Transformations flourish on this season of the popular talent show “American Idol.” As producers decided to bring some changes into play and choose 36 semifinalists instead of 24, only the top three vote-receivers of each of the three semifinal rounds press forward, thus leaving the either nine oscillating between going home or waiting until the newly-reintroduced wild-card round picks that gets the last three places in the competition.

 

Therefore, being conspicuous was very important for the lucky 12 contestants who had to sing during the first round on Tuesday, but few competitors were able to impress.

 

However, the change that restrains the jury’s power to merely offering bits of advice to viewers who tune in for the show and vote their favorite singers, helps many of the contestants rely on the fact that the camera time they obtained in previous rounds will give them a boost to the finals.

 

Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell have always been fond of Danny Gokey, but he needed no such compassion on Tuesday, because he knew how to stand out in the crowd. The contestant was proclaimed the “Hero” of the Fox program, as three of the judges praised the 28-year-old church music director from Milwaukee after his performance of the Mariah Carey track “Hero.”

 

“You are the hero, man,” judge Kara DioGuardi told Danny. “You give us all hope. You were great.”

 

The judges delivered their most insensitive remarks to Stephen Fowler, Casey Carlson and Stevie Wright, who Simon Cowell said had “zero” chance of moving on to the next round.

 

The names of the top three vote-receivers will be disclosed throughout Wednesday’s live show.