American Idol 2010 | Season 9

And then there was the sweet 16 ... four more 'American Idol' contestants left the season nine competition this week, and here's what Haeley Vaughn, John Park, Jermaine Sellers and Michelle Delamor had to say today during the weekly 'AI' post-elimination conference call:

Haeley Vaughn
Performed: Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb'

Kara made a comment to you about taking a year and really seasoning your voice. How did you feel about that?
Yeah, I kind of agreed with her. I think that more experience and time working on my vocals would be good. Experience is always better, especially since I'm only sixteen and this was the first really big thing I've done ever. I'd never performed in front of millions of people before. I'd never even performed in front of a hundred, so I think it's always good to get more experience to work on the things I need to work on.

For the past two weeks, we teamed with VotefortheWorst to name the Worst 'American Idol' semifinalists ever. Check out the full list below, including our pick for number one:

Throughout history, humans have grappled with a number of hard-hitting questions, from Shakespeare's "to be, or not to be" to "Which came first: the chicken or the egg?"

But on night four of the season 2 semifinals, Juanita Barber took to the 'Idol' stage to address what all of America really wanted to know: What about the children?

In one of the most epic moments in 'American Idol' history, Juanita -- who served as Frenchie Davis' replacement after Davis was disqualified over racy photos that were leaked onto the internet -- destroyed Yolanda Adams' thought-provoking song, then proceeded to rip the judges a knew one when they criticized her for, among other things, picking the wrong song.

"I'm singing this song to America and I'm asking them what about the children. How is that the wrong song?" she demanded.

It was a moment so campy and so over-the-top that, when crafting our list of the worst 'American Idol' semifinalists ever, we could think of no other contestant who deserved to rank number-one more than Juanita.

Relive the full list after the jump.

Who got kicked off 'American Idol'? John Park, Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamor, and Haeley Vaughn.

A whopping 27 million votes decided the fate of those four unlucky contestants. But first, we heard the Top 20's version of the Black-Eyed Peas' 'I've Gotta a Feeling.' Usually the group numbers are awkward, but tonight's was high energy and fun.

Get more on the eliminations after the jump.

This week, SomethingPitchy welcomed back Rickey of Rickey.org and Rae Votta of AOL Music to talk all about the highs (Crystal Bowersox!) -- and lows (Jermaine Sellers!) -- of the 'Idol' top 20.

Also joining us today were Andie Taylor of Urlesque.com and, via Skype, MJ Santilli of MJ'sBigBlog.

Watch the broadcast after the jump, then give your own thoughts on who rocked it and, well, who didn't.

For the next two weeks, we're teaming with Vote for the Worst to name the 10 worst 'American Idol' semifinalists ever. Check back tomorrow to see their pick for number two.

Name: Nick Mitchell
Season: 8
Worst Performance: 'And I Am Teling You (I'm Not Going)'
Why We Loved to Hate Him: Sure, we love a good 'Idol' joke, but there was something supremely unfunny about Nick (or was it Norman?) Mitchell.

Part of it was his alter-ego, which seemed like more of an inside joke, if anything -- and a silly one at that.

But mostly it had to do with the fact that he lasted so long on the show. The goal of the audition rounds and especially Hollywood week is to get rid of people like Mitchell who don't take the show seriously. The laughs are supposed to end by the live semifinals, and that he was still there making a mockery out of a classic Jennifer Holliday must have felt like a slap in the face to the contestants he was competing against.

'Idol' season 5 contestant Elliott Yamin, stuck in Chile following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake south of the country's capital last week, will be returning home to the United States today.

Yamin finished third on 'Idol,' losing out to Katharine McPhee and winner Taylor Hicks. He was in the country to perform in a music festival and had been scheduled to leave several days ago, but was unable to get a flight out due to the destruction of the quake. Yamin, who is diabetic, was not injured but did struggle with finding enough insulin to last him the extra days in Chile. Insulin was ultimately provided to him by Medtronic.

Now that it's getting down to the wire on 'American Idol,' and considering the recent last-minute schedule shakeup this week, it's time to vent about the obvious divide that is causing a hiccup in the competition's otherwise smooth staging of vocal talent. Categorizing finalists based on ethnicity or sexuality would be preposterous -- but not so different from what 'Idol' does, which is to separate them by gender.

The unfair format of dividing the top 24 finalists into two gender-based groups of 12 came to a head Tuesday, when the remaining 10 men had to step up their game a day earlier than expected, switching previously scheduled days with the girls due to Crystal Bowersox's medical issues. The guys lost a day that they could -- and should -- have used to refine their performances, which for the most part failed to impress.

The Top 10 Girls have performed, and we have a recap from our very own 'Idol' columnist, MJ Santilli, up here. She calls contestant Crystal Bowersox's will-she-or-won't-she-perform medical issues the show's first "watercooler moment" of the season.

But if you, like us, can't get enough 'American Idol' analysis, check out these recaps of last night's Top 10 girls performance show from around the web. If nothing else, they make for excellent lunchtime reading. (Just don't let your boss catch you.)

There was a ton of drama in the world of 'American Idol' yesterday, as fans wondered whether Crystal Bowersox would be well enough to sing tonight.

The flames were fueled by Ken Warwick telling Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS FM radio show today that Crystal's status was still up in they air, but that if she were too sick to sing, she'd have to pull out of the competition.

The suspense continued throughout the afternoon, with Ryan tweeting from dress rehearsal that the producers were preparing for either situation. Then a mere minutes before the show, Ryan revealed that Crystal would be singing.

This week's performance shows were pretty high-stress for the Season 9 'Idol' contestants.

The Top 10 guys went on first, with less than 24 hours to rehearse, switching the girls-then-guys performance order for the first time in show history because of the hospitalization of singer Crystal Bowersox.

Then, under the wire, viewers were unsure if Bowersox would even perform last night. (She ultimately did.) This week, some early front runners could be in the danger zone while some under-pimped Idols are making their marks.

Tonight, four contestants -- two male, two female -- are going home. Who do you think should leave tonight? Vote and let us know.

The Top 10 women are set and ready to go. After being admitted to the hospital yesterday due to complications with diabetes, Crystal Bowersox kicked off the performances letting America know, all is alright with this Idol hopeful.

Find out what the ladies selected for tonight's show after the jump.