This is for all the guys who said I had to sleep with them to get a blog...

Hollywood week (or weeks, I guess) is over and tonight the real competition begins. Hollywood gave us some good memories and even better quotes from resident nut-job Tatiana Del Toro (ie: title of this blog). But, in the end I am fairly happy with the top 36. I think we all could do without the likes of Norman, Tatiana, Von "Shouty McShoutster" Smith and Nathaniel Marshall, but if there is any justice in the world of Idol, they will all be out within the next three weeks. I understand the producers are trying to give us a few crazies to mix it up a bit, which makes sense, but it is also heartbreaking for people like Jamar Rogers. It really surprised me when the judges said he just didn't stand out. I know the judges talk out of their asses a lot, but the guy had the second most screen time, next to his best friend (and possible gay lover), Danny Gokey. He obviously stood out to the producers when it came time to edit. I don't, however, think all hope is lost for Jamar. I will predict now that we may see him during the wild card round in a few weeks. In season 2, the judges invited Carmen Rasmussen to the wild card after she was eliminated in day one of Hollywood. So, if Carmen deserved a spot, then Jamar most definitely deserves a spot. Stay tuned.

With Hollywood behind us, I am looking forward to see how my favorites fare in the most important portion of the competition thus far. In the past four seasons the top 24 has been split up into boys and girls and the singers were given three weeks to showcase their talent to America. Tonight, Idol goes vintage (like someone else) and returns to the old format last seen in season three. Three groups of twelve will sing and the top three (top boy, top girl and next best vote getter) from those groups are into the Top Twelve. After three weeks, the judges pull together another group of twelve for the wild card. The wild card has produced some really great Idol talent, such as Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken and Kimberly Locke, so I think it was a great choice by the producers to bring it back. 

The twelve singers taking the stage tonight are:

Alexis Grace

Ann Marie Boskovich

Anoop Desai

Brent Keith

Casey Carlson

Danny Gokey

Jackie Tohn

Michael Sarver

Ricky Braddy

Stephen Fowler

Stevie Wright

Tatiana Del Toro

That is quite the group. I would say the other contestants are thanking their lucky stars they didn't get stuck in this group. There are a lot of camera favorites in there, which means a lot of these singers already have a built in fan base, which is bad news for Ricky Braddy, the only one of this group who has had no camera time. However, Paula has been talking him up in the media so I look forward to seeing if he can actually sing or if it's Paula's pills that make him the best singer in the world. The great news from this group is that Tatiana is out after Wednesday and I never have to hear that crazy laugh ever again. Or so I pray. 

The three I predict to come out of this group are Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai and Ann Marie Boskovich. Danny is a no-brainer. He has had the most camera time and he has been successfully using his wife's death to his advantage for his sob story. A sob story that he most certainly doesn't need and actually the reason I will not be voting for him any time soon. The rules of Idol are simple: if you can't sing very well, come up with something painful from your past to earn you votes. If you can sing, hide painful things from your past until you need the votes. The guy can sing so if he was following the law of David Cook, he would have waited to give the producers home video footage of his wife when he was in the top four. Fool.

Anoop is definitely one of my favorite contestants right now. He can really sing, but I just like him. He is not pretentious at all and I really appreciate the fact that he seems so laid back about the whole thing. What I appreciate more is the fact that he was in the University of North Carolina's acapella group called The Clef Hangers (Andy Bernard anyone?). I love him even more after I saw this.

The third spot is a real toss-up, but I am giving Ann Marie the edge on this one. We haven't heard too much from her, but what I have heard, I have liked. I will expect to see most of the rest of this group in the wild card though, so I urge fans of Stephen Fowler and Michael Sarver not to get to upset if they don't go through. Oh, and don't be surprised if I quit this blog if Tatiana or Jackie go through. I just couldn't handle that pain. You understand.

So, here is to tonight and to hopefully some really great performances!