American Idol Top 24

Anthony Fedorov - yay! I love him (video, 9 MB)
Anwar Robinson
Bo Bice
Constantine Maroulis
David Brown
Jared Yates - he's sooo gay... and so cute
Joseph Murena
Judd Harris
Mario Vazquez - yay! I love him
Nikko Smith
Scott Savol
Travis Tucker - (small) yay

Aloha Mischeaux
Amanda Avila - (small) yay
Carrie Underwood - yay! I love her
Celena Rae
Janay Castine
Jessica Sierra
Lindsey Cardinale
Melinda Lira
Mikalah Gordon - yay! I love her (video, 12 MB)
Nadia Turner
Sarah Mather
Vonzell Solomon

Video of Top 24, 4 MB

So basically, my favorites made it, which means I'm in this again for the long haul. Haha.

Apparently, there is a drought of talent this year (like last year) and the change of format not only spices things up a bit, it also allowed the performers to earn early fan bases for the show. Anthony, Mario, Carrie and Mikalah (yes, my favorites) have had tremendous exposure already from the start of the auditions, as well as the others on the list. If you have followed the show, you already know most if not all of them. And you already know their heart-tugging backstory: Anwar is a teacher, Constantine quit his band, Carrie is a farm girl, Anthony had an operation when he was a boy, Vonzell is a mail carrier, Mario has a mother who adores him, Mikalah is FUN! ... There were really no surprise performers and each one I believe got a decent exposure in the end before the Top 24 was announced. It already feels like a Top 12, but clearly we already know who the judges want the Top 12 to be somehow.

Analysis: (You can continue reading because I'm an expert. Haha.) Anthony Fedorov has the biggest fan base so far and it will take him right into Top 6 if not Top 3 territory. (The Clay Aiken/John Stevens fans have found their our hero and nothing will stand in our way). Mario Vazquez doesn't have as many fans, but he will gain them as the competition gets going (hope he doesn't get cocky). Carrie Underwood is Simon's favorite - and will go very far. The "rockers" Constantine and Bo are wildcards which should make this year interesting. Mikalah's success will depend on her singing ability in the long run - if she can convince people that she is a singer and not just a personality (which for all intents and purposes is so Hollywood already). The best voice I think is David Brown, but I don't know if he has the star-quality x-factor which the others kinda have. Amanda of course is so pretty I wonder how far she will go. Anyways... I will have video caps as soon as the MPEG conversion finishes.