Meet the 'American Idol' Top 24 Contestants

by Bronwyn Berger-Hughes Feb 25th 2011 at 1:31PM

This is what it all comes down to ... many got the golden ticket to Hollywood, but only 24 remain after last night.

The final part of Hollywood Week whittled us down to the Top 24 'American Idol' contestants. Thanks to our friends at TV Squad on AOL TV we have the rundown on the 'Idol' top 24.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.'

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.

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?

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.

Jovany Barreto

Age: 23
Hometown: Harvey, LA
Audition City: New Orleans
In a Nutshell: Though his attention-getting 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scott McCreery

Age: 16
Hometown: Garner, WI
Audition City: Milwaukee
In a Nutshell: Scott faltered through group night, messing up lyrics to the song, though he's apparently learned the lyrics to whatever he's singing this week.

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.

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.

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.

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.

See tons of clips from all the auditions and various Hollywood Week performances. 'American Idol' airs on Fox on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET.

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