Mercifully, "Hollywood Week" - it's kind of strange they call it that because the rest of the show takes place in Hollywood - came to a conclusion Tuesday night with the dreaded four-room elimination.

For those who don't obsessively follow "American Idol," the judges separate the remaining contestants (72 were left after last week's cut) into four groups, which are then put into different rooms. And room by room, the judges stop in to let each group know its fate.

The episode was essentially a recap of the previous Hollywood auditions. Certain contestants were highlighted and the viewers were shown clips of their three performances, with some one-liners from the judges thrown in for effect.

Drama was built up because "Idol" never revealed how many rooms would survive the episode; conventional thought would make viewers think two rooms would've been dismissed, but that wasn't the case. In the end, only one room was sent home (approximately 18 people).




Wednesday night's episode revealed the Top 36, where the judges finally welcomed the contestants to Season 8 of "American Idol." (Making the Top 36 officially makes people a part of the show? Apparently, the first four weeks don't count.) Everyone was brought to a mansion so they could have a face-to-face meeting with the judges.




This season featured a new twist, though. Contestants on the border would have to engage in a sing-off against someone else to determine who would move on.

The first sing-off was between Cody Sheldon and Alex Wagner-Trugman, two friends who wanted no part of facing each other in an elimination setting. Ultimately, Wagner-Trugman out-sang Sheldon and earned a spot in the Top 36.

In one of the more heated sing-offs, Kristen McNamara made it through instead of Jenn Korbee, much to the chagrin of Simon Cowell. Two more surprising members of the Top 36 club are Nick Mitchell ("Norman Gentle") and the incredibly annoying Tatiana Del Toro, both of whom received zero support from Simon. Look for Mitchell or Del Toro to become this season's Sanjaya Malakar - the person making the Top 12 by getting a ton of support from voters who are amused by bad contestants.

Even more controversy struck Thursday morning when Joanna Pacitti was removed from the Top 36. The following statement was put on the "American Idol" website: "Note: It has been determined that Joanna Pacitti is ineligible to continue in the competition. Felicia Barton has replaced Ms. Pacitti as part of the Top 36." The reason, according to the Associated Press, is that Pacitti "had a record deal with Geffen and released an album in 2006."

The night's only real surprise came when Jamar Rogers was sent home. Rogers had some great auditions, but it looked like it all came crashing down when he attempted - and didn't succeed - a rendition of "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's.

For a complete list of the Top 36, click here.

Some notables who made the Top 36 were Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai, Arianna Afsar, Megan Corkrey, Casey Carlson, and Jackie Tohn.

Moving forward, the remaining 36 contestants will be put into three groups of 12. From there, it will be up to the fans to vote their favorites through to the next round. Only Group 1 was announced Wednesday night and it includes:

Stephen Fowler, Ricky Braddy, Anne Marie Boskovich, Brent Keith, Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, Stevie Wright, Casey Carlson, Jackie Tohn, Danny Gokey, Tatiana Del Toro, and Anoop Desai.

Group 1 will perform next week on "Idol."


Story by Phil McRae

Starpulse contributing writer