We're coming up on week 2 of the live competition. Four singers have already been eliminated: Tyler Grady, Janell Wheeler, Joe Muñoz and Ashley Rodriguez. This week, another 4 will be going home. Who are your favorites? Who's going to get your vote?

Here's the Top 20 and links to the various t-shirt designs offered by Whee! Design. These designs are avilable on a wide variety of apparel and gift items, so just click on the name, select a design and browse the items to find your favorite.

Hollywood Week is finally over for Season 9 and we are ready to start the live shows and vote for our favorites. Have you got a favorite or two picked out yet? Who do you think is going to win?

Here's the Top 24 and a fun T-Shirt design to help you cast your vote.

Aaron Kelly
16 years old
Sonestown, PA
Alex Lambert
19 years old
North Richland Hills, TX
Andrew Garcia
24 years old
Moreno Valley, CA
Ashley Rodriguez
22 years old
Chelsea, MA

Casey James
27 years old
Fort Worth, TX
Crystal Bowersox
24 years old
Elliston, OH
Didi Benami
23 years old
Hollywood, CA
Haeley Vaughn
16 years old
Fort Collins, CO

Janell Wheeler
24 years old
Orlando, FL
Jermaine Sellers
26 years old
Joliet, IL
Joe Muñoz
20 years old
Huntington Park, CA
John Park
21 years old
Evanston, IL

Katelyn Epperly
19 years old
West Des Moines, IA
Katie Stevens
17 years old
Middlebury, CT
Lacey Brown
24 years old
Amarillo, TX
Lee DeWyze
23 years old
Mount Prospect, IL

Lilly Scott
20 years old
Littleton, CO
Michael Lynche
26 years old
Astoria, NY
Michelle Delamor
22 years old
Miami, FL
Paige Miles
24 years old
Cypress, TX

Siobhan Magnus
19 years old
Barnstable, MA
Tim Urban
20 years old
Duncanville, TX
Todrick Hall
24 years old
Arlington, TX
Tyler Grady
20 years old
Nazareth, PA

American Idol is a reality television competition which finds new solo musical talent. It was created by Simon Fuller and debuted June 11, 2002, as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar on the Fox network. It has since become one of the most popular shows in the history of American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons, along with All in the Family and The Cosby Show.

Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between 2001 and 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Initial auditions

Before contestants get the chance to see the show's judges, they go through two rigorous sets of cuts. The first is a brief audition with three other contestants in front of one or two of the show's producers. Contestants are then either sent through to the next round of producers or asked to leave. Out of the thousands of people who show up to audition, only about 100–200 contestants in each city make it past this second round of preliminary auditions. The remaining contestants audition in front of the four American Idol judges, and those who advance are sent to Hollywood. Only about 10-40 people in each city make it to Hollywood. Not all auditions are televised due to time constraints (about 10,000 people show up each day, and each city has two days of auditions). Only seven cities are visited for auditions each season. They never visit the same city two seasons in a row.

Hollywood

Once in Hollywood, the contestants perform on different days, with eliminations by the judges on each day. During the first six seasons, contestants select a song from a list to sing for the first round. For the next round, the contestants split themselves into small groups and performed a song together. In the final round, the contestants performed a song of their choice a cappella.

In the seventh season, the structure of the Hollywood auditions was revamped and the musical group round was eliminated. Instead, contestants sang alone on the first day. If the judges felt the performance was adequate, the contestant moved on to the final Hollywood round; otherwise, the contestant had one more chance to impress the judges before the final round. For the first time, contestants were free to perform with a musical instrument if they so wished.

Semifinals

Seasons 1–3

In the first three seasons, the semifinalists were randomly split into different groups. Each contestant would then sing in their respective group's night. In season one, there were three separate groups and the top three contestants from each group made it to the finals. In seasons two and three, there were four groups of eight and the top two contestants moved on to the finals.

The first three seasons each featured a wildcard show. Contestants who failed to make it to the finals were invited back to perform for another chance at a spot in the finals. In season one, only one wildcard contestant was chosen by the judges. However, in seasons two and three, each judge championed one contestant and the public advanced a fourth into the finals. In the second season, a few hopefuls who had failed to make the semifinals were selected by the judges to compete. In the third season, the judges eliminated four contestants from the wildcard round before they had the opportunity to sing.

Seasons 4–7, 9

From seasons four to seven, the semifinals were cut down to twenty-four contestants who were divided by gender in order to ensure an equal division in the top twelve. The men and women sang on sequential nights and the bottom two in both groups were eliminated each week until only twelve finalists were left. By season 7, contestants were now allowed to play any instrument along with singing their song. This format will be used again in season 9.

Season 8

In season eight, there were thirty-six semifinalists. For three consecutive Tuesdays, twelve different semifinalists performed each night in the hopes of moving on to the finals. When the results were in, 3 contestants progressed: The highest placed male, highest placed female, and the highest placed singer of the remaining 10 (regardless of gender). The wild card round also returned, with the judges choosing three previously eliminated contestants to advance to the finals. Notably, they chose 4 wildcard contestants this year instead of 3 making it a final 13 instead of a final 12.

Finals

The finals are broadcast live in prime time from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, in front of a live studio audience. The finals lasted for eight weeks in season one and eleven weeks in subsequent seasons. Each finalist performs a song or songs selected from a weekly theme. During the first few weeks, contestants sing one song each. The top four and five contestants must sing two songs apiece. The top three perform three songs apiece.

Themes are based on a musical genre, songs recorded by particular artists, or more generic themes such Billboard #1 hits, or songs from each contestant's year of birth. In the past, themes have included Motown, disco, and big band music, as well as music by such artists as Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Queen, Billy Joel, Bee Gees, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton, and Elvis Presley. Contestants usually work with a celebrity mentor during each week.

Following each performance episode, a results show airs that reveals the breakdown of the voting public's decision. The most popular contestants are not typically revealed, though they have been on occasion. The three contestants (two in later rounds) who received the lowest number of votes are typically called to the center of the stage. From the bottom three, one contestant is sent to safety so that two contestants remain (although these are not necessarily the two contestants with the lowest votes) and finally the contestant who received the lowest amount of votes is eliminated from the competition. During Season 8, the judges are given the ability to perform a "save" if they feel like the voting audience made a mistake. If they reach a unanimous decision, they can save the contestant for another week, but the following week will eliminate 2 people, and the person saved can not be saved again. Once the contestants get to the top 5, the save can no longer be used. When a contestant is voted off the show, a montage of the contestant's experience is played and they give their final performance.

In the finale, the two remaining contestants perform and one remaining contestant is declared the winner. For the first season and seasons three-six, the finale was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre, which holds an audience of approximately 3,400. The finale for season two took place at the Gibson Amphitheatre. For season seven, the venue was changed to the Nokia Theatre, which holds an audience of over 7,000. The winner is announced at the end of the following results show.

The winner receives a one million (US) dollar record deal with a major label, and is managed by American Idol-related 19 Management. In some cases, other finalists have also been signed by the show's management company (who has first option to sign contestants) and received record deals with its major label partner.