Paula Abdul Tortures American Idol Top 24!

The American Idol 7 top 24 semifinalists episode kicked off with Hayden Christensen and Ryan Seacrest enjoying a sandwich on top of the Great Sphinx in Egypt. The scene was of course a promo for the upcoming movie Jumper. However, Seacrest on top of the Great Sphinx turned out not to be the biggest mystery of the American Idol 7 top 24 show.As usual, the contestants rode an elevator up and took a long walk across a big room to find out their fate from the judges. However, instead of being teased and toyed with by Simon Cowell, the contestants were relentlessly tortured by none other than Paula Abdul. Yes, the biggest mystery of the American Idol 7 top 24 show was what turned sweet Paula into the Queen of Mean.

Things started out poorly for the contestants. Ronald Hodge, Nina Shaw, Mycale Guyton, and Lisa Aukerman were all told by the judges that they didn’t make it.Carly Smithson was in tears by the time it was her turn to sit in front of the judges. A merciless Paula Abdul seemed to ramble on forever, before Simon Cowell jumped in and said to just give Carly a yes or a no. The answer was of course yes. After a still sobbing Carly left, Simon Cowell reprimanded Paula for torturing her.Also making it to the top twenty-four were David Cook, Amanda Overmyer, David Archuleta, Kristy Lee Cook, Brooke White, Danny Noriega, Jason Castro, Luke Menard, Alexandrea Lushington, Ramiele Malubay, Michael Johns, Syesha Mercado, Robbie Carrico, Garrett Haley, Kady Malloy, Chikezie Eze, Amy Davis, Alaina Whitaker, Jason Yeager, Asia’h Epperson, David Hernandez, Colton Berry, and Joanne Borgella.

Besides Carly, Paula Abdul tortured several other of the contestants that made it to the top 24. Paula Abdul told Michael Johns, “We don’t like having to say no to people.”Paula also asked Syesha Mercado “How do you feel about where you stand in this competition?” Paula did everything possible to toy with the top 24 as long as possible, while Simon Cowell remained surprisingly quiet.Of course, by the end of the show, nice Paula Abdul was back. Paula gave Kyle Ensley a hug after he was cut from the competition. Paula also put her head down on the table and exclaimed “I hate doing this” after cutting Cardin McKinney.