Idol: Keeping the Top 24 Secret

Let's face it though, here is a show that is now in its sixth incarnation, there is no way information will not leak out about the contestants. Here's why:

* You have thousands and thousands of people who show up to the audition. Those who get rejected are perfectly willing to spill their guts on the ones they saw making it through to the next round.

* The lucky ones who do earn a golden ticket are warned they are not allowed to speak to anyone or grant interviews to the media until they are off "American Idol," including family members. The consequences, of course, being that they could get booted off the show even if they make it all the way to the final 40 or so. Easier said than done, right? How many of us are really that good at keeping secrets from our close friends and family. If they do decide to crack down and tell someone, are they positive they can trust that person? How many times have you been let down by a trusted friend who ultimately couldn't keep their mouth shut? I know I have. It goes something like this, "Ok, you have to promise you won't tell anyone or she/he will kill me! BUT..." and then they tell a friend, and they tell a friend and so on.

* Someone who has been ultimately rejected in Hollywood at the very end, I'm guessing might be just bitter enough to dish the goods on what went on there. Unless they are planning to audition again...what do they have to lose? This seems to be the number one source for rumors about the Top 24, someone throwing themselves a "bitter, party of one."

* Any good aspiring singer is going to have a web page. Practically everyone who has made it to the Hollywood rounds has a Myspace page or their own .com domain. San Antonio auditioner, Baylie Brown, whom Simon Cowell told was "very commercial" (that's a good thing to him) had a web page www.bayliebrown.com. Joe Reality at realitytvmagazine.com sent me the link, which all of a sudden had been taken down the morning after her audition and replaced with an ad. Jordin Sparks, the curly haired daughter of former NFL player, Phillipi Sparks, also had her own self-touting website. That too has been taken down with a note saying, "website returning soon." According to my sources, The Top 40 contestants, when they sign the contract for the show are told that any personal websites must be taken down, unless they are part of a band. Band websites can stay up. Myspace pages had to be taken down as well last year, I'm told, and are controlled by Fox until after the Idol tour.

* Fan sites pop up for people quicker than Randy Jackson can say, "You're going to Hollywood, baby!"" These sites link to articles about the contestants, which many times have personal information about where they went to school or where they work. That's the perfect place for an internet spoiler sleuth and reporters to learn some scoop. Sometimes you'll even find cryptic messages about contestants from someone claiming to be a fan. Take, for instance, Anna Kearns, the 6'4 auditioner from Wichita Falls, TX. A message on her fan site says, "...right now it's quiet here because she's in isolated limbo due to the American Idol contract to keep all details silent. Yet, we have a strong gut feeling that when the Top 24 are revealed, she will definitely be one of the stunning Top 12 Female contestants! So when the announcement arrives you need to be sure you have subscribed to her blogs for updates." Could be a hint or just wishful thinking.

* Rumor has it that the Top 24 are right now sequestered in LA getting prepared for the performance show and awaiting the announcement of who made it. If someone is a high school student, I'm thinking it has to be impossible to keep their Top 24 status a secret. Take 17-year-old Jenry Bejarano who is a senior in high school in Rotterdam, NY. You don't think someone is going to notice that he is all of a sudden gone for several weeks? Even if the principal were to beg his students not to leak information, how many of them would actually listen? C'mon. They are teenagers.

If you, like many others, can't wait to find out who may be in the Top 24 then I'll leave it up to you to do some digging on your own and see what spoilers you can find. I'll throw one out for you to get your sleuthy minds started. Sean Michel, the guy who looked like Fidel Castro, has his band booked for three dates in February and March in Arizona and Tennessee...right as the AI Top 24 begin the live performances. Can he be in two places at once? I don't think so. And just to add fuel to the fire, realitytvmagazine.com reports there is a rumor that Sean was cut during the Hollywood rounds because he refused to shave his beard and cut his hair.