It's time to determine who the final 24 are. We start off with the usual recapping - from thousands to 193 to 44 to.... 24. 12 Boys. 12 Girls. We are now 3 weeks after the final auditions. The judges have made their decisions, and each person will sit down and hear the judges decisions. This ought to be intense...

As we talk to the contestants, we see the holding room, as all 44 people are there. The order is random, as we have cameras in the 30 second elevator ride up, down and to the judges room. Sure, let's get more drama.

9:15 - The first person is Matthew Kester - the person who survived last week's train wreck/Paula/Simon argument. He is the first person.... Out. We see a montage of other people leaving, including Nathaniel as the first 6 people to come up are leaving disappointed.

Contestant #7 - David Brown, who was the congregation leader. He says that he made it, thanks to prayer. The prayers... have been answered. David is the first person to get to the Final 24.

Who will be joining him?

Tammy Nash and Jessica Sierra are next. The two friends are next to each other. Jessica goes first - and she moves on. Tammy is next, and she... doesn't. She cries with her family as Tammy joins her in an unhappy hug, but they are still friends forever. AwwwwBarf.

Nikko Smith (Yes, related to Ozzie) holds on to his lucky coin - and he gets in. Aloha Mischelou doesn't have anything lucky, and the decision is split... but she gets in - and she wants a donut.

Mikalah's mom is saying that her daughter is wonderful and she deserves to win. As for Ms. Gordon, who is from Vegas, she says that she learned a lot - but she couldn't put herself through this next year. Mikalah rolls... boxcars as she is in! She screams and mobs the judges, then in turn mobs her mom. Plenty of AwwwBarf to go around.

3:40 pm - and we have nerves going around (and a lot more people who got in or out without us knowing). Anthony Fedorov (Tracheotomy) is up next, and he gets in, as does Nadia (wild hair) Turner and Vonzell Solomon and Carrie (country singer) Underwood. On the men's side, Judd Harris joins him.

We have people who didn't go in either, like Erin Furey (who loved the experience), Ivan Ganchev and Yolanda Macintosh, who was also disappointed.

Next up is Faith Gatewood - and she also did not get in. She gets into tears even before she leaves the room and can't even press the right floor on the elevator. That would be how devastated she is. She starts rambling and she runs into Ivan Ganchev - someone else who didn't get in. That's not going to get her any sympathy as she runs out. Ryan consoles her, but she still talks about how she just wanted a shot to be on the show - a show she is not getting.

There were some happier moments for Sarah Mather, as she gets in. Celena Rae is also in a state of shock as she advances - and hugs Nadia Turner.

After a bunch of painful eliminations, Janay Castine is next as her mom is very concerned downstairs. We don't hear what the judges say, but we find out that she got in and mom goes nuts. Joseph Moreno, who was very consistent, gets in. Anwar Robinson, though told that he should be back teaching the kids...gets in.

We hear two of the three crooners with the disastrous effort. One of them, Kurtis Parks, was already eliminated earlier. The last Jefferson brother and John Zisa (the second part of the crooning disaster) join him. JP, the last member of the trio is up... and the crooner is gone. He is stunned and can't get out of his seat. He stays there, and is hoping for a different answer. He doesn't get it, and goes up to hug the judges. That ends the reign of the crooners as we hear him sing from the Hollywood auditions. Too bad that he one bad song which got him. "I'm 28. This is the last year of the journey for me." That it is...

...but will life go on for Lindsey Cardinale? It will, as she gets in. Melinda Lira joins her in the winner's Circle. Mario Vasquez gets in, but Kim Holloway does not.

Then there are the rockers. Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis are a pair of 29 year old Rockers. They think that only one of them are getting in. Bo goes first... and he gets in. Constantine thinks that his goose is cooked - but he gets in as well. Jared Yates... will be joining him as he gets in as well.

We have 5 people left - and 3 spots available. Amanda Avila and Jaclyn Crum think that there are two spots left for them - but there is only one. Jaclyn is asked if she would reaudition, and she says yes. Amanda says... no. Simon tells Jaclyn that she... is going home. Amanda advances and runs to her family. Jaclyn cries in her mother's arms, but if she reauditions, I think that Jaclyn will make it to TV land.

Now for the guys - 3 people left, 2 slots. The people are Scott Savol, Travis Tucker and Warren Nolan. Scott goes first... and he gets in. That leaves Travis and Warren. Travis... gets in, which finishes off Warren.

With that, we see the blatant 5 minute recap. To recap this for next week...

Monday - Men - Judd Harris, David Brown, Anwar Robinson, Bo Bice, Mario Vasquez, Anthony Fedorov, Nikko Smith, Constantine Margolis, Scott Savol, Travis Tucker, Jared Yates and Joseph Moreno

Tuesday - Women - Nadia Turner, Celena Rae, Jessica Sierra, Melinda Lira, Mikalah Gordon, Aloha Michau, Janay Castine, Lindsay Cardinale, Vonzell Solomon, Amanda Avila, Carrie Underwood and Sarah Mather

My take? Much better this year than last year. I think they pretty much hit the guys on the money. I can't think of a guy that should be in there that isn't. Sure JP would have been nice, but he screwed up his group song and he has no one to blame but himself. My faves in the guys - David, Mario, Anwar and Scott, with Nikko as a dark horse.

As for the girls- there are a few girls that I thought should be here that aren't (like Jaclyn, Angel and Jessica, the 27 year old big-boned woman), but I have to say that the women who did make it are very good and they are all deserving as well. My top picks here - Nadia, Jessica, Amanda and Carrie, with Mikalah as a dark horse.

Overall - This is certainly better than AI3. Could this be the best group ever? AI2 was very strong, but this group certainly can rank up there. Only time will tell...

That ends the round of 44. Chico will be back on Monday for the men, I'll be back on Tuesday for the women, and we'll both be back on Wednesday with the results.