American Idol Recap :: Tuesday February 9 :: Wednesday February 10

Courtesy of Fox

Hollywood Week is finally upon us and that means grueling group auditions! Standing out in the crowd has never been more important. Imagine working so hard to get to Hollywood only to get your dreams squashed by some ninnie who can’t remember the lyrics! Contestants needed to choose their group members wisely! Let's see how they did.

Tuesday Highlights

Tuesday was Ellen DeGeneres’ first night as a judge. She held her own against Simon and wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows like we thought she’d be—Ellen is a tough judge! Kara was impressed by Ellen’s performance too. “I felt she had a really good handle on whether a contestant had potential and star quality," Kara said. "She knew if something was off in the vocals or in their performance. And I thought she delivered the message with kindness but also had criticism in there.”

Wednesday Highlights

Michael Lynche of Team Awesome decided to stay for Idol auditions instead of going home to see the birth of his first child. He got two miracles that night—a baby girl and a pass to the next round.

Another Team Awesome dad wasn’t so lucky. Seth Rollins had hoped his third Idol audition would be the charm, but he’ll be returning home to care for his autistic son earlier than expected.

Mary Powers stayed true to her name by overpowering everyone in her group, The Dreamers. There may have been four other people in The Dreamers, but Mary was the only one you heard! Despite an off-key performance, she and two others managed to survive. Hopefully Mary never has to collaborate again because she is definitely fit for a solo act only!

Teams Neapolitan and Destiny’s Wild shared some drama over song choice—both sung an a cappella rendition of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. Destiny’s Wild accused Neapolitan of stealing their ideas, but both groups wowed the judges so they’ll have to save the catfight for the next round.

Only 71 contestants remain. Next week that number will be whittled down to 24—it’s going to be a tough competition!

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