American Idol Bids Farewell to Bikini Girl

"American Idol" Bids Farewell to Bikini Girl, Punk Singer During Group Night

Bikini girls Pics
 Bikini girls pics

• Bikini girls Pics

There's one surefire way for American Idol to manufacture drama: force a bunch of selfish kids to work together under a tight deadline in a high-pressure contest that could change the rest of their lives. And thus, Idol whittled down the 104 contestants who made it through day one of Hollywood Week via Group Night. Due to some lousy editing, the show only tracked the progress of the most outrageously whiny groups, which meant no Anoop Desai (boo!) and no Von Smith (yay!), but plenty of Bikini Girl.

Seventy-five singers moved on to Hollywood Week's next phase. Here's a quick rundown:

Ones to Watch:

• Hometown pals Danny Gokey and Jamar Rogers's Rainbow Coalition (are they old enough to get the Jesse Jackson reference?) sail through with stunning a cappella harmonies on "Somebody to Love."

• India, Justin, Kris and Nat — the team known as White Chocolate (was that a weird racial reference, too?) — bring a fresh, beat-boxy vibe to the Jackson 5.

Meh:

• Tatiana Del Toro — she of the maniacal laughter — and her poor group get over their differences long enough to get a pass. Hopefully next week she gets a pass to Bellevue: "Thank you Jesus! Thank you, God, everyone a part of this show, the guy holding the sound stick, I love you all so much, you are all a part of me."

Ones to Wipe From Your Memory With Bleach:

• Maybe Nathaniel Marshall, Kristen McNamara and Nancy Wilson called themselves Team Compromise because that's what we have to do to our integrity to watch them. Between Marshall's theatrical bitching during rehearsals, Wilson's 'tude and McNamara's emotional collapse, they were pure crap. And we usually like singers named Nancy Wilson!

• Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell blames heels and scoliosis for the failure of Team Diva (and the early departure of Rose Flack — Rose, we hardly knew ye and your sorta-dreads). Kara DioGuardi relishes the chance to get in one more dig at Katrina Darrell: "She must be ready for her close up." Oh, Kara. Zing!

Thanks for the Memories:

— Emily the pink-haired punk and Ryan Pinkston are the only members of Action Squad to get the ax. We'll miss you, Emily! And, uh, you too, Ryan: "I feel manipulated and insulted. I feel like I've seen a side of Paula I didn't know was there. I saw the evil in her eyes."