More groups, this time singing music from the 50's and 60's, on the "Viva Elvis" set. If you needed any more proof that this show has shifted its primary audience from young people to a, shall we say, longer-in-the-tooth demographic, there you have it.

When this round started 70 contestants remained. I'm only going to recap the groups given proper introductions, as there were a bunch where they only showed us tiny snippets of what was going on, and it was impossible to keep track. I will say that I thought the judging this round was really off. Things must have sounded significantly different in person than they did through my TV, because there were groups on which they lavished praise that were basically mediocre-plus, and others they dissected that seemed to have their stuff pretty polished. I don't know.

Group 1: Skylar Laine, Colton Dixon, Cari Quoyeser, Chase Likens, singing "This is Dedicated to the One I Love." I couldn't understand what Cari was saying, Chase sounded totally ridiculous, Colton was solid, but Skylar was great. The harmonies were really nice. All of them got through except for Cari. I would have cut Chase, too.

Group 2: Jeremy Rosado, David Leathers Jr., Ariel Sprague, and Gabi Carrubba, singing "Rockin' Robin." Prior to the performance Gabi got a serious spoiled bitch edit, which I found surprising, since they've given her some solid pimping thus far. David and Ariel are stars, full stop. Jeremy impressed me more than he has thus far, and Gabi was perfectly fine, but came off cheesy compared to Ariel's effortless performance. All through to the next round.

Group 3: Adam Brock, Angie Zeiderman, Erika Van Pelt, and Shelby Tweten, singing "Great Balls of Fire." I don't like Adam personally, but he was really good on this song. Erika initially left me cold but got better. I like Angie for some weird reason, and she was perfectly acceptable here. Shelby was the weak titty on that mama cat, for sure. They all made it through, but the judges had to jerk around poor Angie, and Steven Tyler sexually harassed her. Of course.

Group 3: Brielle Von Hugel, Schyler Dixon, and some girl they didn't bother to ID sang "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" I don't think any of them are the strongest singers, but they worked really well as a group - the number sounded great as a whole. Schyler was pitchy in her solo part, Brielle kind of commandeered the whole thing but pulled it off - other girl didn't get any solo that we saw. And they looked terrific. Brielle and Schyler advanced, other girl - Molly, apparently - got the axe.

Group 4: Reed Grim, Elise Testone, Eben Franckowitz, and Haley Johnson did "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," which they "modernized." Apparently that means turning it into some super corny lounge act. I actually thought it sounded less current in this version. The girls put huge lipstick marks on both of Eben's cheeks, supposedly to give him a "pop of red" so that the outfits matched. Am I the only person grossed out by this show's continued sexualization of kids who aren't even 16 yet? Anyway, Reed and Elise are really fantastic singers - I just love Elise's tone. Haley is passable, but didn't really pop til the last bit of the song. Eben has this dead tone to his voice - it just sounds lifeless - and he was seriously flat on parts of the song. Not to mention that he was mega-cheesy and makes the most unintentionally hilarious faces...this kid. All of them were through to the next round.

Group 5: Richie "Cowboy" Law and Jermaine Jones, the only group of two. There was some confusion between the two of them and the vocal coach - who has worked with this show for years, I would add - and she basically told them they didn't know the melody to the song. I know it will surprise you to discover that Richie flapped his mouth ad nauseum about how amazing he is, and how terrible his partner was, and how the vocal coach's version was uninspiring, etc. He is so exhausting, and so deluded. So deeply deluded. Anyway, I have no idea what song they were singing. Jermaine has a rich, buttery voice that I just loved. Richie sounded pretty terrible in comparison, and his grimaces were laughable. The two of them did not sound particularly good together - if they were trying to harmonize, it didn't work. The judges loved it. The judges are insane. Jennifer called it "perfect." No. They both got through.

Group 6: DeAndre Brackensick, Jessica Sanchez, and Candice Glover, a.k.a. Team Big Hair. Jessica just freaking slayed it - amazing stuff out of her. Instant fan. I didn't care for the majority of DeAndre's solo; his voice is too delicate and he was bowled over by the band except for a nice falsetto moment. Candice was OK, but she got totally outdone by Jessica. As a whole, however, it was a wonderful piece and I loved hearing it. They all got put through.

Group 7: the irritating Clayton Farhat, Scott Dangerield, Adam Lee Decker, Curtis Gray. The beginning was hellish, and then it descended into fratboy karaoke. Part of it is the song - "Jailhouse Rock" is not exactly a great vocal showcase -- but very little of it sounded good to me. It sounded sloppy, actually. The judges thankfully pointed out that most of the guys were sharp, and Jennifer talked about the importance of dynamics in a song like this, since those four guys were basically screaming the whole thing. All of them except Curtis made it through. I thought that was hogwash. It was one of the weakest groups they showed that night.

Group 8: Britnee Kellogg, Courtney Williams, Jessica Phillips did "You Keep Me Hangin' On." The interesting thing here is, this is the only group that elected to not to practice with the band beforehand, because they're all professional singers and "didn't want to waste the band's time." Jesus. I didn't care for Britnee at all. It was ridiculously over done. Courtney screwed up her rhythm at first and she was generally all over the place. Jessica was fine. They all had great energy and harmonies, and seemed to be having a great time. They were really performing the song. The judges disagreed completely with me. They loved Britnee, but felt that Courtney and Jessica weren't sure of the song. Again: I feel like the judges experienced something totally different than I did. Britnee and Courtney made it through, Jessica did not. She did not take the news well, at all.

Group 9: Mathenee Treco, Lauren Gray, Wendy Taylor singing "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." God, I loved this group. It's funny, because this was the group to which that asshole vocal coach from last season did her best impression from the drama teacher from "Girl 6." That is to say, she was all crazy drama and shouting and pointing fingers and namecalling. Thanks for being professional, jackass. The ultimate result were some beautiful solos by both Lauren and Wendy (and Lauren had been having voice issues). Mathenee still needs to turn it down by about five notches. Not that he'll have a chance this year, since he was cut. The others deservedly made it through.

Group 10: Heejun Han, Phillip Phillips, Jairon Jackson, and Neco Starr singing "I Only Have Eyes for You." Didn't particularly care for Neco, and I think Jairon blew the first phrase in his solo. The harmonies sounded really good for the most part. Phil's solo bit didn't come in until very near the end, and he sounded like he belonged in a totally different group. They all made it through. Absolutely no criticism whatsoever? Sigh...

Group 11: Creighton Fraker, Jen Hirsh, Nick Boddington, and Aaron Marcellus, singing "Sealed with a Kiss." The harmonies were decent, and the song built nicely. Creighton was back to Squealy Land. Aaron looked about 30 years older than he actually is. Jen continues to rule my world. The judges just loved it, including Creighton. Do you think he'll ever get the note that he can sound really annoying? No. All of them except Nick got through.

After all the groups sang, there had to be yet more cuts. That's because the judges are letting through way too many marginal players this year. There were some easy cuts in both of those group rounds that were not taken. Additional cuts included: Gabi Carrubba (who again showed off some really unpleasant personality traits), Schyler Dixon (which was brutal, because her brother - who didn't even want to audition this year! - did), Angie Ziederman (boo), Candice Glover, Johnny Keyser (WHAT?!), Jairon Jackson, and Britanee Kellogg. I seriously need some explanation for Johnny, because he's been great and had Top 12 written all over him. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.