This week is the one we’ve been building toward for more than a month on American Idol.
Over the course of three hours on Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll discover who will be singing for our votes in Season 11.
But in my mind, there are still too many mysteries out there.
And I’m not talking about the makeup of the final 24.
Quick quiz Idol fans. Who are these people?
Among the girls: Aubrey Cleland, Chelsea Sorrell, Haley Johnson, Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Sanchez, Latia Lee and Wendy Taylor.
Among the guys: Adam Decker, Chase Likens, Clayton Farhat, Deandre Brackensick, River St. James and Scott Dangerfield.
They’re all among the top 42 on American Idol.
In some cases — hello, Aubrey and Hollie — we haven’t even heard their names mentioned on the show this season.
In others, we’ve seen them sing very briefly, but know nothing more than we could learn from those few notes.
In a conference call a couple of weeks ago, Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe said the show was trying to make sure we at least met the singers who made the semifinals by watching the auditions, Hollywood Week or the Vegas round.
That could be bad news for everyone from Aubrey to Wendy, from Adam to Scott.
Perhaps they haven’t been featured because they didn’t make the final 24.
Or it could mean we’ll be meeting lots of new faces in the Vegas solo round that kicks off Wednesday’s episode of Idol.
I hope it’s the latter.
Because whether they made the top 24 or not, anyone who advances this far on Idol deserves at least some screen time for their effort.
And no one on this show should enter the semifinals with the disadvantage of being an unknown to the audience at home.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the contestants mentioned above, follow the link attached to their name. You’ll find music clips with most contestants, though in some cases they’ve been disabled. For profiles on all of the top 42, go here.
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