Meet the "American Idol" Top 24 - Minus Ineligible Chris Golightly

Following last night's completion of Hollywood Week on American Idol, eliminations weren't scheduled to begin until next week's episodes. However, just hours after the Top 24 were revealed last night on Fox, AI producers issued a statement saying curly haired contestant Chris Golightly had been deemed ineligible for Season Nine. Producers added that Tim Urban, who initially didn't make the Top 24 cut, would replace Golightly. Watch the former contestant in the video up top.

USA Today's Idol Chatter spoke to Golightly after news of his dismissal broke out, and the singer said a misunderstanding over a previous recording contract led to his forced exit. Golightly says his former manager informed 19 Entertainment that he was still under contract, but explained that his contract ran out a month prior to his audition for AI. After a series of mix-ups, Golightly says it was established that he was in fact free from his previous contract, but by that point Idol producers had already recruited Urban to fill the vacancy. "Since then, I've left them voicemails, but they've screened my calls," Golightly told Idol Chatter. "They don't even answer me. Nobody."

As Rolling Stone previously reported, there were rumors that Michael Lynche, another Top 24 finalist, would be dismissed from the competition after members of his family reportedly broke the show's strict confidentiality agreement by revealing he'd made it through Hollywood Week, but as of today Lynche is still a contestant.

In other Idol news, for the first time in six years, AI came in second place in viewers in its time slot, taking the silver medal to the Winter Olympics' gold. Did Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White make you miss Hollywood Week? Familiarize yourself with American Idol's entire Top 24 with our gallery of videos below. So far, Tyler Grady has attempted to step out as the season's "rocker," citing Jim Morrison, Roger Daltrey and Robert Plant — as well as the whole 1970s — as his primary inspiration.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter