'American Idol 6' - Onto Hollywood

The Hollywood rounds are a bit too much of a whirlwind for my liking. Although folks said the two-hour shows were a bit too long, tonight's one-hour Hollywood run seemed to touch on a lot and focus on only a few contestants. 172 made the cut to Hollywood during the auditions, but I didn't even catch a glimpse of some I had enjoyed. For example, Jenry from New York. Where was he? Did I blink and miss him?

The show set forth a perfect example of the existence of foilers on the Internet. No, I'm not talking spoilers, I'm talk foilers. They're rumors, possibly set in motion by the show itself, and ultimately untrue.

• The Foiler: Jory Steinberg aced her way through the competition and is in the top 24. The Reality: She got ditched in Hollywood after Simon blasted her whole group for being unoriginal and an "absolutely horrible start to the day."
• The Foiler: Long-haired and long-bearded Sean Michel was kicked off the show for refusing to change his look. The Reality: Sean got the boot for poor performance, nothing at all to do with how he looks.

Since about twice as many girls made it through to Hollywood than guys, the individual performance round was at least twice as brutal. Rachel Jenkins, who didn't thrill me by wearing her Reservists uniform during her original audition, was booted as were Jory (mentioned above), Ashlyn Carr (the face-making gal), Porcelana Patina (the boxer-training gal - no great loss as far as I'm concerned), Sarah Burgess (from Ohio, skipped school and lied to her parents), and Nicole Turner. The last one's mother stood up to Simon over her dismissal. Give me a break. Melinda Doolittle (the shy back-up singer I like), Gina Glocksen (repeat offender... er, contestant with the crush on Simon), Jamie Lynn Ward (daddy shot stepma and then hisself gal), and others made the cut through to the group sing.

The show's focus on the individual performances of the guys was more on those who went through than the ones who failed miserably. Jarrod Fowler, the Navy guy who won his ship's Idol contest, got the boot. Nick Pedro (the one who forgot the lyrics last season and quit), Sundance Head, Blake Lewis (Seattle human beatbox dude), Chris Sligh, Matt Sato, and others made the cut... some only to be cut in the groups.

Now, what's the most important thing besides staying on key? The lyrics. If you forget the words to the song, you may as well just shred that Hollywood ticket. Well, unless your name is Sundance Head, that is. Somehow, despite the admonitions of the judges about remembering the words to the songs, he didn't and he was one of the few shown who screwed the words up yet made it through the group cut. Robyn Troupe, who recently won the honor of singing with Justin Timberlake at the Grammy Awards, was in Sundance's group and the rumors of her success are but another Internet foiler. She's history, but may make history outside the realm of American Idol.

For me, there was only one stand-out performance in the groups. The team of Chris Sligh (dang, I like that guy), Blake Lewis (his beatbox adds rhythm, for sure), Tom Lowe, and Rudy Cardenas rocked! With the exception of mismatched wardrobes, those guys did a tremendous job in a boy band kind of way. Not only did they bring the house down, but they even remembered the lyrics!

One thing in their favor besides the performance itself is that they seemed to get along well together. That wasn't the case for many of the groups. And, but of course, that's some of the drama of the night. Baylie Brown, beloved by Simon Cowell, was teamed up with the Jersey Girls. They didn't mesh well at all and, when it came to the performance, Baylie choked. I'm talking big time choking, go home choking. In the end, the Jersey Girls themselves were split up with Amanda getting cut, Antonella (the one I like better anyway) moving forward.

The Jersey Girls weren't the only pair split up in Hollywood. In a bit of a heartbreaker, Sunjaya Malakar made the cut while his sister was left behind. Instead of celebrating his success, he consoled his sister. I don't think she's as talented as he is, but they both seem like very nice kids. Their parents must be busting with pride.

Now, the show moved very quickly and, unless they focused on a contestant, it was a bit difficult to see exactly who made it through to the next round. There were so many like Jenry we didn't really see at all. Wednesday night's show should be a bit slower-paced as they decide who will be in the top 24. I think there are a few sure bets like Chris Sligh, but who knows?