SAYING GOODBYE...TOP 24

It looked as though my picks for the bottom were right, as we said goodbye to GARRETT HALEY, AMY DAVIS, JOANNE BORGELLA, and COLTON BERRY.

Yes, there were tears.  Lots of tears.  Tears I would have expected to see at a Top 5 elimination show.  Tears that had me scratching my head and wondering, "Just how close were these people?"  I was looking for Boyz II Men to walk out and started singing, "It's so harrrrrdddd, to say goodbyyyyyyyeee, to yesterdayyyyyy......"  :p However, the tears, in their genuineness, were a salute to the personalities of those who were voted off.  They were well-liked.  I wish them all the best of luck.

Highlights of the Night:

• The group's 60s medley.  I love these things, no matter how cheesy they get.  The guys' black and white suits were hot, and the ladies outfits with hairdos to match rounded out the whole picture nicely.
• Carly's updo.  It was so "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
• Amanda sporting color-coordinated extensions, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but on that stage performing a badly choreographed song.
• Paula's humanizing mix of excitement and embarrassment preceding the debut of her video for "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow."
• Paula's video.  It was decent.  I just wanted to see her break it down like she used to do when I was 13 years old!  :p
• Simon's honesty.  It's so refreshing.
• Chikezie's very visible relief when he was given at least one more week to get it right.
• Garrett's response to Simon's comments about his looks.  "I've been pale all my life...I haven't gone tanning."  Heeee!!  :D
• The humor in Simon's claim that he doesn't use reverse psychology.  I only half-agree with that.  The man plays mind games!

Lowlights of the night:

• Ryan's elimination tactics.  He should have just knocked Garrett's feet from under him while he was at it.  On a side note, Garrett didn't appear to be affected too much.
• Amanda in the bottom two.  What?!
• The fact that I was totally unmoved by those we said goodbye to last night.  Their singing was mediocre at best, especially the ladies.  Judging from their Hollywood week performances, single mothers Suzanne Toon and Angela Martin could have easily replaced Joanne and Amy.  Easily.

Well, that's one results show out of the way.  I expect them to get harder and harder to endure as the show progress.  Chikezie, Luke, and Jason all got another chance to prove they have what it takes.  Let's hope they bring it next week!!