The beginning of season seven starts with auditions from Philadelphia, PA.

A second round of auditions moves the judges to Dallas, Texas.

there was David Archuleta the 16-year-old who sang Waiting on the World to Change after having overcome partial vocal paralysis. there was an odd breathy quality to his sound though the judges didnt seem to pick up on that at all. One word of advice for David Hed better watch out when Ms Abdul is around because she had that certain look in her eye when he was auditioning

A couple of pairs provided high and low points of the night. One of my definite favorites of all the auditions thus far was Jeffrey Lampkin, who sang "I'm Your Angel" with his sister Michelle. The two of them pulled out some gorgeous harmonies, and you just can't underestimate that "oww!" factor that Jeffrey talked about.

The judges head to Omaha, Nebraska for round five of the best and worst auditions for a chance to head to Hollywood.

The show heads to Miami where the judges audition both good and bad singers from the area.

The seventh and final week of auditions moves to Atlanta, GA, where the judges will hear both the best and worst singers the area has to offer.

Chikezie auditioned last year, too, but Randy wasn't feeling him. This time around, he impressed everyone with his passion, power and clear tone. Other bests: Amy Davis, who sang "Blue Bayou" - when this stunner walked in, Randy said, "Nice shoes," but somehow I don't think it was her shoes he was looking at. Her voice was pretty enough but not particularly memorable.

On the first day, some of the hopefuls were sent through automatically, and those who weren't had to come back and sing again the next day a capella, in a do-or-die situation. It was nice to have it mixed up a bit, but the truth is, I kind of missed some of the classic elements - like the group performance

The cuts are revealed with 24 competitors remaining, 12 men and 12 women.

It was also fun to see the judges harassing and teasing each other - finally, it feels like Idol! Including Ryan being back to his old form; he's already stirring up trouble with Simon and man-handling the contestants. It's nice to see that some things never change. But of course it was all about the singers tonight, starting with... David Hernandez,

As Randy put it, "Season 7 is turning out to be the year of the young ones." I couldn't agree more; three of my faves thus far are all under the age of 18. Though I felt like smacking Ryan when he commented on the fact that Alaina was sweating after her performance - he used to do that all the time to Elliott Yamin.

The top 24 find out who will be the first of four voted off the show, two men and two women.

The remaining ten male singers perform in the second round of the competition.

The remaining ten female singers perform in the second round of the competition.

2 men and 2 women of the 20 contestants are voted off the show.

It's 1980's night as the eight remaining males perform a song from that era.

It's 1980's night as the eight remaining females perform a song from that era.

Speaking of ho-hum, for those who didn't catch it, Paula's single is not the No. 1 downloaded song on iTunes, as Ryan sort of implied, but rather the top music video. Which is only slightly less disturbing. Anyway, the first couple of guys to take their seats were no surprise, namely David C. and David A.

All 12 finalists, the 6 males and 6 females perform in this episode from The Beatles songbook.

The other "celebrity" in the audience tonight was Sanjaya Malakar, who was there with his sister, though they never identified him and the camera only lingered on him for a moment. Oh, and Danny Noriega, I suppose returning the favor of Ramiele's song dedication to him last night, was sitting with her family and wearing a T-shirt with her face on it. It's all so... teenage-BFFs, isn't it?

The remaining eleven contestants take to the stage in a two hour episode singing more songs from the Beatles songbook.

Poor Chikezie was temporarily dissed, but Ii is sure to add him back as soon as possible. Now, I have to admit something: I hate the elimination shows. we just can't stand the cheesy group numbers and bad product placement videos. But, let's hope they prove me wrong, and I'm thoroughly entertained.

The surviving ten performers will each sing a song from the year in which they were born.

Another of the ten remaining contestants is voted off the show. Kimberly Locke returns to perform a song.

Scary! Brooke White, "Jolene": Brooke has a voice that can do almost any genre of music, and country is a very nice fit for her. She's just not as obvious as Kristy Lee. However, this song is lacking some good drama for Brooke to sink her teeth into. Randy thinks she rushed parts, but it was all right.

Time for the music video: We see the Idols playing basketball "downtown" with some tough looking dudes, and of course, their Ford cars. It's short and sweet. Nice shot at the end, Brooke! Back to the results! David Cook, after telling Ryan and the audience that his high blood pressure is under control, is safe! Ramiele and Kristy Lee.

The remaining eight contestants perform songs of inspiration for this episode.

The annual fund raiser for U.S. and international charities known as Idol Gives Back will feature appearances by Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Bono, Mariah Carey, Billy Crystal, Miley Cyrus, Chris Daughtry, Celine Dion, Fergie, John Legend, Annie Lennox, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Maroon 5, Brad Pitt, Snoop Dogg, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie Underwood, Robin Williams and Reese Witherspoon.

Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks make a guest appearance and perform a song. One of the remaining eight contestants is eliminated from the competition.

David Cook, "Always Be My Baby": what an interesting song choice! The lower notes aren't great but he definitely makes this song his own and rocks the middle and end of it. Randy thinks it was awesome, and actually gives him a standing ovation. Then, Simon freaks out the audience by starting with, "That was like coming out of karaoke hell.

Kristy Lee is totally singing through her nose, but man, is she workin' her outfit. She will totally pull a Pickler and take the country world by storm. The rest of the Idols do a nice job, but picking a song about "shining down on me from heaven," must be so hard for David Cook to sing (considering his brother is so sick).

The songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber are performed by the remaining six contestants.

Guest Andrew Lloyd Webber performs before one more of the six finalists are voted off.

Jason Castro, "Forever in Blue Jeans:" Really, he should have been gone a few weeks ago. its totally bored, this version of "Blue Jeans." Even the crowd looks bored. David busts out the electric guitar and totally rocks this song .It just looks so easy for David C. others perform on neil diamond's songs.

One of the five remaining contestants is voted off the show. Guest performers Neil Diamond and Natasha Bedingfield sing.

The final four contestants sing songs from the Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame.

Ryan introduces the video recap of last night, Then it's time to start eliminations, and Ryan brings out Archuleta. If you're a big fan of that awesome Ryan/David banter in which Ryan tries to get David to either relax or loosen up or say something even little bit interesting, and David responds by smiling and laughing uncomfortably and then saying what he's been told to, then you were totally in luck tonight.

Randy says it was a "dope" choice, and almost wishes that DA was playing the piano. That would have made it better, agreed. DA is additionally "in the zone" and "in it to win it," "baby." Paula calls him a "storyteller," and loved it. Simon thought it was "very good" but lacking in surprise, also predictable, and whatever.

The finals will be set after tonight's episode when one of the final three contestants, David Archuleta, David Cook or Syesha Mercado is eliminated.

Live from the Nokia Theater L.A. Live, the two finalists, David Cook and David Archuleta, compete for one last time.

The final two contestants David Cook and David Archuleta have battled it out to the finals. Now tonight one of them will be crowned as the American Idol champion. The top 12 finalists will reunite on the stage at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live.