American Idol Ð Hollywood Round 3

Out of thousands of contestants, only 72 are left standing. There was drama and hardship to finally make it to the last day. Tonight is the last chance for the contestants to stand out. They get one performance with a band and if they choose, can also play an instrument.

Day Four – Evening. We're still at the Kodak Theater. There are 72 contestants waiting in the main holding room. Anoop and Stevie talk about how they are nervous waiting with everyone. The judges deliberate, put a few contestants in the yes pile, some in the maybe pile. The contestants will be broken into four groups of 18. The contestants wait in the main hall while the judges deliberate.

We flashback to the morning of Round 3. Everyone practices last minute before their final performance. Some practice with their guitar. Tatiana makes sure that the tempo is to her tastes with the keyboardist. The contestants get up and pick the performance order out of a hat. Adam Lambert picks number one. He had mixed reviews in the earlier Hollywood rounds. His musical-theater singing style caused some judge confusion on his intentions. He just wanted to make the songs he sings his own. Following that statement he reveals to Ryan that he's singing Cher. He sings "Believe" in a ballad form; very Meatloaf-esque actually. Other showcased performers are Matt Giraud, the dueling pianist, who sings "Georgia on My Mind." He sings with a mix of soul and falsetto. It piques the interest of Kara and Randy. In the end, the judges (sans Simon) gives him a standing ovation.

Back to 7:45 p.m. – The 72 continue to wait nervously. Good friends Danny and Jamar are in a daze as they sit in the main hall. Jamar went first early in the day and sang "Hey There Delilah" in a very original fashion. Danny smiled in the back as he watched. Danny was next and sings "I Hope You Dance." He still gives off Michael Bolton vibes to him. Paula gets off of her chair and is floored by the performance.

The judges continue to deliberate in the main holding room. The men have been impressive this season. Anoop Desai sings "My Perogative." Jorge Nunez sings "Closer." Scott Macintyre finally gets to sing behind the piano. After getting to round three without instruments, he performs "Home." Paula gives him a standing ovation.

The first girl of the day was Kendal Beard. She had spunk at the Puerto Rico audition. She was shaky on day one. She performs "Before He Cheats." Stevie Wright sings "Bubbly" and feels confident about performing. Lil Rounds performs "If It Ain't You" and still doesn't know how to correctly hold a microphone.

Kristen McNamara (who was on Nashville Star) suffered from Team Compromise in round 2. She sings "Because of You" in a yelp-rasp combo. Randy gives a confused face. Mishavonna Henson tried out back in Season 7 and made it to Hollywood. She got to day two and got cut. She's back with a vengeance this time. She waits in the holding room.

8:30 – One group is moved into the first waiting room. The room includes Mishavonna, Anoop, and Matt Giraud. Matt hopes that it's a good thing that he's been placed in with some talented competitors.

8:45 – Another group of 18 are placed into another waiting room. Tatiana and several contestants wait there. Tatiana performed several songs during the same round, even though she should only have performed one. She sings Whitney Houston and isn't actually that bad until the end. She makes the most insane vocal run. She also makes a constipated face. In the back she feels confident. Also in the room is Alexis Grace (who also sings "Before He Cheats"), Kenny Haufpupper (singing Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"), and Jasmine Murray (who sings "Tatoo"). Nathaniel Marshall was part of Team Compromise and during his final performance he sings an acoustic version of "Disturbia" with the help of his guitar. Joanna Pacitti gets emotional when she performs. She mummers through "If I Ain't Got You." Casey Carlson also mummers. Stephen Fowler practiced since 2:30 a.m. the night before. The day of he also mummers through the words and asks to start over. The judges give him a second shot and he forgets the words again. He pounds the keyboard and walks away.

The judges realize a situation. There is a number problem between the girls and the boys in one of the groups. They decide to take out Tatiana from room two. She waits nervously in the hallway.

9:00 p.m. – Half of the contestants are broken into rooms one and two. Tatiana was moved from room two back into the main hallway. Nick Mitchell performed as Norman Gentle in Round 1, but as Nick Mitchell in Round 2. There's mixed reviews from the judges. He's confused about how he should perform. For his final performance he emerged as Norman Gentle and performed "Georgia On My Mind" in a very vaudeville fashion. He performed to the laughter of Randy and the applause of Paula.

Back in the theater, the judges made the magic number. The remaining contestants are placed in rooms three and four. Nick Mitchell is placed in the fourth room. Some are worried that they are in the red. Anne Marie Boskovich was worried because she sang "I Hope You Dance," the same song sung by several contestants. Ju'Not somehow flew under the radar the whole competition. The judges were swayed in N.Y. by his son. He performs "Hey There Delilah" in ballad form. To make it worse for the contestants, Tatiana has been placed in room four. The anxiety has risen even more with her in it.

9:30 p.m. – The judges have finished deliberating. The groups are placed in three and four. In room three, Kentucky favorites Leneshe Young and Kaylan Loyd wait. Kaylan is nervous because Simon ended the song in the middle of her performance. Leneshe Young touched the audience with her story and her voice in Kentucky. Her last performance was "Love Song" and while she waits, doubt settles in.

Room Two. Kai Kalama suffered from vocal trouble. He squeaked through the performance. Michael Sarver, the Oil Rigger, is also in the room. Hollywood was good to him earlier. He had his family in mind as he performed "All or Nothing" as his last performance.

The judges have finalized and Simon heads to London. Thus, leaving the responsibility of breaking the news to the other three judges.

Room Two. Nathaniel tries to figure out his odds. He wonders about the people who forgot their lyrics. Some of them are sitting in his room. The judges arrive into room two. Paula talks about how strong they were until their performances made some group flops. Kara announces that they are coming through. Alexis Grace, Joanna Pacitti, Casey Carlson, Kai Kalama, Arianna Afsar (who sings for senior citizens), Nathaniel Marshall, Oil-Rigger Michael, and Jasmine Murray (who was the sole survivor of the wrath of Bikini Girl's group performance) make it through.

Room Three. There is a sound of cheers from the wall. India Morrison had the wonderful rapping skills and she was the one who kept her group together. Her final performance was bad as she forgot the words to "Disturbia." Randy has the bad news for room three. Michael Castro and several others are disappointed. Leneshe still stands proud of the hard work she's gone through.

10:00 p.m. – There are only two rooms left. One room already has had good news, the other had bad. The judges arrive to Room One. Randy explains how tough the competition is and how people should try for a second shot. He surprises them by saying that they made it through. Jackie, Jorge, Danny and Jamar are just some of the contestants that made it through.

After hearing the screams through the walls, Room Four is nervous. Especially with having Tatiana in the fourth room, they do the math and realize that two rooms are through and one is going home. The judges try to console the competitors. Tatiana is in shambles for the whole thing. Matt Breitzke asks the judges if it's a no. Paula explains that it's actually a yes. There are cheers and the three rooms all meet together in the hallway.

There are tears and there are cheers. Some are proud of just making it to Hollywood even if they made it home.

Tomorrow: The contestants have one more round to face with the judges. They've reviewed the tapes. The contestants have to go through the chair. There is also a twist: Singing for Survival.