On February 17, American Idol will reveal its 24 finalists.

But The Hollywood Gossip has gotten an early look at most of these aspiring singers. We've listed their names below:

MALES
Lee DeWyze
David Duke
Andrew Garcia
Chris Golightly
Tyler Grady
Benjamin Honeycutt
Casey James
Aaron Kelly
Alexander Lambert
Michael Lynche
John Park
Jermaine Sellers

FEMALES
Lacey Brown
Michelle Delamor
Katelyn Epperly
Ashley Rodriguez
Lilly Scott
Katie Stevens
Haeley Vaughn
Janell Wheeler

** For more on the show, visit the American Idol section at TVFanatic.com!

American Idol just got a less less crazy... and entertaining.

Having failed to agree to a new contract with the show, Paula Abdul said goodbye to her fans last night on Twitter. She wrote:

"With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to Idol," Abdul, 47, writes on her Twitter page. "I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day one become an international phenomenon.

"What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. I do, without any doubt, have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all."

Will you miss Paula as a judge?

This might be great news for some and bad news for others, but it's been confirmed:

Kara DioGuardi will be back for season nine of American Idol. A source told E! News:

"Her deal is done. There are no ifs, ands or buts. Done. She will be back."

No word yet on the dollar amount associated with the contract, but DioGuardi is set to start shooting a new round of American Idol auditions in the next week or so.

Are you glad she's back?

Kris Allen is the new American Idol.

While he was the choice of millions of viewers, how did the soulful register with bloggers around the nation?

AOL asked numerous show experts to give their predictions on the finale, a day before it aired. Who correctly forecasted the Allen upset? Find out now!

Wow. Just... wow!

Perhaps we underestimated him, even as he reached the finals, but we were shocked by tonight's announcement:

Kris Allen is the new American Idol!

Allen overcame Adam Lambert in the final pairing, as Kris' recent renditions of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Heartless" likely propeled him to victory.

But enough from us. Were you happy with the outcome?

Click on the pics above to enlarge photos of the season eight American Idol champion.

Both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen gave it their all on last night's American Idol finale.

We could rattle on and on about which singer ended the evening on a higher note (we thought it was tied after the pair of opening performances; but Lambert outshined Allen on the final two), but we'd prefer to hear from our readers.

Who do you think did the better job? Who should be crowed the champion tonight?

Sorry, Danny Gokey fans. And the Fox network.

The Gokey/Adam Lambert finals that Simon Cowell and company had clearly hoped would take place have fallen a week short.

Last night, the viewers spoke and Danny was eliminated from the show.

Gokey did nothing wrong during his performances on Monday, but Kris Allen's version of "Heartless" simply sky-rocketed that singer into next week's finale. And Lambert had earned a spot on that show a long time ago.

That left Danny as the odd man out. He had the following to say about his journey, which included losing his wife just four weeks before his initial audition:

"This whole experience feels like a dream come true.  American Idol has given me a whole new hope for my life. It's almost like a fairy tale story.  You read about tragedies, and then you read about the triumph that comes through it - and I'm that person."

Click on the pics below to relive Danny's run on the series:

Sorry, Danny Gokey fans.

But next week's American Idol finale simply has to come down to Kris Allen versus Adam Lambert.

Gokey was solid on his two songs this week - "“Dance Little Sister" and "You Are So Beautiful" - but he doesn't blow us away at this point.

Lambert, conversely, was his usual, amazing self on "One" and "Cryin," as Kara summed it up simply with her assessment: "We'll see you at the finals."

As for Allen... wow! The following rendition of "Heartless" was easily our favorite non-Lambert performance of the season:

Well, Fox. You wanted a Danny Gokey/Adam Lambert final and you're gonna get one.

But not before the judges demeaned themselves this week, refusing to criticize Gokey's ear-splitting rendition of "Dream On" and leading the viewers to vote off Allison Iraheta instead.

We're too saddened by this development to even go on. Talk amongst yourself, readers...

As has become the norm on American Idol, there was Adam Lambert... and then there was everyone else last night.

The singer kicked off an evening of rock 'n roll performances with a great rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. The only problem, as Simon Cowell said, was that no other contestant would be able to match this opening number.

And none did.

Allison Iraheta did a solid enough job on a Janis Joplin tune; Kris Allen was out of his element, but tried to power through "Come Together" by The Beatles; and Danny Gokey pierced the ears of viewers forever with a painful scream to close Aerosmith's "Dream On."

Can we please hand Adam Lambert the title already?!?