What's old is new again on American Idol.
Meaning, thanks to a few teens with poise beyond their years, an Aussie, an Irish lass blessed with a second chance and a guy named Chikezie Eze, it looks as if fans are going to once again be voting on the basis of talent, rather than hairstyles and short shorts.
Wednesday marked the conclusion of Idol's Hollywood round of auditions, and these are the 24 aspiring pop stars (including some aspiring to be Idol's first rock-minded winner) who lived to tell about it:
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, Utah
- Colton Berry, 18, Staunton, Virginia
- Robbie Carrico, 26, Melbourne, Florida
- Jason Castro, 20, Rowlett, Texas
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, California
- Garrett Haley, 17, Elida, Ohio
- David Hernandez, 24, Phoenix, Arizona
- Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles (born in Perth, Australia)
- Luke Menard, 29, Crawfordsville, Indiana
- Danny Noriega, 18, Azusa, California
- Jason Yeager, 28, Grand Prairie, Texas
- Joanne Borgella, 25, Hoboken, New Jersey
- Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, Oregon
- Amy Jean Davis, 25, Cedar Lake, Indiana
- Asia'h Epperson, 19, Joplin, Missouri
- Alexandréa Lushington, 16, Atlanta
- Kady Malloy, 18, Houston
- Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, Florida (born in Saudi Arabia)
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami
- Amanda Overmyer, 23, Mulberry, Indiana
- Carly Smithson, 24, San Diego, California (born in Dublin, Ireland)
- Alaina Whitaker, 16, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, California
The semifinalists will start singing for their lives next week, with the fellows taking their turn on Tuesday and the ladies performing on Wednesday.
Starting Feb. 21, two male and two female contestants will be eliminated during a Thursday results show until there are only 12 finalists competing to become the next Kelly/Ruben/Fantasia/Carrie/Taylor/Jordin.
Then, as per usual, contestants will sing on Tuesdays and learn their fate on Wednesdays.