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Thia goes the next level on 'AI'

Several blogs ago, I tried to downplay Fil-Am singer Thia Megia's successful audition on "American Idol."  After all, she was only one of several hundred hopefuls who made it to the Hollywood phase of the contest. I wrote that she still had a long way to go before we start celebrating.  On Friday, February 18, that number was down to a hundred and Thia was still around. She had an impressive solo performance (J Lo whispered to Randy Jackson during Thia's number that she was amazing.). Her rendition of "What a Wonderful World" was truly amazing. She didn't even have to show off her powerful voice to score a perfect 10.

The question was would she make it to the "Top 50" who would go on to Las Vegas where the top 24 would be chosen by the judges. After Vegas, the decision would be thrown to the viewers until only one remains.

At the end of the Hollywood auditions, the 100 contestants were divided into four groups and asked to wait in four separate rooms. When Randy, Steven and Jennifer came in with the results, it was the contestants in Rooms 1 and 4 who were moving on to Vegas. Did Thia make it? There were no shots of her in the winning rooms so I couldn't tell if she did.

I searched the web but the sites were largely unreliable. I looked for the official site of American Idol under the Fox TV banner and there, under the heading, "Las Vegas Hopefuls" I found Thia's name along with 61 others. Wow, this girl's road to the final 12 was getting shorter and shorter.  Later in the evening, QTV, which airs the "AI," confirmed what I had read on the web. Thia had indeed made it to Vegas.

Thia's formidable competition

Randy Jackson stated that this year's batch is the best in "AI's" 10-season history. I tend to agree with this observation based on the performances that were aired yesterday. Thia is in for a tough fight. Casey Abrams stood out because instead of a guitar or the piano, he brought along a stand-up bass as his accompaniment. His jazzy version of "Georgia on My Mind' merited a standing ovation from the judges. Jacob Lusk's vocal calisthenics in his rendition of "God Bless the Child" was awesome. In fact, he got so affected by his performance, he actually broke down offstage. Lauren Alaina's rendition of "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," Steven Tyler's own hit with Aerosmith, convinced me that she could make it to the final 24. Ashton Jones, who tackled a difficult song, "And I Am Telling You," is another standout.

There were several 15-year-olds in the group but Jacee Badeaux caught my attention because aside from his bulky physique, he looked more like a 12-year-old.  While most contestants sang with the band, there were some who preferred to sing a capella. Ashley Sullivan regretted her decision. She forgot the lyrics of her song and was quite distracted because her boyfriend was watching. In contrast, the presence of his mom presented no problem to John Wayne Schulz who aced his song.

Like Ashley, Ta-Tynisa Wilson forgot her lyrics and had to ask the judges if she could start again to no avail. She still messed up. Ditto Scotty McCreery who had to invent his own lyrics. Despite these mistakes, they still made it to the next round...

Others were out of tune because they were not in sync with the band. They got bad feedback from the judges. Chelsea Oaks was affected by the sudden illness of her roommate and best friend, who had to leave the competition. She performed badly and was eliminated.

The Las Vegas round is going to be more difficult than Hollywood because the competition is going to be more heated. Thia has got her work cut out for her.

Photo courtesy of American Idol/Fox

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