American Idol: Season 7 Top 24 Contestants in Battle

Season 7 Contestants Presented by:

• Top 12 Contestants
• Best of The Rest

• 

  Amanda Overmyer

  Age: 23
  Mulberry, IN
  Voted Off: 3/19/08
  

• 

  Brooke White

  Age: 24
  Mesa, AZ
  Voted Off: 4/30/08
  

• 

  Carly Smithson

  Age: 24
  San Diego, CA
  Voted Off: 4/23/08
  

• 

  Chikezie

  Age: 22
  Inglewood, CA
  Voted Off: 3/26/08
  

• 

  David Archuleta

  Age: 17
  Murray, UT
  RUNNER-UP

• 

  David Cook

  Age: 25
  Blue Springs, MO
  WINNER!!

• 

  David Hernandez

  Age: 24
  Glendale, AZ
  Voted Off: 3/12/08
  

• 

  Jason Castro

  Age: 20
  Rockwall, TX
  Voted Off: 5/07/08
  

• 

  Kristy Lee Cook

  Age: 24
  Selma, OR
  Voted Off: 4/16/08
  

• 

  Michael Johns

  Age: 29
  Buckhead, GA
  Voted Off: 4/10/08
  

• 

  Ramiele Malubay

  Age: 20
  Miramar, FL
  Voted Off: 4/2/08
  

• 

  Syesha Mercado

  Age: 21
  Sarasota, FL
  Voted Off: 5/14/08

*Updated with final two contestants*

After this week, we'll learn who our Top 24 'American Idol' contestants are -- but why wait when spoilers abound! The folks at Joe's Place have distilled the remaining 60 down to the 24 we'll have our eye on at the end of this week.

But the real intrigue here isn't who's on the list, but who isn't! Read on if you want to be seriously spoiled as we head to Las Vegas.

Ashton Jones

Age: 24
Hometown: Goodlettsville, TN
Audition City: Nashville
In a Nutshell: We saw little of Ashton early on but after surviving the Ashley Sullivan group performance drama, Jones broke out the next night with a little "Dreamgirls" action.

More Ashthon: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube
Brett Loewenstern

Age: 16
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
Audition City: New Orleans
In a Nutshell: Brett continues to wow the judges with his unique tone and uncanny resemblance to Simply Red's Mick Hucknall.

More Brett: Facebook
Casey Abrams

Age: 19
Hometown: Idylliwild, CA
Audition City: Austin
In a Nutshell: Casey brought his A-game (and an upright bass) to Hollywood with 'Georgia on My Mind.'

More Casey: Facebook, YouTube
Clint Gamboa

Age: 26
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Audition City: San Francisco
In a Nutshell: While Gamboa may be a Karaoke King back home, he lost favor with fans (and perhaps even the judges) when he kicked the cherubic Jacee Badeaux out of his group.

More Clint: YouTube
Haley Reinhart

Age: 20
Hometown: Wheeling, IL
Audition City: Milwaukee
In a Nutshell: After making it through the group performance "by the skin of her teeth" according to J.Lo, Reinhart redeemed herself the following night, belting out 'God Bless the Child.'

More Haley: MySpace
Jacob Lusk

Age: 23
Hometown: Compton, CA
Audition City: Los Angeles
In a Nutshell: Jacob is another member of the Top 24 who seemed to come out of nowhere. His powerful performance of 'God Bless the Child' blew the judges away and reduced Jacob, himself, to tears.

More Jacob: YouTube
James Durbin

Age: 21
Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA
Audition City: Los Angeles
In a Nutshell: James has amazing vocal range. The real question heading into the finals is will he know when to reel it in and when to go big?

More James: Facebook, YouTube
Jordan Dorsey

Age: 21
Hometown: LaPlace, LA
Audition City: New Orleans
In a Nutshell: The seemingly humble music teacher quickly came out of his shell on group night, but like Clint, he may not be the most likable of the bunch.

More Jordan: Facebook
Jovany Barreto

Age: 23
Hometown: Harvey, LA
Audition City: New Orleans
In a Nutshell: Though his striptease audition might not have set the tone for a serious contender, Jovany is still hanging on to his 'Idol' dream -- and his shirt.
Julie Zorrilla

Age: 20
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Audition City: San Franciso
In a Nutshell: Julie might just be the total 'American Idol' package. She's got the looks, the voice, the piano chops and of course, the sob story.

More Julie: Facebook
Karen Rodriguez

Age: 21
Hometown: New York, NY
Audition City: Los Angeles (via MySpace)
In a Nutshell: Karen is probably the one argument 'Idol' producers can make for holding MySpace auditions next year.
Kendra Chantelle

Age: 22
Hometown: Loudon, TN
Audition City: Nashville
In a Nutshell: Another impressive performance of 'Georgia on My Mind' kept Kendra safe in Hollywood.

More Kendra: YouTube
Lauren Alaina

Age: 15
Hometown: Rossville, GA
Audition City: Nashville
In a Nutshell: Lauren's got the chops, but all the sucking up to Steven Tyler might be her undoing in the end.

More Lauren: Facebook, MySpace
Lauren Turner

Age: 24
Hometown: Covington, LA
Audition City: New Orleans
In a Nutshell: Turner made it to Hollywood in season 4 and won a local Christina Aguilera impersonation contest. Winning 'American Idol' would be a serious upgrade.
Naima Adedapo

Age: 25
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Audition City: Milwaukee
In a Nutshell: We haven't seen much of Naima since learning of her janitorial duties at SummerFest. Hopefully, this week we'll learn why she's in the Top 24.
Paul McDonald

Age: 25
Hometown: Nashville
Audition City: Nashville
In a Nutshell: Paul's an established performer in his native Nashville and that experience has apparently earned him a slot in the Top 24.

More Paul: Official Site, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook
Pia Toscano

Age: 21
Hometown: Howard Beach, NY
Audition City: East Rutherford, NJ
In a Nutshell: Pia made it to the Top 40 in season 6 and sang the national anthem at a Mets game so clearly, she can handle the pressure post-Hollywood.

More Pia: Facebook, YouTube, MySpace
Rachel Zevita

Age: 22
Hometown: New York, NY
Audition City: East Rutherford, NJ
In a Nutshell: New Yorker Rachel Zevita also made it to Hollywood in season 6 and this time around she's looking to take it all the way.

More Rachel: YouTube
Robbie Rosen

Age: 16
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Audition City: East Rutherford, NJ
In a Nutshell: Robbie's one of this season's strongest musicians and he's got the vocals to match.

More Robbie: Facebook, YouTube
Scott McCreery

Age: 16
Hometown: Garner, WI
Audition City: Milwaukee
In a Nutshell: Scott faltered through group night, singing about the "nuts of wonder in your jeans," though he's apparently learned the lyrics to whatever he's singing this week.

More Scott: Facebook
Tim Halperin

Age: 26
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Audition City: Los Angeles
In a Nutshell: Tim's an accomplished singer-songwriter who could be this season's breakout rocker.

More Tim: Facebook, YouTube
Stefano Langone

Age: 22
Hometown: Kent, WA
Audition City: San Francisco
In a Nutshell: After miraculously recovering from a terrible car accident, Stefano continued to evolve as a talented musician, earning him a slot in the Top 24.

More Stefano: YouTube
Tatynisa Wilson

Age: 20
Hometown: Aurora, Ill
Audition City: Milwaukee, WI
In a Nutshell: Like Scotty McCreery, Tatynisa also got creative with the lyrics for "I Hope You Dance," but must have fared better with The Beatles, this week.

More Tatynisa: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace
Thia Megia

Age: 15
Hometown: Tracy, CA
Audition City: San Francisco, CA
In a Nutshell: This is Thea's second run on a major reality show competition. She did it on season 4 of 'America's Got Talent,' making it to the quarterfinals.

More Thia: Facebook YouTube


According to Joe's Place, Chris Medina, John Wayne Schulz, Jackie Wilson, Eryn Kelly, Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Cunningham and Keisha Lewis have all been confirmed as cut. And while not "confirmed" by omission it looks like Jacee Badeaux is gone, too. Shudder to think!