And the Lucky 13 are....

The Top 24 is going to get chopped down to only 13 finalists moving forward in the competition.

Based on the votes from America, this is the Top 10:

Scotty McCreery
Lauren Alaina
Pia Toscano
Karen Rodriguez
Jacob Lusk
Casey Abrams
Thia Megia
Paul McDonald
Haley Reinhart
James Durbin

In my opinion, it's a very mixed bag. The best thing is that America got it right by voting for Thia Megia to be moving forward. She is the clear front-runner. It is also very nice to see Thia joined by Pia, Karen, Paul and James. All of these contestants have very good voices combined with fresh, entertaining and fun personalities.

The others, though, are going to have to work very hard to win me over into thinking they belong here still. Haley Reinhart should have never even made the Top 24, so I can't figure out at all why people are voting for her. As for Casey, Jacob, Scotty and Lauren: they are all very over-rated by the judges. The judges gush over them no matter what they do and it feels like they are force feeding them onto the viewers. The judges can keep repeating that they are the best things ever, but I still haven't seen it from these finalists yet.

So with three more positions to fill the judges asked six of the remaining finalists to sing for their lives!

The first to get another chance was Ashthon Jones who pleaded her case with the fantastic diva anthem from Dreamgirls that was made famous by Oscar winner and Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist, Jennifer Hudson, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. She once again brought all of her fabulous vocals and attitude to the stage and looked and sounded great.

The next was Stefano Langone who served up a a dynamic vocal extravaganza with his heartfelt, passionate and emotional rendition of I Need You Now. He seriously connected with every lyric in the song and made us feel it with him as we watched him sing.

For some reason the judges wanted to hear Kendra Chantalle sing again and she gave her best effort with Georgia on my Mind. It started out as an awkward droning sound and then it became a very unpleasant screech-fest. What were they thinking?

There is no confusion at all with understanding why the judges next selected Jovany Barreto to sing for his life. He is easily the most captivating male finalist American Idol has ever seen. In addition to his chiseled and stunning good looks, he has a clear and pure vocal range that is effortlessly impressive. He applied his skills and talents to Jon Secada's Angel and it was simply musical and vocal perfection.

There is also no confusion regarding the fact that Naima Adedapo was asked to step back into the ring. She poured every ounce of her heart and soul into her flawless performance of For All We Know. She is the genuine real deal and it comes through every time the audience is blessed with hearing her sing.

The final opportunity was given to Robbie Rosen, and he is another that should never have even been in the Top 24. His version of Sorry seems to be the Hardest Word was very strained and cumbersome.

I am happy to report that the final three slots were all given to very worthy contestants:

Ashthon Jones
Stefano Langone
Naima Adedapo

Unfortunately there wasn't room for Jovany Barreto to be included and that is a real shame. He clearly has the whole package and then some! With his looks and talent he should end up with some other exciting opportunities.