Simon made it clear tonight after Crystal Bowersox's performance that she is the clear cut favorite.

At this point, I have to agree with him. She's got the confidence she needed and she knows who she is as an artist. She should be recording an album now. She is definitely the one to beat. I don't think there's anyone even close to her, not even one of the guys.

Here's what I thought about tonight's performances.

Katie Stevens (Breakaway) -- I don't know what this poor girl has to do to please the judges. She's taken their advice every time. Tonight, she didn't sound old. Her voice is one of the best, but I think being in the number one spot and having an OK performance is going to put her in jeopardy.

Siobhan Magnus (House of the Rising Sun) -- She's powering her way to be one of the front runners and quickly one of my favorites. The beginning of the song was haunting and it was just a powerful, awesome performance.

Lacey Brown (The Story) -- Good song choice for her voice. A very cool sound. This is why she's here. Best performance to date.

Katelyn Epperly (I Feel the Earth Move) -- Not my favorite performance from her. It was a little boring. Standing at the keyboard was kind of cheesy. I hope she's safe though because I love her voice.

Didi Benami (Rhiannon) -- The style of song fit her voice perfectly. This is what she showed us during Hollywood week. Her best performance yet, but is it enough?

Paige Miles (Smile) -- It's a great song, but she just butchered it. I don't care how emotional the song makes you, if you can't get through the song you shouldn't sing it. It was weak. She just can't pick the right song. I think it finally caught up with her. She should be going home.

Crystal Bowersox (Give Me One Reason) -- Another solid performance from an already seasoned performer. Awesome.

Lilly Scott (I Fall to Pieces) -- I totally disagree with the judges on this one. I didn't get it. It seemed whiny and the squinty eye thing was kind of annoying. I like the original better. She's had way better performances than this one.

Top 3: Crystal, Siobhan and Didi.

Going home: Katie Stevens and Paige Miles.

Idol notes
* Simon Cowell was on "The Tonight Show" Monday night. He wouldn't confirm his engagement to girlfriend Mezghan Hussainy, but did say he thought Adam Lambert should have won Idol last season.
* A Los Angeles man has plead guilty to stalking Ryan Seacrest.
* Scott MacIntyre and Matt Giraud will perform on Thursday's kick off show.

If you tuned in to American Idol on Tuesday night and thought it was Wednesday -- relax -- you didn't miss the girls performances.

Contestant Crystal Bowersox had to be taken to the hospital for "undisclosed medical issues." Ryan Seacrest said under doctors orders she was not allowed to perform tonight, so the guys performed tonight instead.

For the most part, every guy improved on their performance from last week. (Although, that shouldn't have been too hard considering what they offered last week.)

For me, the top performers tonight were Lee Dewyze, Michael Lynche and Aaron Kelly.

Here's what I thought about the performances:

Michael Lynche (This Is A Man's World) -- I like this soulful R&B side of Big Mike. Crazy better than his performance last week. He should be around for a while.

John Park (Gravity) -- There was nothing special about this performance. There's no doubting he has a great voice, but I didn't like it. Wrong song choice again.

Casey James (I Don't Wanna Be) -- When you've got the original to think about and then several former contestants have sung this song too... that's a lot it can be compared with. And I'm sorry, but Bo Bice sang the heck out of this song in season four. It was just an OK performance. BTW, does anyone else think sometimes he sounds like a sheep when he sings? Sometimes that vibrato goes a little too far.

Alex Lambert (Everybody Knows) -- WOW!!! Probably the biggest turn around from last week. Great sound, good performance. But will somebody please get this boy a haircut!! The mullet is not in style nor should it have ever been!

Todrick Hall (What's Love Got to Do With it) -- Um ... as Simon would say ... I thought it was indulgent. I just didn't like it all. Very disappointing.

Jermaine Sellers (What's Going On) -- Very karaoke version of the original. Chorus was OK but ick!

Andrew Garcia (You Give Me Something) -- I totally disagreed with the judges. He sounded very current. Just a good performance.

Aaron Kelly (My Girl) -- Perfect song to make the tweens scream. He could be this year's David Archuleta, but with a much better voice. Awesome performance.

Tim Urban (Come On Get Higher) -- Better than last week, but so was everyone else. Not up to par.

Lee Dewyze (Lips of an Angel) -- Perfect song choice. The changes in the song were good. He sounds a lot like the lead singer of Hinder. I really liked it. He's definitely a front runner.

Going home on Thursday: Tim Urban and John Park.

The girls took the stage for the first time.

Each chose songs from Billboard Charts hits. Song choice was weak. Only a few chose the right song for them. It will be interesting to see how the voting turns out. It could be close between all of them.

After the first performance, I'd have to put Lilly Scott out front, with Katie Stevens a near second. Even though Katie got a bad review from the judges, she definitely has a powerful voice that I think could carry her far into the competition.

Here's what I thought of tonight's performances.

Paige Miles (It's Alright Now) -- She started off the night with a bad song choice. She sounded better in the Hollywood week clip they showed, but she did have some nice moments in the song. I'd like to hear more from her because we haven't heard hardly anything from her.

Ashley Rodriguez (Happy) -- It was a bad imitation of Leona Lewis. A little whiny in spots. A couple of bright spots maybe.

Janell Wheeler (What About Love) -- Not a good song choice. She didn't really showcase her voice.

Lilly Scott (Fixing A Hole) -- The first to really get the song choice right. She showed off the bluesy sound she has.

Katelyn Epperly (Oh Darling) -- Good performance. A bit of a quirky sound. An interesting voice.

Haeley Vaughn (I Want to Hold Your Hand) -- A unique interpretation of the song. A bit screechy at times.

Lacey Brown (Landslide) -- It's a good song, but not when sung by her. I didn't like her interpretation. I felt it was all over the place.

Michelle Delamor (Fallin') -- It's a big song and artist to be compared to, but she did a good job of making it her own.

Didi Benami (The Way I Am) -- I totally disagreed with the judges. I thought it was the perfect song for her voice. She definitely knows herself as an artist.

Siobhan Magnus (Wicked Games) -- Great voice. She connected with the song. It's a hard song to sing and I thought it was great choice. I think people will remember her more for the Hollywood Week final performance though.

Crystal Bowersox (Hand in My Pocket) -- Not the song I would have picked for her, but she sang it well. I love the guitar/harmonica playing. She does the hippie chick thing well.

Katie Stevens (Feeling Good) -- She has an incredibly powerful voice for a 17 year old. The judges were right. The song was too old for her, but there's no denying she has an amazing voice.

Men are up next and they better bring it. Simon said this is the girls' year and he may just be right.

American Idol's Top 24 is getting ready to square off in front of millions this week for a spot in the Top 12.

While nerves are running wild for contestants, judge Simon Cowell says things are going well for the judges. The sometimes grouchy Brit has said he and Ellen are getting along fine.

But Cowell said the judges' table doesn't feel the same without Paula Abdul.

"Amazingly, even though we used to argue a lot, she was somebody I got close to," he told Entertainment Weekly. "We would hang out together after the show. She always made me laugh. She was funny. It is not having your friend on the show any more, so I do miss her."

Is anyone surprised? We know Simon is leaving after this season. Anyone think Paula might end up on his new show "The X Factor?"

The Top 12 girls take the stage Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Top 24 contestants have finally been revealed.

If you were counting last night (and I was) only 23 contestants were told they were going through. When they showed the 24 as a group, contestant Chris Golightly, was among the singers. Golightly was disqualified and replaced with Tim Urban. Apparently, Golightly had some type of old management contract that had ended in June.

There are still rumors that Michael "Big Mike" Lynche was kicked out, too. His supposed departure is because his dad spoke to a Florida newspaper and broke Idol's confidentiality agreement. As of now, Lynche is still in.

The Top 12 girls will perform Tuesday, the boys on Wednesday. Here are the bios of the Top 24 so that you can get to know them better.

Aaron Kelly
Age: 16
Hometown: Sonestown, Pa.
Audition city: Orlando
Favorite artists: Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts.

Alex Lambert
Age: 19
Hometown: North Richland Hills, Texas
Audition city: Dallas
Favorite artists: Colbie Caillat and John Lennon

Andrew Garcia
Age: 24
Hometown: Moreno Valley, Calif.
Audition city: Los Angeles
Favorite artists: Adele, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson

Ashley Rodriguez
Age: 22
Hometown: Chelsea, Mass.
Audition city: Boston
Favorite artists: Beyonce, Whitney Houston and John Mayer

Casey James
Age: 27
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Audition city: Denver
Favorite artists: Mindy Smith and Doyle Bramhall II

Crystal Bowersox
Age: 24
Hometown: Elliston, Ohio
Audition city: Chicago
Favorite artists: Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin and Glen Hansard

Didi Benami
Age: 23
Hometown: Hollywood, Calif.
Audition city: Los Angeles
Favorite artists: Kyler England, Angel Taylor, Patty Griffin, Paul McCartney and Jason Reeves

Haeley Vaughn
Age: 16
Hometown: Ft. Collins, Colo.
Audition city: Denver
Favorite artists: Taylor Swift and Ron Pope

Janell Wheeler
Age: 24
Hometown: Orlando
Audition city: Orlando
Favorite artists: Stevie Nicks and Steve Perry

Jermaine Sellers
Age: 26
Hometown: Joliet, Ill.
Audition city: Atlanta
Favorite artists: Pattie LaBelle and Stevie Wonder

Joe Munoz
Age: 20
Hometown: Huntington Park, Calif.
Audition city: Los Angeles
Favorite artists: Celine Dion and Michael Buble

John Park
Age: 21
Hometown: Northbrook, Ill.
Audition city: Chicago
Favorite artists: Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and John Mayer

Katelyn Epperly
Age: 19
Hometown: West Des Moines, Iowa
Audition city: Chicago
Favorite artists: Karen Oh from the Yeah, Yeah Yeahs and Stevie Wonder

Katie Stevens
Age: 17
Hometown: Middlebury, Conn.
Audition city: Boston
Favorite artists: Whitney Houston and Jason Mraz

Lacey Brown
Age: 24
Hometown: Amarillo, Texas
Audition city: Orlando
Favorite artists: Patsy Cline and Pete Yorn

Lee Dewyze
Age: 23
Hometown: Mount Prospect, Ill.
Audition city: Chicago
Favorite artists: Sarah McLachlan, Katy Perry and Cat Stevens

Lilly Scott
Age: 20
Hometown: Denver
Audition city: Denver
Favorite artists: Janis Joplin and George Harrison

Michael Lynche
Age: 26
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Audition city: Orlando
Favorite artists: Lauryn Hill and Maxwell

Michelle Delamor
Age: 22
Hometown: Miami
Audition city: Orlando
Favorite artists: Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Pink and Michael Jackson

Paige Miles
Age: 22
Hometown: Naples, Fla.
Audition city: Dallas
Favorite artists: Christina Aguilera and Michael Jackson

Siobhan Magnus
Age: 22
Hometown: Martstable, Mass.
Audition city: Boston
Favorite artists: Courtney Love and Hanson

Tim Urban
Age: 20
Hometown: Dunansville, Texas
Audition city: Dallas
Favorite artists: Colby Calliat and James Taylor

Todrick Hall
Age: 24
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Audtion city: Dalls
Favorite artists: Beyonce and Rascal Flatts

Tyler Grady
Age: 20
Hometown: Nazareth, Pa.
Audition city: Boston
Favorite artists: Alicia Keys and Led Zepplin