[Netizen]

I found the article that I saw earlier that made the wild cards a bit confusing.

'American Idol' aims to enliven its upcoming live shows

Simon Cowell's critical eye goes beyond American Idol singers. He says this season's first live outing was "a bit flat."

Last Tuesday's show "didn't quite gel. There were some audio issues. The lighting felt too light, too daytime," the Idol judge says. "We know what went wrong and what we're going to do to fix it."

'IDOL' CHATTER: Follow all the action in our blog

Last week's singers don't get off the hook, either. Cowell praised some performers, calling Alexis Grace a welcome "dark horse," but says "there are better singers to come" as 12 compete again tonight (Fox, 8 ET/PT) and Tuesday.

Overall, Cowell is happy with Season 8, saying changes to the semifinal structure, including the return of judges' wild-card picks, will yield better finalists. In next Thursday's wild-card round, the judges bring back eight or nine singers — not necessarily just from the semifinals — and pick three to round out the Top 12. "I think when we put the 12 together, there will be more personality, more interest and just more diversity," says Cowell, who wouldn't specify standouts.

[slugbug]

Hopefully Jamar will be back then! Maybe Michael Castro too...oh and to Jonny’s chagrin-David Osmond!

[kevkrom]

Last Tuesday's show "didn't quite gel. There were some audio issues. The lighting felt too light, too daytime," the Idol judge says. "We know what went wrong and what we're going to do to fix it."

Whatever they "fixed", it didn't work. It seemed like several of the contestants couldn't hear the monitors.

[retrokitten]

I thought that they initially said it was only the top 36? Maybe they are realizing how boring this group is, too.