Missed the show since I had to see "Jersey Boys" (look for that review in Wednesday's paper), but just got the word on our three successful semifinalists. Broadway boy Allison Iraheta took it for the girls, and good on America for giving her the tip. I don't think she's going to stick around that long in the Top 12, but she was clearly the best girl of the night with her raw, powerful take on Heart's "Alone." And in a nice surprise, pretty boy Kris Allen nabbed the third spot. I'm still baffled by Kris' choice of "Man in the Mirror" -- and to clarify, it's not that I didn't know the song existed, or even that it's a bad song, it's just such a bizarre choice that I still can't make sense of it. But he sang it pretty well, and if he can continue to improve he could be an unexpected force in the competition.

Allen is somewhat of an upset, since he received very little coverage up until this point in the competition. In contrast, Matt Giraud, Kai Kalama, and Matt Breitzke were heavily featured in the initial auditions AND the Hollywood rounds, and all of them got the axe. Given their poor showings Wednesday night, I don't even think they're in the running for wild card spots at this point. The only girl who could get the last-chance berth is probably Megan Corkrey, and given that right now the guys in the Top 12 are outnumbering the girls 2 to 1, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she gets in there. As an aside, what an AWFUL year for female contestants. Seriously shameful.

BTW: Nick Mitchell/Normund Gentle thankfully went down in flames. Now let us never speak of him again.

Next week we're down to our last group of 12. The contestants are: Arianna Afsar, Felicia Barton, Kendall Beard, Ju'Not Joyner, Scott MacIntyre, Nathaniel Marshall, Kristen McNamara, Jorge Nunez, Lil Rounds, Von Smith, Taylor Vaifanua, and Alex Wagner-Trugman. Barring some catastrophic screw-up Lil should easily sew up the ladies' side, while Scott's a pretty sure bet for the guys. Based solely on previous footage, I'd like to see either Ju'Not or Jorge in the final spot, but really I'll take just about anybody except for Nathaniel or Kristen.