And the Lucky 13 are....

The Top 25 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:

Phillip Phillips
Jessica Sanchez
Holly Cavanagh
Joshua Ledet
Heejun Han
Shannon Magone
Skylar Laine
Elise Testone
Colton Dixon
Jermaine Jones

In my opinion, it's a very mixed bag. The best thing is that America got it right by voting for Jessica Sanchez to be moving forward. She is the clear front-runner. It is also very nice to see Jessica joined by Holly, Skylar, Elise, Joshua and Colton. 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. Heejun should have never even made the Top 24, so I can't figure out at all why people are voting for him. He comes off as rude, insincere, offensive and an all around unpleasant jerk. As for Phillip, Shannon, and Jermaine: 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 Jen Hirsh who totally squandered this opportunity by serving up a bland and boring vocal performance of a forgettable song.

The next was Jeremy Rosado who served up an emotional rollercoaster rendition of the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood's I Know You Won't. While there's no way anyone will ever be able to match her exception vocal performance, Jeremy tugged on our heartstrings and proved himself once again as the most genuinely likeable young man the Idol stage has ever seen. He hit some of the big notes very well and ended the song in tears just like he surely affected many of the fans in the audience.

For some reason the judges wanted to hear Brielle Von Hugel sing again and she gave her best effort with Adele's recent #1 smash Someone Like You. The few glimmers of good singing were far out numbered by the not so great stuff that we never want to see or hear again.

There is no confusion at all with understanding why the judges next selected Deandre Brackensick to sing for his life. He has a clear and pure vocal range that is effortlessly impressive. He is able to easily transition to every note on the scale unlike anyone else in the competition. He applied his skills and talents to Georgia On My Mind and it was simply musical and vocal perfection.

There is also no confusion regarding the fact that Erika Van Pelt was asked to step back into the ring. She poured every ounce of her heart and soul into her powerful performance of Edge of Glory that Lady Gaga took to the top 10 last year. 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 Reed Grimm. He performed Use Me that Bill Withers took to #2 in 1972. While he may not have a future as a recording star, this energetic young man is very talented and dynamic on stage. He has a great sense of showmanship and he's a lot of fun to watch.

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

Erika Van Pelt
Jeremy Rosado
Deandre Brackensick

Unfortunately there wasn't room for Creighton Fraker to be included on the Miss American Idol stage one more time and that is a real shame. He is clearly a very talented young man and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.