Now only time will tell whether cute-as-a-button Ramiele Malubay is any match for teen dream David Archuleta, or whether Irish songstress Carly Smithson can compete with Aussie Michael Johns' heartthrob appeal, or if raspy Amanda Overmyer can out-rock David Cook.
Those six, along with six others, were still living the dream Thursday after American Idol's seventh season had seated its top 12 finalists, as decided by more than 36 million votes.
The journey ended for four aspiring stars, however, including Kady Malloy, 18, whom Simon Cowell compared to a Stepford Wife Wednesday after she belted out Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever" during a week devoted to music penned in the 1980s.
While he was a fan of her backstage Britney impressions, Cowell never got behind Malloy as a personality, although he agreed with his fellow judges that the Houston native's performance was one of her better ones since the live portion of the season kicked off a few weeks ago.
Next to go was the handsome yet vocally sketchy Luke Menard, who wailed Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" on Tuesday.
"A bit girly," Simon said, making it three weeks in a row he had dissed the 29-year-old carpet cleaner from Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Paula Abdul put a more positive spin on Menard's future prospects, however, upon his dismissal. "This is the first day of the rest of your career and life," she said. "You will see. You're a brilliant singer, and I wish you nothing but success."
Also out was Asia'h Epperson, 19, who, as shown in her audition footage, tried out for Idol just days after her father had passed away, a circumstance reflected in her heartfelt a cappella rendition of "How Do I Live."
But Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" proved to be too much for the 19-year-old waitress from Joplin, Missouri.
Paula and Randy Jackson gave her props for the effort, noting what a massive vocal undertaking the tune was, but Simon called it "second-rate Whitney."
And Danny Noriega was undone by his sassy reworking of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Although he impressed during the audition process, the 18-year-old from Azusa, California, never hit his stride after Hollywood week ended.
But four had to go and now 12 remain.
Joining Archuleta, 17; Cook, 25; Johns, 29; Malubay, 20; Overmyer, 23; and Smithson, 24; are Jason Castro, 20; Kristy Lee Cook, 24; Chikezie Ezie, 22; David "So What If He Was a Stripper" Hernandez, 24; Syesha Mercado, 21; and Brooke White, 24.
Among the standouts this week were David Cook's emo take on Lionel Richie's "Hello" (prompting an anecdote from Simon about running into Richie at Whole Foods: "I had carrots, he was buying cereal"); White's stripped-down version of Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield"; Johns staying true to the Simple Minds original on The Breakfast Club classic "Don't You (Forget About Me)"; and Overmyer channeling Joan Jett on "I Hate Myself for Loving You."
Idol will return to its usual two-night format next week when the top 12 dip into the Beatles' songbook on Tuesday—the first time in show history the works of Lennon-McCartney have been legally accessible—and yet another young hopeful is eliminated come Wednesday.