Recap: 'American Idol' live-blogging with debut of Ellen DeGeneres

We live-blogged Tuesday night's "American Idol" episode. It was the first appearance for new judge Ellen DeGeneres.

It was the first of four shows dedicated to the "Hollywood round," where 170-some Idol hopefuls is winnowed down to the Top 24 semi-finalists.

Here's how the evening unfolded:

5:00 - "This ... is 'American Idol.'"

5:01 - Yup, the auditions are over and it's time for the "Hollywood round." Oh the drama. And we've got a new judge: Ellen DeGeneres! From 181 (less a few no-shows), they're going to start trimming the field.

5:02 - The setting is the Kodak Theatre. And the contestants are pumped.

5:03 - To start things off, the contestants come out in groups of eight, and it's sudden death to the next round. First group includes Skii-Bo-Ski and Katie Stevens (she's considered one of the favorites). She's young, but she does great. This will be an easy call in her case. SkiiBo sings next. Ellen says: "You were stalking us. Don't frighten your audience. Sexy and scary is a fine line." They didn't show the other six in the group. Yup, Katie makes it through, and SkiiBo does not, as you would expect.

5:11 - A nice montage of Simon Cowell's cruel remarks. And Ellen gets in a few funny quips. Hey remember the bridge-jumper Vanessa Wolfe? She's up soon, just after Andrew Garcia. Andrew's playing his guitar and man, this guy sounds ready to go straight to the recording studio. He's doing Paula Abdul's "straight Up." Wish Simon hadn't cut him off!

5:14 - OK, Vanessa gets her shot at escaping that small town in Tennessee. She finally got to fly on that "Aero-plane." She's nervous when her moment arrives. She's singing "No Rain," and her nervousness is fatal. And it's judgment time: Andrew will definitely be safe. And Vanessa is done, tearfully, set to Rascal Flatts, "What Hurts The Most."

5:22 - We're back. Cornelius Edwards, the guy who split his pants in first audition, splits Hollywood. Along with Maeghan Wright. And Amadeo Dirocco from Jersey. They all go home.

5:24 - It's a different story for Janell Wheeler. Wow, I dig this girl! She looks great and might be one of the best performances I've seen on the show this season. They show others playing instruments during their auditions, and it just didn't go well. Bosa Mora is one who "crashed and burned," as Ryan said.

5:26 - Haeley Vaughan is nervous. She wants to be the most famous black female country singer in history. She's playing guitar for her audition and she nails it!

5:27 - Mary Powers is a rocker chick. Ellen liked her, but will Haeley and Mary make it through? Yes, they do.

5:29 - Among those also making it through on Day 1: Todrick Hall, Danny Jones, Charity Vance and Ashley Rodriguez.

5:34 - We're back for Day 2. And the beat-boxer Jay Stone is up first. "Something's wrong with this microphone," quips Ellen. He's stopped short. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Lily Scott of Colorado is pretty good. Lily makes it, Jay doesn't.

5:37 - Michael Lynche's wife is having a baby and he's in L.A.! He's singing "Waiting on the World to Change," by John Mayer, thinking about his wife back home. This guy's pretty awesome too. And I need to say that or he just might beat me up.

5:44 - Time for another group. Justin Williams is the cancer survivor who had the great first audition. Tim Urban is also in this group. He sings a David Cook song. Justin is up at the keyboard. Oh man, he seems kinda shaky and cocky at the same time. Justin, who had such a great first audition, is sent packing. And Tim is safe.

5:47 - A montage of others sent home: the DeSimone sisters and Paige DeChausse.

5:48. Maddy Curtis is the 16-year-old with the Down Syndrome brothers. She has a sweet voice. Simon didn't like her choice of song. Next is Casey James, who was forced to take his shirt off in the first round. This time he's playing blues guitar. And keeps his shirt on. I like his style. Casey moves on, but the road ends for Maddy. She could try again next year.

5:54 - Let's wrap it up: the last lineup of the day. Didi Benami was one of my favorites from the audition episodes. She looks like she's gotten a makeover and it worked. Wow! I stand by what I first time I saw her. She could very well win the whole shebang. Very nice. Simon raved too. Crystal Bowersox is featured next. She's getting a tattoo while she's there in L.A.! Aw, the tattoo is of her young son's name. She blazes through her song brilliantly. If she makes it through to Top 24, she could garner a lot of fans. Of course they both advance to the next round. Was that Lloyd Thomas also making it through?

6:00 - Also getting through: Taylor Grady and Chris Golightly and John Park and Michael Castro and lots more I missed. Stay tuned for ground round tomorrow night!

So what did you think of Ellen's first show as a judge? All the rumors of she and Simon feuding most be from show coming up later this week or next.

And what did you think of tonight's performances? Here were my favs:

1. (Tie) Didi Benami and Janell Wheeler
2. Andrew Garcia
3. (tie) Crystal Bowersox and Michael Lynche