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After months of auditions, nail-biting Hollywood drama and three sometimes-painful live-performance weeks, America finally got its top 12 on "American Idol" Thursday night (March 11) on a show that provided some of the first true surprises — and shocking exits — of season nine.

The handful of singers who appeared certain to end their runs on the show after crash-and-burn performances got miracle reprieves as Katelyn Epperly, Lilly Scott, Todrick Hall and Alex Lambert were voted off.

In the first elimination group, host Ryan Seacrest waved through potential singer/songwriter Didi Benami and quirky dark horse Siobhan Magnus. That left Katelyn Epperly and Paige Miles standing center stage, with one facing elimination.

It seemed certain that Miles, whom the judges have repeatedly said had the strongest voice in the competition, would be the one to go after her poorly received cover of "Smile," a song made famous by Michael Jackson. But in a surprise, it was Epperly, who went home after an equally slammed cover of Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move."

Miles looked shocked and not quite as elated as one would suspect, while the somewhat emotional Epperly began to well up when she said she'd learned a ton on the show and her elimination was "just a push for me to go do more stuff." The second go-round for "Earth" was a bit more energetic and had the personality the judges had been missing, though the vocals were still not great.

Then it was the guys' turn, as Tim Urban, Todrick Hall, Lee Dewyze and Casey James lined up on the stage. First to go through was sensitive pinup James, who played it safe with Keith Urban's "You'll Think of Me," followed by this year's true wild card, Urban, who seemed destined to go home after two horrendous weeks but somehow pulled out a strong vocal on Wednesday night with his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Not surprisingly, the much-praised Dewyze was safe, thanks to his serviceable cover of Owl City's "Fireflies," while dancer Hall was sent packing even after his big gamble with a gospel version of Queen's "Somebody to Love" that drew praise but didn't seem to endear him to voters.

Hall seemed to sense his number was up, staring blank-faced into the camera with a resigned look. He said he was just happy that fans came up to him over the weekend and said they'd voted for him. "This has been an awesome experience," he said. "I came here to prove that I'm not just a dancer, I can also sing. I think I've done that." The reprise of the bombastic glam-rock tune indeed proved that Hall has a powerful voice and strong performance chops that will likely keep the former Broadway star — who performed with onetime "Idol" Fantasia in "The Color Purple" — gainfully employed.

Seacrest mixed it up as he built the second half of the top 12, starting out with leading female contender Crystal Bowersox, who looked more nervous than she should have been as she got the good news, followed by Michael Lynche, who was a shoo-in following his searing, tear-jerking cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work."

During her second go-round on the show, Lacey Brown made it further than last year, when she washed out just before the live rounds. This year will be different, as she took a seat, along with jittery teen Aaron Kelly, who managed to make it to the top 12 despite a so-so performance of Lonestar's "I'm Already There."

That left Alex Lambert and Andrew Garcia standing with their arms around each other's shoulders awaiting the news. It was another shocking exit, as Lambert, who was beginning to overcome his paralyzing case of stage fright, got the bad news.

The men gave each other several deep hugs, and Lambert lamented how nervous he was during his run. "There's a lot of things America hasn't seen me do yet," he said. "And a lot of things I know I'm capable of. ... I wish I could have just broken out of my shell." Magnus was brought to tears, and Bowersox mouthed along as Lambert tried his best to keep his emotions in check during one more run through Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble," earning a group hug from the male top six at song's end.

The final pairing featured teen Katie Stevens and Lilly Scott awaiting their fate. Stevens, who was tagged as a potential winner of the whole thing early on, stumbled in the live rounds, unable to find a performance personality and repeatedly getting feedback from the judges that she came off as much older than 17 and needed to get more experience under her belt.

But, despite another poorly received performance on Tuesday, this time of Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway," America gave her the nod over Scott, a unique performer who won the judges over with her offbeat style, musical chops and a solid cover of Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces."

Scott looked dumbfounded at the news and genuinely bummed. "I thought I did really well, I thought I was appealing to a lot of people," she said, shaking her head while Stevens wiped away tears of joy. "I put my heart into every performance. I really gave it my all every time. ... I don't know what America wants to hear."

Without her mandolin, Scott sang another solid rendition of the 50-year-old country classic, singing it even more powerfully than she did earlier in the week, perhaps leaving the audience with a sense of an opportunity missed.

The show opened with one of the blandest group lip-synch numbers in recent memory, a vanilla waltz through Michael Bublé's bubbly "Haven't Met You Yet." Later in the program, returning to the stage were a pair of finalists from last year, dueling piano players Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre, who played a boogie-woogie version of Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It."

Next week, the top 12 contestants will be singing songs from iconic rock band the Rolling Stones.

"American Idol" viewers sent four more contestants packing on Thursday night (Mar. 4), as Haeley Vaughn, Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamor and John Park were eliminated from the competition.

After the entire "Idol" top 20 performed the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," the first contestant to receive the bad news from host Ryan Seacrest was John Park, a Northwestern University student who'd been criticized for sleepy song choices like John Mayer's "Gravity." Park seemed to take the news in stride, reminiscing about his audition chemistry with guest judge Shania Twain and saying, "I've really enjoyed my time here."

27-year-old Jermaine Sellers was the next to be sent home, after both he and Andrew Garcia were brought to the middle of the stage for a moment of suspense. Upon hearing the news, Sellers said, "Where I sing from -- you can't be taught how to riff and run and sing high notes. I'm a church singer. That's where I come from."

The first female contestant voted off was Michelle Delamor, who had performed Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" last night and received mostly positive feedback from the judges. "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi predicted that Delamor would be in trouble right before her elimination, saying, "as moved as I was in the room, when I went back to watch it, it was technically off." "I think I was so wrapped up in trying to do everything right while being judged that I kind of lost sight of just performing," said Delamor.

The final contestant eliminated was Haeley Vaughn, who was celebrated for her quirky style but criticized for her lack of training, as displayed in her shaky performances of the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and Miley Cyrus' "The Climb." "I think I could definitely use some more experience," said Vaughn.

Following Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta's "Idol" return last week, last season's third place-finisher Danny Gokey came back to perform "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me," the lead single from his upcoming debut album. An animated Gokey joked with Ellen DeGeneres and talked about his switch from adult contemporary to country music, explaining, "I love telling stories…I love connecting with the fans, and a lot of country artists do that."

"American Idol" continues with the top 16 contestants next Tuesday (Mar. 9). The top 12 will be revealed on Mar. 11.

"American Idol" voters said goodbye to the first four contestants of season nine on Thursday night (Feb. 25), eliminating Janell Wheeler, Joe Munoz, Ashley Rodriguez and Tyler Grady.

The eliminations followed two shaky performance nights that saw nearly all of the top 24 "Idol" contestants stumble under the pressure. Moreover, early favorites like Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens -- who were making their live performance debuts with the benefit of heavy promotion during the audition weeks -- lost their momentum thanks to poor song choices.

Wheeler had performed "What About Love" by Heart, while Ashley Rodriguez sang Leona Lewis' "Happy." Joe Munoz sang Jason Mraz's "You and I Both" and Grady performed "American Woman" by the Guess Who.

In between the eliminations, season eight "American Idol" champ Kris Allen stopped by to talk about his recent trip to Haiti, where he helped with earthquake recovery work as a volunteer for the UN Foundation. Allen performed the Beatles' "Let it Be," and his rendition was made available iTunes following tonight's episode, with 100% of download proceeds going towards Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

Allison Iraheta, last year's fourth place finalist, also returned to "Idol" to perform "Scars," the second single from her debut album, "Just Like You."

 "American Idol" continues next Tuesday with the top 20 contestants.

American Idol finally tossed some meat on the grill Tuesday, offering up the top 12 girls for their first live performances of the season.

One by one they trotted out like little lambs, some to be praised, some to be sheared—but actually very few to be slaughtered.

But at least the ladies who, according to Simon Cowell, are in trouble heading into Thursday's double elimination found a friend in none other than Ellen DeGeneres.

As someone who just "likes music," she seemed to be having a grand time, despite Simon and his wandering hands...

Paige Miles: It's tough to be first. But while Simon thought the 24-year-old from Naples, Fla., did her booming, soulful voice a disservice by choosing the "wedding singer" song "All Right Now" by Free, his fellow judges dealt solely in various levels of praise. "I agree and disagree with all of them," quipped Ellen.

Ashley Rodriguez: The 22-year-old's too-close-to-the-original, unspecial version of Leona Lewis' "Happy" did not have the desired effect—on us or the judges. "I couldn't really see you in there," Randy Jackson told her, while Simon, who counts Lewis as a protégé, called the performance "clumsy," with "no originality." The student from Chelsea, Mass., is gorgeous, but, so are the other girls.

Janell Wheeler: A Heart song already! But "What About Love" was just too big for the 24-year-old from Orlando, who hit some decent high notes toward the end, but riddled the rest of the song with shaky notes. "You gave it a 100 percent effort and probably delivered 65 percent," Simon said. Kara DioGuardi and Randy both agreed that the song was too big for Janell. Ellen, on the other hand, appears to be taking up the mantle abandoned by Paula Abdul. "I love that song and I thought you sang it very well," said the newcomer. "You moved easily onstage and tried to get into it…I liked it and I like you." (The compliments about fashion choices are probably just around the corner.)

Lilly Scott: The Beatles' "Fixing a Hole" doesn't generally come to mind first when it comes to the Fab Four's most concert-ready tunes—but the 20-year-old street musician from Denver made it work. "I think that's what we're talking about," Ellen said, referring to Lilly's defined sound, confident performance and apparent comfort in her own skin.

Katelyn Epperly: Another Beatles song, but with a completely different approach. The 19-year-old Iowan gave "Oh! Darling" the torch-song, cabaret-lounge treatment—but not necessarily in a bad way. Simon couldn't quite explain why, but he really liked Katelyn up there, as did everyone else. "Don't box yourself in," Randy, who was uncharacteristically eloquent tonight, advised her in response to Kara's concern that the teen had overdone it with the makeup.

Haeley Vaughn: And yet another tune courtesy of Lennon-McCartney. Haeley, 16 and fiercely precocious, pulled out her guitar for a reworked, slowed-down version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Totally unexpected and interesting, but the screamin' indie sensibility didn't match the pageant-ready smile plastered across the teen's face the entire time. "Just as someone who likes music," Ellen enjoyed it. But Simon found it "verging on terrible." "It if was a mess, it was a hot mess," countered Ellen.

Lacey Brown: You'd think it would be hard to do an unlistenable version of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," provided one could sing, but we didn't care for this. The arrangement was so…calculated. The 24-year-old church event planner from Amarillo, Texas, hasn't had an easy go of it, getting cut late in the game last year, and things didn't get any easier for her tonight. Even Ellen couldn't hang with it. "Terrible," Randy said flatly (after praising the awesomeness of the song), and Simon called it "quite depressing" and "kind of indulgent."

Michelle Delamor: Looking a little bit like Alicia Keys out there, the 22-year-old from Miami tried her hand at "Fallin'." Not bad, but not particularly inspiring, either. Was that because "it seemed so easy" for her, as Ellen suggested? No, it didn't pop because a serviceable version of a difficult song is not going to be good enough week after week.

Didi Benami: Reminiscent of Megan Joy but with a far more pleasing timbre to her voice, the 23-year-old L.A. waitress gave a very pleasing performance of Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am." We'll take her the way she is, but the judges didn't see much star power tonight. "For that first impression, it was a little low-key," Ellen, perhaps disappointed because she couldn’t get up and dance, said. And Simon was downright bored, finding the song "dreary."

Siobhan Magnus: This 19-year-old glass-blowing apprentice (when are we going to be writing that again?) from Cape Cod, Mass., tried to channel Chris Isaak himself while singing "Wicked Game," kicking the tune off with a shockingly low register before bringing the requisite high notes to the chorus. Overall, it was interesting. "You really are a funny little thing, aren't you?" Simon observed. "It's a beautiful song," Siobhan, sporting a Black Dahlia-reminiscent flower behind her ear, said in defending her choice. "It's haunting, it's memorable, I've always loved it."

Crystal Bowersox: And now we have a version of "Hand in My Pocket" we like better than the original. (All Alanis Morissette music pretty much defines the word indulgent, doesn't it?) The 24-year-old "musician and mom" got up there with her guitar and harmonica and instantly sounded as if she belonged. Of course, according to Simon, she belonged outside a subway station due to the lack of originality, but we would totally throw coins in her guitar case. "You were good tonight," Kara weighed in. "I think you have greatness in you, though."

Katie Stevens: That's a strong, mature voice the 17-year-old from Middlebury, Conn., has in her. Her affected sultriness onstage was a little off-putting, but, just listening to her do Michael Bublé's version of "Feeling Good," the kid has potential. "A little old for you," is how Ellen described it. Simon, completely agreeing, put it more bluntly: "Like your mum and dad had dressed you and given you the song for this audition, so it started to become annoying."

And that about does it for Tuesday's Idol.

It's going to be a busy week, though. We'll see how the top 12 guys do tomorrow, and then two boys and two girls will be kicked off on Thursday.

"American Idol" revealed the remaining 17 of its top 24 season nine contestants on Wednesday night (Feb. 17), following the previous night's unveiling of the first seven finalists and capping off over a month of audition rounds.

One by one, each auditioner entered the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles to hear their fate directly from "American Idol" judges Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson. Among the male contestants who made it through to the top 24 were Andrew Garcia, who charmed the judges throughout Hollywood week with acoustic covers of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" and Adele's "Chasing Pavements;" Todrick Hall, who has performed with season three "Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino in "The Color Purple" on Broadway; and Casey James, a 26-year-old Texan who sang Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor" and has been designated as a potential heartthrob of sorts.

The female contestants who were ushered into the top 24 include Crystal Bowersox, a single mother who played both the guitar and harmonica in Hollywood; Lilly Scott, an eclectic 20-year-old who impressed with Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Birdland"; and Lacey Brown, who made it all the way up to the same point last season, but ultimately lost her top 24 slot to Megan Joy Corkery, a contestant who would later finish in ninth place.

Not everyone was given good news, though. "Idol" hopeful Angela Martin had auditioned twice before but was ultimately rejected, a controversial decision made even more poignant by the Chicago native's personal story. Martin left the show's 2007 auditions rounds when her father was murdered, and her mother has been missing since late December, just weeks before she'd return to Hollywood for her third attempt at making the cut. 

Almost immediately after Wednesday night's episode aired, a rumor surfaced online that one of the original top 24 contestants had been disqualified. Viewers noticed that auditioner Chris Golightly appeared in the final group shot of the top 24 with host Ryan Seacrest, but he was not shown in the dance montage that immediately followed, during which Seacrest listed each top 24 finalist one by one. Golightly appeared to have been replaced by Tim Urban, who was not visible in the top 24 group shot but was named and shown individually during the montage.

Neither Golightly nor Urban's moment of truth before the judges aired during this week's episodes. The "American Idol" fansite Idol360 reports that Golightly was disqualified for an unspecified breach of contract and replaced with Urban, but Fox representatives were not available for comment on Wednesday night regarding the apparent switch.

Here is the complete list of 'American Idol' Top 24 finalists:

Did Benami
Crystal Bowersox
Lacey Brown
Michelle Delamor
Lee Dewyze
Katelyn Epperly
Andrew Garcia
Tyler Grady
Todrick Hall
Aaron Kelly
Casey James
Alex Lambert
Michael Lynche
Siobhan Magnus
Paige Miles
Joe Munoz
John Park
Ashley Rodriguez
Lilly Scott
Jermaine Sellers
Katie Stevens
Tim Urban
Haeley Vaughn
Janell Wheeler

The updated version of "We Are the World" not only has a completely different cast than its predecessor — only the late Michael Jackson remains, with his sister Janet singing along to his vocal tracks from the original — its sound is very current, with Auto-Tune flavoring many of the singers' voices and hip-hop verses being added to the proceedings. Lady Gaga producer RedOne and Haitian native Wyclef Jean assisted original "We Are the World" producer Quincy Jones on production duties.

It's on the second repetition of the chorus when the song begins to take on a life of its own, with Wyclef singing the song's title as translated into Creole, which is one of Haiti's official languages. From there, Maroon 5's Adam Levine channels Stevie Wonder. The Wonder similarities are only underscored by another Michael Jackson appearance, whose bridge, when he sings, "When you're down and out, and there seems no hope at all," remains intact.

The chorus of singers and actors then gets soft, with ad-libbed verses by Scherzinger, Nick Jonas, Melanie Fiona, Tony Bennett and the Fray's Isaac Slade recalling the verses provided by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and James Ingram in 1985. And then Lil Wayne reprises Bob Dylan's verse, with Carlos Santana furiously playing guitar behind him. In addition to Santana, Australian guitarist Orianthi lends her riffing skills to the track.

Pink, Akon and T-Pain add ad-libs as well, and then another callback to 1985 swoops in as Foxx channels the late Ray Charles, who was at the session 25 years ago. Foxx won the 2004 Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Charles in the film "Ray."

Hip-hop is a defining part of the pop landscape in 2010, and the new "We Are the World" reflects that. A Will.I.Am-penned verse is performed by a host of rappers, including LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, and Kanye West. Will and Kanye also have solo turns on the song, with each adding brief freestyles. The song ends with Wyclef emotionally toasting his homeland.

As usual, chaos, quarreling and drama ruled on group night on American Idol. Wednesday's show found the 95 remaining singers shoehorning themselves into unnatural combinations that mostly upped the already tension-filled pressure-cooker atmosphere as battle lines were drawn over choreography, harmony, personality and anything else worth arguing about.

Tears were shed, fingers were pointed, and lyrics were blown time and again, as the groups spent the traditional sleepless night working on their steps and trying to find their groove. Meanwhile, viewers' heartstrings were pulled by big Michael Lynche monitoring his wife's labor on his cell phone and listening as his daughter was born across the continent in New York.

First up was the group named Faith, singing Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" in near enough harmony to allow Charity Vance, Ashley Rodriguez and Michelle Delamor to advance, even with Vance's thin, squeaky high notes and spartan choreography.

Lynche was up next with Team Awesome, singing the Temptations' "Get Ready." Country hunk Tim Urban did his part, as did Lynche, but the group's other two members, third-timer Seth Rollins, a father of two, and Michael Castro, younger brother of Jason Castro, didn't make the cut. For Castro it was strike two in the Hollywood round.

Two groups chose to sing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and, fortunately for Team Neapolitan, they went first. While Liz Rooney's platinum-blond hair with pink highlights grabbed plenty of attention, her bum notes appeared to melt the group's chances. But Thaddeus Johnson and Pussycat Dolls-alike Jessica Cunningham redeemed the quartet with strong vocals. "I actually thought in its own way that was very good," Simon Cowell said, praising their effort to the chagrin of rival group Destiny's Wild, who were miffed that Neapolitan seemingly stole their idea to do the song a cappella.

Wild had nothing to worry about, as their strong vocals, acrobatic choreography and infectious energy won the day. Between Todrick Hall's gymnastics and soulful vocals, Theri and Jareb Liewer's impassioned singing and Siobhan Magnus' scratchy soul bark, Wild made it — just barely. "It really was weird," new judge Ellen DeGeneres said, comparing their outfits to Cirque du Soleil, but ultimately putting them through.

The Mighty Rangers struggled to get enough practice time, and while Tori Kelly and Maddie Penrose did their part on Ne-Yo's "Closer," the house fell down when Mark Labriola and Kimberly Kerbow both forgot the words, prompting DeGeneres to ask them to stop. Kelly and Penrose got good news, while a weepy Labriola, wiggy Kerbow and Danny Jones were sent home, with Labriola tearfully begging for one more chance in his last year of eligibility.

Just moments before Phoenix took the stage, one member bolted because she couldn't stand the pressure, leaving Ben Honeycutt, Jeff Goldford, Moorea Masa and Jermaine Sellers to soldier on singing Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son." It wasn't great, with Kara comparing it to "Survivor" and Cowell saying their excuses weren't cutting it. "The struggle was you had 12 hours to learn the song — that is not hardship," he said. Gritty crooner Goldford and smooth singer Sellers got passes, while the other two were sent packing.

Note to future "Idol" wannabes: don't pick Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape," because if you forget the lyrics and toss bum notes, you will fail. Stefani was not kind to Orlando auditioner Matt Lawrence, who spent four years in jail for robbing a bank when he was 15, or Amanda Shectman, who won the panel over at her audition with some drama-queen antics. Both bit it hard on "Escape," forgetting the words and mumbling so unintelligibly that Cowell didn't even let them finish. "There isn't going to be any 'You step forward.' ... It was so horrific," he said, summarily dismissing the quartet.

Middle C brought it with Janell Wheeler, Jermaine Purifory and pretty boy Casey James nailing their version of Ne-Yo's "Closer," while early front-runner Andrew Garcia lifted his group Three Men and a Baby higher, anchoring a solid performance of Alicia Keys' "No One" that also featured soulful turns from 17-year-old Katie Stevens and recent high school grad J. B. Ahfua.

The final group was the Dreamers, a five-piece that seemed to spend most of their time arguing. Rock mom Mary Powers started things off by throwing a nervous laugh into her intro on Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," which drew a harsh stare from Cowell. With lame choreography and thin vocals, things weren't much better for Texas bartender Hope Johnson, tone-deaf waitress Margo May or nervous-looking Texas teen Alex Lambert. "It's like the dream died somewhere on that stage," DioGuardi quipped.

Despite the drama, Powers, Johnson and Lambert made it through, joining the 68 other singers who made it to the next round. Hollywood continues next week in the wind-up to the choosing of the top 24.

Source: MTV.com

The most romantical season of the year is coming up... and so is the celebrity-laden, sure-to-be-schmoopy movie, Valentine's Day (read: date movie of the year).

The film boasts huge stars, including: Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Lautner, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper, Topher Grace, Eric Dane, Shirley MacLaine, George Lopez, Emma Roberts, and Taylor Swift.

The film comes out February 12th, and its accompanying soundtrack is released on February 9th... but you can stream the whole thing right here!

Plus, be sure to listen to Puddin all next week (2/8-2/12) from 6am-10am for your chance to win a very special Valentine's Day movie date pack, including 2 passes to check out the movie at Emagine Novi, popcorn, pop and a rose!

TRACK LISTING:

1. Taylor Swift "Today Was A Fairytale"
2. Michael Franti & Spearhead "Say Hey (I Love You)"
3. Jools Holland and Jamiroquai "I'm In The Mood For Love"
4. Willie Nelson "On The Street Where You Live"
5. Sausalito Foxtrot "Everyday"
6. Jewel "Stay Here Forever"
7. Ben E. King "Amor"
8. Amy Winehouse "Cupid"
9. Maroon 5 "The Way You Look Tonight"
10. Joss Stone "4 and 20"
11. Diane Birch "Valentino"
12. Nat King Cole "Te Quiero Dijeste"
13. Taylor Swift "Jump Then Fall"
14. Black Gold "Shine"
15. Steel Magnolia "Keep On Lovin' You"
16. Leighton Meester featuring Robin Thicke "Somebody To Love"
17. the bird and the bee "I'm Into Something Good"
18. Anju Ramapriyam "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours"

Of course, of course, we also have the trailer for you to check out. Enjoy!



For more deets on the movie, visit valentinesdaymovie.com