'American Idol' Narrows the Field And then there were 24. "American Idol" finally revealed this week the top two dozen contestants for the show's eleventh season during three hours of reality television that, once again, seemed to focus less on performances than on melodrama. The producers drew out the selection process over two "Final Judgement" episodes that featured little music. The contestants were shown worrying endlessly in a holding room, then taking a long walk to face the judges. The format made for predictable suspense, concluding with the tears of winners, the anguish of losers, and, of course, shots of the judges hugging weeping contestants after giving them the news. "I thought I became a singer in this business to break people's hearts in a good way," quipped Steven Tyler after the judges had dispatched Jermaine Jones, an effeminate giant with a rich baritone who wept bitterly after being told he was going home. That sentiment aside, the extended drama of Mr. Jones's departure took much longer than the brief minutes the viewers got to hear him sing. There were few surprises in the final cut for anyone paying attention to which contestants were getting the longest segments aired about their backgrounds. The producers of the show threw the audience a curveball in the last seconds of Thursday's broadcast, saying one of four axed male performers would be brought back next week, when the audience begins to vote on their favorites and the real popularity contest begins. Perhaps Mr. Jones will return! A highlight came at the end of Thursday's show when Mr. Tyler, ever the impetuous rock star, stripped down to his underwear, mooned the camera and jumped into a pool that surrounded the spot where the judges were delivering the news - terrible or joyous - to quivering contestants. Unlike in previous seasons, no early favorites have emerged. The final twelve male contestants are Creighton Fraker, 28, an out-of-work busker from New York City whose biological father sang in a heavy metal band; Joshua Ledet, a 19-year-old gospel singer from West Lake, La.; Reed Grimm, 26, the quirky goofball from Wisconsin who says he's been in a band since he was 2 years old; Heejun Han, 22, a sweet and comically plain-spoken fellow from Flushing, Queens; Phillip Phillips, 20, a pawnshop employee from Georgia who moonlights singing in coffeehouses and has a talent for unusual interpretations; Colton Dixon, 20, who sports a skunk hairdo and whose sister didn't make the cut; Adam Brock, a 27-year-old from Washington, Pa., with a big soulful voice; Deandre Brackensick, 17, who is universally judged very good looking by female viewers and has a killer falsetto; Aaron Marcellus, 27, a bespectacled music teacher from Teaneck, N.J., with some serious pipes; Jeremy Rosado, 19, of Valrico, Fla.; Chase Likens, 20, of West Virginia, who has an Appalachian country style; and Eben Franckewitz, the earnest 15-year-old crooner from Milford, Ohio. The talent seems deeper among the final twelve female contestants, and they generally fall into two categories: country or soul. The finalists include two struggling country singers who are returning to the competition after failing to make it in earlier seasons: Baylie Brown, 21, of Krum, Tex., and Chelsea Sorrell, 23, of Stokesdale, N.C. A third female country singer, Skylar Laine, 17, of Brandon, Miss., also made it to the final 24. There are also a couple of impressive soulful teen-age belters: Jessica Sanchez, 16, of San Diego, an ambitious girl who comes from a large family of modest means, and Shannon Magrane, 15, of Tampa, Fla., whose father, Joe Magrane, was a major league pitcher. Ms. Magrane has the dubious distinction of being dubbed "hot, humid and happening" in an early episode by none other than Mr. Tyler, a gauche comment that has become something of a running joke for the producers. The rest of the women in the top 24 include Jen Hirsh, 25, a bluesy singer from Agoura Hills, Calif.; Elise Testone, 28, a vocal coach from Charleston, S.C.; Haley Johnsen, 24, a coffee-shop worker and part-time singer from Oregon; Hallie Day, a 24-year-old waitress from Baltimore who dropped out of high school; Erika Van Pelt, 25, a wedding singer from Rhode Island who went to the Berklee College of Music; Brielle Von Hugel, a brash 17-year-old from Staten Island with a smoky voice; and Hollie Cavanagh, also 17, a soul singer from McKinney, Tex.