American Idol's eighth-season dream ended for a roomful of Hollywood Week hopefuls during Tuesday night's Fox broadcast of the week's final elimination round.
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Hollywood Week's third round began at 7AM with the 72 contestants still in the running for a spot in American Idol's eighth-season semifinals drawing numbers to randomly determine their performance orders. After that, they individually took the stage performed one final song while accompanied by backup singers and a house band. In addition, similar to Idol's seventh season, the contestants were also given the option to perform while playing their own musical instrument.
Several of the contestants flubbed their lyrics during their final performances, including Joanna Pacitti, Casey Carlson and Stephen Fowler -- who walked off stage after forgetting his song's lyrics a second time.
After all 72 contestants performed, Idol's four judges -- Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi -- deliberated and divided the contestants into four groups that were sent to learn their fates in four different rooms.
Once the deliberations ended, Cowell left to catch a flight back to London and the three other judges visited the four rooms and told each group whether they would get advance to the competition's last round.
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"Okay, bye guys," Cowell said before he exchanged goodbye kisses and hugs with Abdul, Jackson and DioGuardi.
"Have a safe trip," Abdul said.
Room 2 was the first group to learn their fates. All the contestants in the room advanced -- including Pacitti, an unemployed 23-year-old from Philadelphia, PA; Fowler, a 26-year-old musician from Beachwood, OH; Carlson, a 20-year-old bubble tea maker from Minneapolis, MN; Kai Kalama, a 26-year-old musician from San Clemente, CA; Nathaniel Marshall, an unemployed 18-year-old from Malone, NY; Michael Sarver, a 27-year-old oil rig roughneck from Jasper, TX; Alex Wagner-Trugman, a 19-year-old college student from Studio City, CA; Alexis Grace, a 20-year-old musician and mom from Memphis, TN; Kenny Hoffpauer, a 16-year-old high school student from Havertown, PA; and Jasmine Murray, a 16-year-old high school student from Starkville, MS.
Room 3 was the second group to learn their fates and the news wasn't as good. All the members of the group -- which included Leneshe Young, an 18-year-old college student from Cincinnati, OH; India Morrison, a 22-year-old college student from Kansas City, MO; Michael Castro, a 20-year-old college student from Rockwall, TX; and Kaylan Loyd, a 16-year-old high school student from Nashville, TN -- were eliminated from the competition.
Room 1 was the next group to learn whether their Idol dreams had ended. All the contestants in the group advanced, including Kristen McNamara, 22-year-old karaoke hostess from Napa Valley, CA; Stevie Wright, a 16-year-old high school student from Phelan, CA; Matt Giraud, a 23-year-old dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, MI; Mishavonna Henson an 18-year-old college student from Irvine, CA; Kendall Beard, a 23-year-old college student from Austin, TX; Anoop Desai, a 21-year-old college student from Chapel Hill, NC; Scott MacIntyre, a blind 23-year-old from Scottsdale, AZ; Danny Gokey, a 28-year-old church music teacher from Milwaukee, WI; Jamar Rogers, a 26-year-old bartender from Milwaukee, WI; Adam Lambert, a 26-year-old stage actor from Hollywood, CA; Lil Rounds, a 23-year-old service representative from Memphis, TN; Jorge Nunez, a 20-year-old college student from Carolina, PR; and Jackie Tohn, a 27-year-old actor and singer from Silver Lake, CA.
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The fact that they had already overheard two rooms breaking into celebration caused the contestants in Room 4 to worry that they were also going to be eliminated from the competition, however after stringing them along and leading them to believe that they'd been cut, the Idol judges eventually revealed the contestants had actually survived Hollywood Week's third round.
"So this is a 'No,' right?" asked Matt Breitzke, a 27-year-old welder from Bixby, OK.
"No, it's a 'Yes,'" Abdul replied, causing the contestants to break out in celebration.
In addition to Breitzke, several other contestants that had been spotlighted in American Idol's previous audition and Hollywood Week episodes were part of the Room 4 group, including Tatiana Del Toro, a 23-year-old singer, actress, and model from San Juan, PR; Ju'Not Joyner, a 26-year-old from Bowie, MD; Nick Mitchell, a 27-year-old from Brookfield, CT; and Ann Marie Boskovich, a 22-year-old waitress and nanny from Nashville, TN.
Although their identities appear to have already leaked online, American Idol will formally reveal the eighth season's Top 36 semifinalists during tonight's broadcast.
About The Author: Steven Rogers