Well, FOX certainly saved the BEST for LAST with last Wednesday night’s Auditions Finale, with some of the best auditions from all the cities that were visited. Certainly some serious talent was shown, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see several folks in the Top 10-12 when it’s all said and done!

Of those ticketed and moving on, here’s Eddie’s thoughts on those that we will see in Hollywood from Wednesday night’s show …..

· Jessica Furney- 20 year-old from KS who showed up at the Denver auditions. She tried out for Idol in 2009 and didn’t make it to Hollywood. She sings a song that was written by Simon, risky move on her part, but Simon and the judges liked it. Doubt she makes it through Hollywood though.

· Amanda Schectman- 19 year-old theatre student from NY who auditioned in Boston. She’s a major drama queen, and Simon was absolutely hilarious in giving her a YES to Hollywood. She’s no Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, but she’s certainly going to demand her share of camera time in Hollywood. This girl will be annoying to say the least!

· Lee Dawyze- 23 year-old who plays guitar, sang “Ain’t No Sunshine” and did it quite well. Not sure he has quite enough talent to get through Hollywood.

· Crystal Bowersox- Another 23 year-old from Ohio who plays guitar and sang Janis Joplin’s “Another Little Piece of My Heart”. Great voice! Dark horse for TOP 24!

· Lacey Brown- 23 year-old from Amarillo, TX. She participated in the Orlando auditions. I remember this girl well, she was Top 50 in Season 8 and was bumped for Megan Joy to move on, which at the time, I thought was a BIG mistake. She’s a very good singer, and has great composure. She sang a very un-traditional version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and it sounded awesome! Her previous experience with Hollywood Week will be an asset. I’m sticking my neck out here and saying she’ll tour….TOP 10!

· Rachel Hubbard- Cute 16-year-old high school student from Boerne, TX. A good voice, but NOT Top 24 material.

· Thaddeus Johnson- Another 16 year-old from OK City, OK….who I did NOT think should have been ticketed at all. Thought he screamed the song, and has pitch and range problems. Will NOT make it thru Hollywood’s first cut…..pack a light bag Thaddeus!

· Genesis Moore- Another 16 year-old high school student from GA who Randy said was ‘one of the best 16-year old’s he’s heard yet’. I thought she was very good too. Dark Horse for TOP 24!

· Michael Lynch- 26 year-old personal trainer from Astoria, NY. BIG guy, massive but well built, with a decent voice. Sang a controlled version of ‘Unchained Melody”…..but struggled with the high notes. This will be his undoing in Hollywood.

· Didi Bename- 22 year-old, out of Hollywood, CA, sang in honor of her friend Rebecca, who died four years earlier. Her bluesy version of the Beatles’ hit song “Hey Jude” was filled with lots of passion and emotion. She kinda’ reminded me of Megan Joy (mentioned her earlier), even had the shoulder shimmy and all….scary! But this girl has way more range and is on a clear path back to possibly go deep in the competition. She’s TOP 24 material for sure!

· Aaron Kelly- 16 year old from Sonestown, PA. Where’s that you say? In Sullivan County, west of Scranton and east of Williamsport. Very tough life for this kid, who’s mom and dad moved around a lot and could not provide properly, so he was taken away and raised by his aunt and uncle. How can you not pull for this kid? According to his MySpace page, he’s been singing since he was 9 and he has clearly prepared for this moment. He attended an Idol Camp in 2007 and competed at Disney World’s new attraction, The American Idol Experience, last year to earn the right to audition in front of Randy, Kara and Simon. His version of Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” was a fitting choice, and he sang it well. Randy had one of his few good comments this season: “And that voice comes out of somebody shy, which is cooler to me and more endearing.” Watch this kid….TOP 24 for sure!

· Hope Johnson- 19 year old waitress/bartender from Arlington, TX who, like Aaron, has had a very tough life. She has 6 brothers and sisters and comes from a very poor family upbringing. Plays the guitar and is a very cute girl with a likeable personality. Unlike Aaron though, she will have a tougher road. Her version of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” was stripped down — no bellowing, no runs, no layered notes like Lee Ann’s version, it felt very thin at times. Randy was spot on, telling her to “work on completing your phrases.” I hope she makes it to the Top 24, but I fear she may have a hard time in Hollywood.

The bottom line….Lots of talent in this last show, it’s too bad we didn’t see this much talent and more week in and week out during the auditions on FOX. Look for some of these folks to go far!

Fast Facts: One again, the FINAL breakdown of Golden tickets handed out: 26 in Denver. 31 tickets in Dallas, 23 in Los Angeles, 31 in Orlando, 13 in Chicago, 25 in Atlanta and 32 in Boston……181 total going to Hollywood out of over 100,000 Idol contestants…..and only 24 (Top 12 Guys and Top 12 Girls) will compete for the Season 9 Title after Hollywood Hell Week, which will air this week and next week on FOX, is all over. The TOP 24 Finalists will be announced on Wednesday night, February 17^th from 9-10PM.

Idol Chatter: I bought Kris Allen’s Album debut off of I-Tunes, a 12-song compilation that after a few listens, sounds good. It’s what I expected from Kris. I’m not blown away by it, but I’d highly recommend it. I will admit that Adam Lambert’s CD is definitely growing on me! His ballads are just incredible, and the ‘Mad World’ song is hauntingly amazing. (Kimmy: Oh yes, 'Mad World' is indeed entrancing!!)

OK, so….are you ready for Ellen? I’m not sure I’m ready, and truth be told, I’m not quite sure just what she’ll bring to the table. More ‘Eddie Idol’ chatter to come after Tuesday night’s first show from Hollywood and the first taste of the Ellen DeGeneres experiment on FOX, but for now……Eddie Idol is…..OUT!