A LOT happened Wednesday night. We got our three winners from the last group of 12 - all of the right people made it through - and the judges picked the eight contestants who have a shot at the three remaining wild card slots. And the right people most definitely did NOT get picked for that one.

First, the winners from Group 3: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, and Jorge Nunez. No surprises here. Actually, I take that back: I'm pleasantly surprised that America didn't succumb to the obvious but less worthy choices like Von (for the teen brigade) or Kendall (for the country vote). I was worried about Jorge, but he made it through. Good on you, America.

But bad on the judges for their wild card picks. Granted, some of them make a lot of sense, but others are just completely insulting to some of the better singers in the competition. It's also mind-boggling that out of the group with the most talent - I would argue that that was Group 3 - only ONE person got a berth, and it was certainly not the most deserving. Let's break it down:

-Ricky Braddy, Group 1. I'm fine with this. I thought Ricky had a shot after his group, but he got screwed being paired with Sarver and Gokey. If he'd been in, say, Group 2 I think he would have probably made the cut, or at least given Kris Allen a run for it. Hopefully he'll pick a better song than that terrible, pretentious Donny Hathaway number he sang the first time.

-Megan Corkrey, Group 2. Not a surprise. I find Megan's whole hippy-dippy shtick and affectations to be grating, but she was decent in her group. I don't think she belongs in the Top 12, but I can see at least giving her a shot.

-Tatiana Del Toro, Group 1: Absolutely. I still think she's a disaster and a phony, but she earned her spot by putting the bullshit aside during semis and performing unbelievably well. Plus, I hate to admit it, but she's makes good TV.

-Anoop Desai, Group 1: Another victim of the Gokey/Sarver confluence, I think Anoop has a strong chance to make it into the Top 12. He brings something to the competition that I don't think we've seen before.

-Matt Giraud, Group 2: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Sorry to get all melodramatic for a minute, but this is an OUTRAGE. Matt was excruciating in his semi-final performance of "Viva la Vida" - I'm talking wince-inducing bad. This is blatant favortism, and I'm seriously upset that he's got another shot to get back into this competition.

-Jesse Langseth, Group 2: No way. Jesse was capable singing "Bette Davis Eyes," but that's it. She's off-putting as a person, coming off alternately as a know-it-all or above the entire competition, and I have yet to see anything from her that explains why she made it even this far into the competition.

-Jasmine Murray, Group 1: Come on, now. She has bombed in her last three performances - I thought she should have been cut after the group number in Hollywood - and somehow keeps getting pushed through. She's absolutely gorgeous, but this is a singing competition, not "Top Model," and Jasmine continually sounds off pitch. Unbelievable that she's getting this shot.

-Von Smith, Group 3: I can begrudgingly accept Von in this group - he wasn't awful Tuesday night, but he wasn't great either, coming off all shouty and manic. And man, those singing faces... My bigger issue is that he certainly wasn't one of the stronger people from his group that didn't make it via viewer votes.

Those eight will perform Thursday night, and then the judges will select the final three members of the Top 12 based on how they do. That is, if performances even factor into this, which I think several of these choices prove is not the case. How do you justify bringing back Jesse, Matt, and Jasmine when Felicia, Kristen, and even Ju'Not and Kendall from Group 3 are shown the door? All of those four easily outperformed the chosen three. If the producers were trying to quiet viewer outrage over how unfair the new semi-final set-up is, they sure blew it last night.

Unless they're doing a microcosm of what they do with the semis every year: stock it with some clear winners and enough losers so that the ringers they had in the mix inevitably rise to the top. Of the eight, based on previous performances, it really should come down to Anoop, Tatiana, and Ricky, with Megan very likely sneaking in there instead of poor Mr. Braddy (and anyway, we need two girls to get the OK since the Top 12 is currently SIX guys to THREE girls. But so help me, if Matt, Jesse, or Jasmine make the Top 12, I'm going to write a very strongly worded blog post! You'll see! You'll all see!