What Went Down at the AMERICAN IDOL Results Show Taping?

Yesterday I had the fun task of attending the AMERICAN IDOL results show and the Top 13 party, where the contestants, judges and a few Fox stars celebrated season 10.

So what went down behind-the-scenes?

• At the taping, Randy Jackson stood and waved to fans after he came out. AMERICAN IDOL fans love them some Randy, and a group of audience members did a dog bark for him and he fist pumped back.
• Most of the audience stood and applauded the judges after the first commercial break and the trio waved to the adoring crowd.
• The audience was really into Scotty, Paul, Casey, James, Lauren, Pia and Thia. The place would explode when they were mentioned/we saw their performances, etc.
• Jennifer Lopez laughed when the clip package showed Stefano talked about her saying his name.
• Clint was the contestant most visibly shaken by his dismissal. He was clearly distressed, breathing heavily and a crew member had to come out and give him water.
• Marc Anthony came up to talk to Jennifer as she got touched up. The audience members who spotted him gave him a round of applause.
• The girls got up to hug the boys after eight of the contestants had been named.
• The boys were the more outwardly supportive group of the wild card contestants. They were nearly always on their feet, regardless of who was singing. The boys who weren’t in the initial top 5 group also shared a big hug during the commercial break.
• Marc’s wife might be the AI judge, but when the wild card contestants were singing, I spotted him intensely staring at the stage with his hand on his chin, taking in the performances.
• As soon as the show ended, Jennifer mass hugged as many contestants as her arms could fit, Randy hugged Ashthon and Steven Tyler hugged Lauren A. Eventually they split and hugged other people.

At the party, the contestants were mobbed, but they gamely took pictures with as many fans as possible. I managed to score a few minutes with country crooner Scotty McCreery to get his take on the intense audience reaction to him.

“I always appreciate the [audience] support,” he told me. “I hope I can give them something they like in the next couple of weeks, but I appreciate it all.”

However, just because Scotty was excited about making it through, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t mindful of the upcoming competition.

“We’ve been rehearsing for next week just in case [we made it through],” he teased. “Right now I’m living in the moment, but tomorrow we’re right back to work.”

Are you excited to see how the rest of AMERICAN IDOL season 10 turns out? Who is your favorite finalist?

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