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IDOL WATCH: The Top 24 Revealed, Part 1!

IDOL-WATCH-The-Top-24-Revealed-20010101

On tonight's episode of AMERICAN IDOL, the final judges' eliminations began after weeks of cuts. Whittling down the numbers from 42 to 24 is no easy task - who made the cut and who didn't? Find out now!

Things get of to a quick start, with Jen Hirsch facing the judges to find out her fate. "One of the best singers this year," Randy tells her. "You made it, you made it, you made it."

Creighton Fraker, who shared a group with Jen for much of the competition, is up next. "It comes down to who we think will touch America," J-Lo says. "We think you have a good chance of doing that - you made it!"

The same good news won't be forthcoming for Lauren Gray, who started out strong but struggled in Las Vegas. "I knew it was coming," Gray says, but adds that she doesn't know if she'll be returning for another season.

Joshua Ledet, another early standout, is an easy "yes" for the judges; he'll be joined by Haley Johnson, Elise Testone and Erika Van Pelt.

Reed Grimm takes a risk by playing only the drums with his voice for his final performance for the judges. "What we were looking for was an American Idol singer who's got all that," Steven Tyler tells him, "And that'd be you! Congratulations."

Chelsea Sorrell and Bailey Brown were the only two of their Las Vegas group to make it through to the top 40. After much deliberation, they'll be reunited next week - both country singers are selected for the top 24.

Another pair of contestants with some history are Heejun Han and Richie Law, who got into a bit of a spat over how group week should be run. Both eventually made it through to the top 40, but in the end Richie's headed home and Heejun is headed through.

Jessica Sanchez is just 16 years old, but Jennifer has a no-brainer question for the teen: "Will you join our top 24?"

The same is asked of Phil Phillips, Colton Dixon and Brielle von Hugel, with Adam Brock left as a cliffhanger to close out the show.

Tune in tomorrow to find out who completes the top 24!