Alyssa Siebken - "Best I Ever Had" (Gavin DeGraw) - They call Spencer one of Idol's "most eligible bachelors". He picked this song because he already knew it. Since he already knew the song, he didn't feel like rehearsing, so he left the girls all by themselves, even when they begged him to practice with them. Jerk. The result, a pretty awful performance, with off key harmonies, flat lines and missing verses. Obviously, this is all Spencer's fault. Spencer and Megan make it, Alyssa is out. Alyssa is pissed. Megan knows she didn't deserve that.


Also leaving are Madisen Walker, Keith London, Austin Precario, Stephanie Petronelli and Adam Roth. On top of all the heartbreak, Tiquila Wilson has decided to quit the competition, since her heart is in gospel.


Matthew Hamel, CJ Harris, Caleb Johnson and Tyler Ahlgren - "Too Close" (Alex Clare) - Matthew was with Jessica's group. Caleb found him crying in the bathroom and welcomed him into his team. Caleb is also the only one that has a mic stand, just because he likes having one. Tyler can't remember the lyrics so instead of stopping, he makes them up, "I don't know the words, cause I forgot them! But I'm going to keep singing for ya'll". Their styles are too dissimilar for this too work. Caleb was the one that sounded the best to be honest. Tyler and Matthew are going home, Caleb and CJ make it through. Matthew thinks their decision was bullcrap, he felt he was the best in the group. Please.

Clarity - Munfarid Zaidi, Jena Asciutto, Allie Odom and Sikenya Thompson - "Too Close" (Alex Clare) - Sikenya left them last night since she lost her voice but decided she's gonna give it a try. She tells the judges right before performing she's sick and Harry wonders if that was a good idea. She doesn't sound that bad to be fair, I wonder how she'd have done if she hadn't lost her voice. The rest sound ok. Allie is sent home, the rest advance. Sikenya tells Allie she'll get front row tickets for her when the show comes to her town. Ouch.


Savion Wright, Ryan Clarke, Madelyn Patterson and John Fox - "Royals" (Lorde) - Savion sounds really good, John, not so much. Harry tells John he's going home, because he felt he was too uncomfortable. The rest advance.


Jessica Meuse, Nica Neshae, Stephanie Hanvey and Cara Watson - "Single Ladies" (Beyonce) - Jess had the worst group experience ever. She was part of disastrous group, then left them to join another ruled by Stephanie's stage mom. Jess tells the judges she's struggling with the song, since the girls adopted her late last night. They all struggle with the lyrics but the most obvious is Jess. She's so awkward and uncomfortable. Nica comes to Jess' rescue and then they all start singing together. Jess could've done a lot worse. Stephanie is going home, the other girls make it through. Backstage, stage mom lashes at Jess, saying the judges didn't see behind the scenes, "the truth is, you did give up" she tells her. What an annoying bitch. "You are so rude" Jess tells her.


Love's Angels - Terrica Curry, Carmen Delgina and Emmanuel Zidor - "Say My Name" (Destiny's Child) - None of them is great but Emmanuel is the one that stands out the most. Terrica looks so angry while performing, almost as if she didn't want to be there. Harry wishes they'd have picked a song with melody. Emmanuel makes it through, Carmen and Terrica are cut.


Loud and Fierce - Christina Collins, Olivia Diamond, Queen Bulls and Malaya Watson - "I Want You Back" - They were a mess the previous night. Olivia couldn't stop screaming. They've got some choreography and vocally, it's not as catastrophic as I was expecting. JLo felt there was some good stuff there. "I want you back, all 4 of you" she tells them.


77 contestants remain! They'll perform one final solo.