American Idol 9: Hollywood Week Continues – It Ain't Like That Anymore

Only in Hollywood is it possible for one week to actually last two. Hollywood Week officially started last Tuesday, but here we are one Tuesday night later, and it still isn't over. We're into Round 3, and for the 71 leftover contestants, it could be the most difficult segment yet. Hard to believe that anything could get tougher than that brutal Group Round, but when you get one last chance with a full band and no immediate feedback from the judges, it's do or die.

That said, it's quite incredible that I don't have much to say about the first half of Tuesday night's episode. So here's the Coles Notes version:

– Jermaine Sellers made a diva move by blaming the band for playing a verse that he cut out of the original rehearsal. Yeah, the band goofed, but that was a really bad move, buddy!

– On the other hand, when the band started playing the wrong song for Thaddeus Johnson (whose mother screams louder and more often than any of the contestants), he very politely reminded them that he was not "Bubbly" but in fact the "Man in the Mirror." Nicely done.

– At least three different performances of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" nearly sent me over the edge... of my sofa. This guy is boring enough to end my insomnia for the remainder of the season. Why anybody would want to risk putting several million people to sleep by covering this tripe is beyond my understanding. One guy even accompanied himself with a ukulele. I'm NOT kidding!

– Ultimately, all the contestants were divided amongst three rooms. Room 1 went through, Room 2 went home, Room 3 went through. End of Hour 1.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz......

So I woke up in time for the beginning of Hour 2. This is when it's supposed to get more interesting because the judges are finally choosing the Final 24. But wait! Where's the elevator? Where's the long walk to the judges' table? Where's the drama? There was none of that. This season, they played it cheap and held Judgment Day on the Kodak Theatre stage.

Who's In:

– the tremendously brawny Michael "Big Mike" Lynche (who bench-pressed Ryan after he got the good news)

– the very emotional Didi Benami (who auditioned in memory of her deceased BFF)

– the extremely patient Katelyn Epperly (Ellen carried on for several minutes about how annoying it is when judges carry on)

– the long-haired and sometimes shirtless Casey James (Kara is IN LOVE and I'm pretty sure she's forgotten that she just recently got married)

– the polite Aaron Kelly (he said "Yes, Maam" to Ellen about half a dozen times in the space of about 30 seconds)

– the self-assured Lee Dewyze (who actually pled his confidence to the panel, who only agreed to keep him five minutes earlier)

– the "to-the-point" Todrick Hall (the judges simply told him "Yes"... that's it!)

Who's Out:

– the disappointed Shelby Dressel (according to Simon, it was the wrong decision to drop her)

– the very pissed-off Jessica Furney (she freaked out and tried to convince them to keep her – in the end, she blamed it on losing her voice during the Group Round, but I think it's because she sang that crappy Sheryl Crow song)

That's it for tonight folks. So, even though it would've made sense to have the one-hour Round 3 episode on Tuesday, and the full "keep 'em or trash 'em" two-hour edition on Wednesday, they decided to split up the selection of the Chosen Ones. Tune in tomorrow when we'll find out who the remaining seven boys and 10 girls will be. See ya then!

CANUCK GIRL delivers the thrills and spills of America’s favourite singing competition direct to your monitor. Canuckgirl is NOT a professional journalist, nor does she play one on television.