Michael Becker / FOX They came. They sang. But only 24 conquered.
The remaining 17 candidates for American Idol season-nine glory were revealed Wednesday, with most of the slots going to those you saw coming a mile away, a couple going to people you've barely seen at all, and a few yanked from the mouths of potential greats.
For instance, what is up the annual torture of Angela Martin, the single mother of a disabled little girl whose dad passed away a few days before she auditioned for season seven? She got cut in round two of Hollywood week.
Then she left the top 50 in season eight because she had to go to court to settle a traffic violation. And her mom went missing just this past December.
This year, Angela, 28, made it to the final face-to-face with the judges, where Kara DioGuardi told her she was a star, only to send her on her devastated way yet again, in what was her last year of eligibility.
Well, such is the TV-tailored story of American Idol, which also broke the hearts of 19-year-old Thaddeus Johnson (and his mom) and 17-year-old Tori Kelly, who lost the coveted teenage ingenue spot to none other than 16-year-old Haeley Vaughn of Fort Collins, Colo.
She will be joined by:
• Janell Wheeler, 24, Tampa, Fla.
• Tyler Grady, 20, Nazareth, Penn.
• Lacey Brown, 24, Amarillo, Texas
• Ashley Rodriguez, 22, Chelsea, Mass.
• Alex Lambert, 19, Fort Worth, Texas
• Joe Muñoz, 20, Huntington Park, Calif.
• Tim Urban, 20, Duncanville, Texas
• Crystal Bowersox, 24, Elliston, Ohio
• Katie Stevens, 17, Middlebury, Conn.
• Paige Miles, 24, Naples, Fla.
• Siobhan Magnus, 20, Cape Cod, Mass.
• Michelle Delamor, 22, Miami
• Jermaine Sellers, 27, Joliet, Ill.
• John Park, 21, Northbrook, Ill.
• Lilly Scott, 20, Littleton, Colo.
• Andrew Garcia, 24, Moreno Valley, Calif.
They join a group that already includes Casey James, 27, of Fort Worth, Texas; Todrick Hall, 24, of Arlington, Texas; Didi Benami, 23, of Los Angeles; Michael Lynche, 26, of Astoria, N.Y.; Aaron Kelly, 16, of Sonestown, Pa.; Lee Dewyze, 23, of Mt. Prospect, Ill.; and Katelyn Epperly, 19, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
And none of them appeared at all shy when it came time to rock out to Fefe Dobson's "Watch Me Move" for the usual montage. (However, original choice Chris Golightly was deemed "ineligible" by Fox, and Tim Urban was brought in as a replacement.)
All 24 go live next week, starting with the top 12 girls on Tuesday, followed by the guys on Wednesday. Kris Allen will perform on Thursday's results show, which will also feature clips from his trip to Haiti on behalf of the latest Idol Gives Back campaign.
Tune in, and then come here, because you know we'll have plenty to say about all of it.
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Maybe a few of these 24 teens and twentysomethings will be hobnobbing with the folks in our Big Picture gallery one day.