Some may call it rigging the show so that the producers ensure they get someone marketable as the eventual winner; some call it levelling the playing field for people who might have made bad choices and not be a typical tweenage girl's voting choice, but may start to shine with a little coaching.
But whatever you think - it's here and it's happening. Eight contestants as revealed in yesterday's edition will face the judges once more. Three of them will be put through to the final twelve.
And yes, they've probably decided already, barring someone either pulling a showstopping act of genius or a career-crashing act of disaster out of their hat. But still. This is where we find out the final twelve. Finally.
8.00pm: "To make it onto this stage is an incredible feat - to get a second chance is something of a miracle" says Ryan Seacrest, somewhat overblowing the power of the judges and producers into Lourdes type of territory.
"This is the Wild Card show, and this is American Idol"
Yes, and this is the single hour into which you have to cram eight songs, three drawn out decisions and the usual eleventy billion adverts. Best get on with it.
8.03pm: And to be fair, it starts almost immediately, without too much faffing about talking to the judges and the usual flirt-off between Seacrest and Simon. Straight into Jesse Langseth singing Tell Me Something Good. Or, as I first understood it "Tell me someone's turned Ryan Seacrest's microphone off early by mistake".
It's a rocking little blues song, and she seems to be a confident - but a little wobbly on the whole question of 'being in tune'.
The judges think she has swagger - they seem to like her a lot. Which is somewhat surprising: a lot of people are wondering whether she was an obvious person to come through to the Wild Card round - not quite so memorable as others... But still, the signs look good for her: they're surprisingly complimentary, and hardly mention her 'interesting note choices' at all.
8.08pm: He's a duelling-pianist from Kalamazoo - Matt Giraud is here to bring back the soulful guy they put through in the first place.
He sings Who's Loving You by the Jackson Five, and even though there's only one of him (apart from when he's duelling, of course, then there's him and another pianist, thrashing it out together) he kills it. It's a little over the top - and he seems to be trying to look more like Justin Timberlake than ever: scarf, little hat and all. But he's good. So much better than that Coldplay travesty last week.
The judges also say this. They seem to be being very nice to everyone, though, so I don't know if we should listen overly much to what they have to say today. Until the end, obviously. That's why we're here.
8.16pm:: Still beautiful, still with tattoos that would make a sailor jealous, Megan Joy Corkrey sings Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, and sings it well - or all the way up to the last note at least.
She looks an awful lot like Reese Witherspoon tonight, though. Just saying.
When it comes to the judges - and I know I just said I was going to ignore them, but it's fun to hear them saying only entirely positive things. It's like reading a job reference for someone that only reads 'Mostly punctual': "Good choice of song!" croaks Paula, about twenty times. "And you looked really good. And joyful! And that was a really good choice of song for you. You chose that song well!"
Yowch. Bet she's through, though.
8.21pm: He came into this show all Somewhere Over The Rainbow and acted the confident crazy fool - but tonight Von Smithsang Sorry Seems to be The Hardest Word .... and it's really boring. boring and nasal.
Even the judges can't find that much positive to say about it. "You're usually a really good singer" seems to be the soaring height of their praise.
If it's going to be two women one man going through tonight, he's not going to be the one. Not on that performance, poor little wail-trooper.
8.28pm: Jasmine sings Reflection - by Christina Aguilera and from some Disney movie or other. "When will my reflection show who I am inside?" wail the plaintive lyrics. Which is interesting coming from someone so pretty.
The judges are ... you guessed it: lovely to her. She looks great, the song choice was interesting, she's 100% better than the last time they met ... blah blah blah.
8.33pm: Ricky Braddy is still cute as a button and still reminds me of Will Young (first Pop Idol winner in the UK, way before American Idol was ever born, in case there are actually any Americans reading this) but with far FAR tighter trousers.
He sings Superstition with great confidence and whoomph and likability. he does have a DREADFUL habit of not finishing his words at the end of the lines, though. "Very Superstitio .... Wash your face and Haaaaa ... Fifteen month old Baaaay ....". I wouldn't put him through unless he promised to stop doing that. But then, I'm mean.
"You can sing your butt off!" says Kara, who's obviously stopping short of mentioning that his trousers are probably the only thing keeping it on.
After the break - Anoop and Tatiana. If Anoop falls through, Ricky would do, I suppose. Though I'll always love the duelling pianist from Kalamazoo. If only because of being able to say that.
8.40pm: "Now friends, it's - you who it is .." well, it's either tatiana or Anoop, Seacrest, you said that before. "It's Tatiana!"
We cut to a video of Tatiana, in which she's developed a very strong Puerto Rican accent - a far stronger accent than we've not heard before, and which is frankly weird. But, she's returned to the over-emotional state of her early auditions, so the producers are really happy.
She sings Saving All My Love For You - which she's done before, no? it's: you know - it's Tatiana. It's technically ok - but they've heard it before.
Simon's deeply unimpressed. "Rubbish" he says "Are you going to sing that in the next round too?" - Paula asks about the accent, she talks over the judges, she even brings out the laugh.
If they put her through for the drama of it, there'll be a mutiny, I tell you.
8.46pm: I love Anoop, I think he's lovely - but he comes on stage and sings My Perogative, which he sang to get through one of the earlier rounds, and I'm not sure that repeating songs so early on is going to do him any favours. He does it well, though. Give the man fair due. The audience scream like there's a crazy person with a a chainsaw in the room. (I mean, I can't SEE Tatiana, I assumed she'd just gone to sit down again but you never know...)
The judges are uncommonly nice about the song - even though they've heard it before - and about him, because everyone in the room clearly loves him.
"I wanted to get up and dance, and I don't get up and dance" says Kara.
"If a North Carolina boy like me can make a New York girl want to get up and dance ..." says Anoop, and Kara bats her commendable eyelashes.
At the end, he sends a message out to Chapel Hill - his university? His hometown? Saying he knows they're all thinking of 'Eve' today and he loves them all - and that's a bit weird, and no one quite knows whether to whoop or clap or what ... luckily for them, we cut to a break.
8.54pm: Immediately back from the break - and the judges have decided.
He gets Jasmine to stand up.
"Randy, is there a spot for Jasmine?"
"Sad to say, Jasmine ... you're going to be seeing a lot more of us." they've got two and a half minutes to get through this, and they're going to do the whole big faking out thing? Sigh.
Jasmine Murray however is Through to the final twelve.
8.56pm: Ricky Braddy? Not through. Ach well.
Ryan calls Tatiana and Megan up at once.
After a little speech on how hard these competitions are and how painful etc, from Paula:
Megan Joy Corkrey will be the one going through to the final twelve
Tatiana is sad, and goes to kneel in front of the judges desk. No one knows quite why. They cut to a break - I think that might have been a good plan: can Tatiana before you know you're cutting to a break anyway: you've got yourself coveredin case of sudden hysteria.
Final place ...
8.57pm: Oooh, though, this is the exciting bit: Von, Matt Giraud (a duelling pianist from Kalamazoo) and Anoop.
And ... well, it clearly wasn't going to be Von, based on the judges reaction to him earlier - so now between Matt and Anoop and
Crikey Blimey! It's both of them!
Unable to decide, the judges are having a Top Thirteen:
Both guys, Matt Giraud, d.p.f.K and ANOOOP! are through.
Hooray!
9.00pm:
Ok so: bit of a cop out, and now more than a quarter are made up of judges rather than public choices (what next year, they're going to let the public choose two and handle the rest themselves?) but I wanted those two boys to go through, so don't really care.
And now, to sum up, the full thirteen are:
Michael Sarver gruffly roughneck from somewhere down South where men are men and cows get eaten whole. He's the oldest contestant this year (by a couple of months), only slightly older than ...
Danny Gokey good looking, a powerful voice AND a heartstring-tugging story. His wife died only weeks before his first audition - he's quick to tear up, but can also sing a storm: Simon must adore him.
Alexis Grace is a stay-at-home mother - one of those 21 year olds who has a habit of sounding - and looking - like someone much older and more experienced. Like Kelly Clarkson, the judges said (she won, you know...)
Allison Iraheta cute as a button, a tiny teenager with lungs like the front end of a 747. A bit rock, and Simon's 'one to watch' - she has enormously thick hair. That's not why she's in the competition, it's just always the first thing I think when I think of her.
Kris Allen nice chap, almost completely unmemorable, but just the right kind of cute for the voting demographic. May go far (for that reason).
Adam Lambert - has dark floppy hair and is extremely adorable in an Emo kind of way (if that's what the kids are still calling it) though rocks a musical-theatre singing style that may polarise judges and voters alike.
Lil Rounds is another one with a brilliant voice, a great stage presence AND a sob story to boot.You want to vote her off? Her house blew away in a tornado, you big meanie! etc - but of course can also sing up a storm (no offense intended). A firm judge favourite.
Scott MacIntyre is more confident when he's sitting at a keyboard, but he's good in a soft-rock mainstream kind of way all the same - and scores highly with judges and voters for overcoming challenges - Scott is almost completely blind, and has been all his life.
Jorge Nuñez is the one remaining auditionee from Puerto Rico, and full of Latin spirit. Damnedly good looking and able to power-ballad with the best of them. Powerballadise? Powerballate? Oh whatever.
Jasmine Murray is the first of the Wild Card choices and should appeal strongly to the Miley Cyrus market: as soon as they can get her to step away from the big songs and embrace her youthful perkiness. Woo! (Sorry, I just felt like that sentence should end with a 'woo!' It felt right.)
Megan Joy Corkrey is another young mother - and, interestingly, a font designer. Fun factfor you there. She also has tatttoos. I don't know who designed them. From the looks of it, possibly the resident artist of the Hell's Angels Youth Wing.
Matt Giarud is a duelling pianist from Kalamazoo. and if that isn't the most magical sentence you've heard today, then you, my friend, live a charmed life indeed.
Anoop Desai finally, is a grad student from North Carolina and a fan favourite. Slightly geeky and with a likable stage presence, he was the extra contestant admitted to the final twelve, making it a final thirteen for the first time in Idol history (I think)
