Last night in a dramatic results show, it was announced that Jasmine Trias from Mililani, HI and John Stevens from East Amherst, NY were chosen by America to become the next two contestants to make the Top 12 on American Idol.
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Trias and Stevens were the two top vote-getters in their group and have advanced to the finals, joining Fantasia Barrino, Diana DeGarmo, Camile Velasco, Matt Rogers, La Toya London and Amy Adams in the Top 12.
Next week, in a special "Wild Card" episode, 12 contestants will return to the American Idol stage, but only eight of them will be given a chance to perform for America one last time. The judges will watch the wild card contenders perform during rehearsals and based on those efforts, they will chose eight contestants to compete for four spots in the Top 12 on Tuesday, March 9 (8:00-9:30 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed).
Viewers will choose one contestant and the judges will each pick one contestant to join the Top 12, for a total of four contestants who will advance. The eight wild card competitors will return to the stage the next night to find out which four of them will advance in the competition, as the results are revealed during the weekly live broadcast on Wednesday, March 10 (8:30-9:30 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed).
At the end of the March 9 episode, the phone lines will open and America can vote for their favorite contestant(s) via toll-free telephone lines until 11:30 PM ET/PT (10:30 PM CT/MT), subject to time zone restrictions. American Idol viewers who subscribe to AT&T Wireless may also use text messaging to vote by sending the word "vote" to the four-digit short numbers (5701, 5702 etc.) for the Idols of their choice. Each week, viewers will call or text one of the designated numbers -- each one corresponding to one of the performers -- to cast their vote.
The 12 semifinalists who will have another chance at the Top 12 on the Wild Card episode next week include:
Elizabeth LeTendre, age 20. Elizabeth is a dance instructor at Kara Anderson's Dance Studio in Sturbridge, MA, and a receptionist/salon assistant. Elizabeth was born in Southbridge, MA and has been dancing ballet, pointe, tap and jazz all her life. She thinks the AMERICAN IDOL judges make a great team as Simon pays keen attention to detail, Paula encourages the contestants and keeps the men in line, while Randy evens the team out with a mixture of both personalities.
Eric Yoder, age 24. A pilot who loves cooking, Eric's favorite pop artists are Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Eric graduated in the spring of 2002 with a degree in aviation science. He most identifies his musical style with Clay Aiken -- and the judges agree. Eric was born in Sullivan, IL and has been living in St. Louis, MO for the past six years. His advice to other singing hopefuls: "Practice, patience, and you have to believe in yourself."
George Huff, age 23. George, from New Orleans, LA, is currently a music education major at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. Self-described as a jazz, blues and gospel artist, Huff comes from a family of singers and at the age of 5 realized he loved to perform. Since then he has performed in almost every church in the state of Louisiana. George has also performed in New Mexico and Europe and was involved in many school choirs.
Jennifer Hudson, age 22. Born and raised in Chicago, Jennifer has been singing since the age of 7. Although she has never had formal singing training, Jennifer has been working on a cruise line as a singer and actress. Jennifer's favorite artists include Beyonce, Celine Dion, and Ruben Studdard. Jennifer believes that an American Idol is someone "who is an extremely talented, well-grounded individual with every bit of star quality."
Jon Peter Lewis, age 24. Jon Peter was born in Lincoln, NE and now resides in Rexburg, ID, where he attends BYU-Idaho and studies pre-med. He speaks Spanish, some French, Catalan, and bits and pieces of a few Nigerian dialects. His favorite singer of all time is Sting. Jon Peter's advice to other singing hopefuls is to "Love the music in yourself, not yourself in the music."
Katie Webber, age 22. Katie is a choreographer and dance teacher from Santa Cruz, Calif. Currently studying dance at San Jose State University, she most identifies her own style with that of Beyonce. Katie's favorite foods are pizza and ice cream. Katie began singing at the age of 8, and says that her favorite judge in the competition is Simon because "he's honest."
Leah LaBelle, age 17. Leah is a full-blooded Bulgarian who was born in Toronto, Canada. She currently lives in Seattle, WA, where she is a junior at James A. Garfield High School. Leah's parents used their touring music group to escape from communist Bulgaria and she hopes their music will carry on through her.
Lisa Leuschner, age 21. Lisa appeared on the audition episodes for the second season of American Idol, but this year her voice has carried her farther than before. Lisa has lived in Santa Cruz, CA her entire life. Her American Idol is Stevie Wonder. Besides singing, Lisa enjoys dancing and writing parodies with her friends.
Marque Lynche, age 23. Born in St. Petersburg, Fla. and now living in New York City. Marque studied at Fordham University and recently was a dancer on Broadway in "The Lion King." His favorite type of music is R&B and his favorite male pop artist is Joe.
Matthew Metzger, age 23. Matthew currently works as a substitute teacher in Oxford, OH. He began singing at the age of 4. Besides singing, Matthew loves playing basketball, football, baseball and foosball. He describes his vocal style as pop-rock. Metzger currently resides in Oxford, Ohio. In May 2002 he completed his bachelor's degree in marketing at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Susan Vulaca, age 21. A former native of the Fiji Islands, Susan moved to the United States six and half years ago and now lives in Phoenix, AZ. She currently works as a receptionist at Smith Barney and donates her spare time to kids. Her favorite type of music is jazz, but she also has a great love for the Carpenters, ABBA, the Bee Gees and Chicago.
Tiara Purifoy, age 22. Tiara recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin, where she earned her degree in human resources. Tiara, also known as "T", was born and raised in the small town of Beloit just outside of Milwaukee, WI. She loves French fries, Whitney Houston, and her favorite song to sing is "Tomorrow" from the musical "Annie."
American Idol Tuesday and American Idol Wednesday rank as the No. 1 and No. 2 programs of the season among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers.
Five-time Emmy Award-nominee American Idol was created by Simon Fuller of 19TV and developed by FremantleMedia. Executive producers are Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe for 19TV and Cecile Frot-Coutaz and Ken Warwick for FremantleMedia North America. 19 also manages such leading musical artists as Annie Lennox, Will Young, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.
