North Texas duo in Idol's 24, with maybe more to come
02/17/10 08:10 AM
By ED BARK
American Idol anointed seven of its 24 semi-finalists Tuesday night, with 24-year-old Todrick Hall of Arlington and Casey James, 27, of Fort Worth, still in the running for the Fox's mega-hit's Season 9 crown.
James, who auditioned in Denver, was the first to get the go-ahead. Judge Kara DioGuardi swooned in his presence, exhibiting a Paula Abdul-esque flair for over-the-top flirting. The hunky, long-haired guitar strummer also noted that he's originally from Cool, Texas, located between Weatherford and Mineral Wells in Parker County. DioGuardi has been giving him the goo-gah ever since he took his shirt off for her during auditions after she asked him to show a little more skin.
Hall got a simple "Yes" from the four assembled judges. He was initially taken back, but quickly broke into an unbridled celebration.
Still alive are 20-year-old Tim Urban of Duncanville and Alex Lambert, 19, of North Richland Hills, who will learn their fates Wednesday night when Idol picks the rest of their 24 semi-finalists. Actually, they already know their fates, because the "Hollywood Rounds" are previously taped. But you won't find any spoilers here.
Eliminated Tuesday night were Lloyd Thomas, 29, of Dallas and Hope Johnson, 19, of Arlington. Houstonian Christian Spear also was sent packing. All three hopefuls were gathered in "Room 2," which was dismissed en masse.
Seventeen North Texans -- and 26 Texans overall -- received "Golden Tickets" to Hollywood before further eliminations began at a fast clip last week.
Idol's first live shows begin on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, with the top 12 female survivors performing. It's the males on the following night before two of each gender are voted off on the Thursday, Feb. 25th results show.
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