Just one more hour until the first batch of American Idol eliminations are announced and just 60 minutes til a week of flu-addled Idol recapping is complete. Better health next week, but til then, join me for a minute-by-minute tour of Thursday (Feb. 21) night's show.

8:00 p.m. ET. It's a wide-open race. As the evening begins, the only person on either side I'm absolutely convinced is toast is Amy Davis. The occasionally reliable tacticians at DialIdol can only say that David Archuleta, Jason Castro and Michael Johns probably are safe. That's impressive. That being said, nothing on the first two nights have left me with any conviction that when Ryan Seacrest calls these "the best contestants so far" he isn't lying to my face. Why would you lie to my face, Ryan? You seem so sincere.

8:01 p.m. After announcing that 28 million votes were cast over the week (that sounds low to me, actually), Seacrest introduces the judges as "The very talented randy Jackson, the back-in-a-big-way Paula Abdul and the monotonous Simon Cowell" before making the latest effort to cut off the ever-circling Ringer Conspiracy talk. If I hear one more time about Kelly Clarkson's record deal... Oh and last year's finalist was Brandon Rogers, not Brandon Davis, Paula.

8:04 p.m. Oooh. It's the photo shoot that yielded all of our official FOX press photos. Set to song by Daughtry and featuring lots of grainy black-and-white close-ups and name-card IDs, it looks like the contestants are auditioning for a mid-90s FOX drama. I half-expect a closing title reading "And Joe E. Tata as Nat."

8:05 p.m. It's the season's first Group Sing! In this case, you'll excuse me while I have a painful coughing fit. The problem with these early season Group Sings always boils down to the fact that usually at least half of the Top 12 men can't carry a tune. This year that isn't the case and even the men who looked weak on Tuesday (like Luke Menard) are capable of harmony. I love that Kristy Lee Cook is dressed up at least three different '60s fashion archetypes and that Danny Noriega can't resist twiddling his fingers on the microphone like he's Asia from the first season of The CW's The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll. I don't love how little Amanda Overmyer is given to do. Boo.

8:12 p.m. Ryan promises it's time to get down to business, starting with the guys, but not without flashing back to Tuesday's show, as I go grab a huge glass of orange juice. Argh. Add Jason Yeager to the list of people I really want to see go home. Do we figure Paula's statement about "doing her first ballet recital" to "Moon River" was euphemistic? I hope not.

8:16 p.m. Garrett, in a suit and fedora, is called to the stage first. With almost no ceremony, he's sent home. Bye Garrett. Jason Castro expresses Muppet-like amusement, while Danny showcases pantomimed shock when he senses the camera is on him. Four male contestants received no pre-Top 24 screentime and one is already gone. While there's a tradition of performers coming across as more relaxed and natural when they sing their exit songs, this isn't the case for Garrett. He's brutal.

Wait. But who was eliminated other than Garrett? Check out the full recap over at our It Happened Last Night blog...