Ryan Seacrest promised that this year’s Hollywood Week will be twice as hard . . . because this year, American Idol has double the usual amount of contestants. It felt more like triple the amount through the long audition rounds, but it’s finally time to start whittling them down.

Maybe the new panel will begin to develop its killer instinct as the week progresses.

The first round of Hollywood Week begins with a mini cattle call of contestants in groups of 10. Each person sings just once -- one shot to stay in the contest.

Brett Lowenstern, 16, was the first to take the stage. We first met him in the New Orleans auditions. “I’m shakin’ in my pants right now, I’m not going to lie,” he nervously sputtered to the judges. The audience applauded to boost his confidence. Brett managed to pull it together, and sang “Let It Be” passionately, using is own arrangement. “That boy’s got the blues,” J-Lo observed.

Of his group, only two passed on to the next round -- Brett was one of them.

Rachel Zevita, 23, sang powerfully for her first Hollywood turn, showing off impressive range. Thia Megia, 15, from the Milwaukee auditions, sang a song with such a terrible arrangement her song was unrecognizable. Casey Abrams, 19, offered a smoky Sinatra-like rendition of his audition song. All three of them passed their first Hollywood audition with flying colors.

Victoria Huggins, 17, tried out in New Jersey. She’s a featured contestant, and for good reason. Victoria is entertaining every time she opens her mouth, but particularly when she’s crooning for the judges. She got rousing applause from the listening audience, but Victoria won’t be moving on in the Hollywood round.

James Durbin, 21, and Paris Tassin, 23, both have small children. She sang the Titanic song (“My Heart Will Go On“), but Paris has a strong, gorgeous voice that helps make up for the atrocious song choice. Durbin chose “Oh Darlin’” in a rendition that was riddled with emotion. Both managed to impress the judges to move on in the contest.

Lauren Alaina, 15, and Stormi Henley, 20, both impressed Steven Tyler during their auditions. Stormi sang prettily, but weakly, before the judges. Lauren, who belted out “Unchained Melody,” has a voice that’s anything but weak. Stormi didn’t make it, but Lauren will be moving on.

Chris Medina, 27, could become the most exploited person Idol has ever seen -- and that’s really saying something. His story made the Milwaukee auditions first unbearably painful, then so shamefully tacky it was almost impossible not to change the channel. Medina will be staying in Hollywood. And right now, it’s even likely that he’ll win the whole show.

Jacee Badeaux, 15, is a portly cutie with a voice like an angel. We first met him in New Orleans. Robbie Rosen, 16, auditioned in New York. His sound isn’t angelic, but soulful and sweet. Hollie Cavanagh, 17, struggled with nerves during her audition, but she’s got a powerful voice that commands attention. All three will be moving on in Hollywood.

Steve Beghun, 27, who auditioned in Milwaukee, has a soft tone to his voice, but it wasn’t enough to impress the judges.

They can’t all move on. Others who were featured during the audition rounds were summarily cut.

Backstage, waiting contestants were throwing up and suffering other symptoms of nerves. In previous years, Simon Cowell swiftly and mercilessly cut any contestant who forgot the words to their songs. The kinder, softer panel is willing to sit through all manner of mistakes, however.

Rob and Chelsee make beautiful music together -- but they have an ugly relationship history. In a weird Idol mash-up, they’re bunking with the oogly-googly couple who is very much in love that we met in Nashville (Nick and Jacqueline). Rob Bolin, 23, didn’t sing very well for his first Hollywood round, and this was surprising. Rob’s smoky vocals could be an asset, but his emotionless rendition did nothing for him. Chelsee Oaks, 23, put plenty of emotion into her singing, which helped make up for some of the weakness of her vocals. But J-Lo loves the ex-couple, and they will both continue in Hollywood.

Nick Fink, 19, has a ton of charisma when he sings. His girlfriend and Chelsee’s roommate, Jacqueline Dunford, 22, performed beautifully before the judges. But Nick won’t be moving on, and Jacqueline will. Nick took the mic to argue his case before the judges after he heard the bad news. Randy Jackson kindly dissuaded him, and Chelsee walked away sadly.

Scott McCreary, 17, first appeared to us in Milwaukee. He’s got the sort of smooth, deep, country voice that absolutely belongs in a recording studio. Jackie Wilson, 28, isn’t quite as ready to be a singing star, but she does have some vocal chops. Jerome Bell, 27, also from Milwaukee, has a pretty little falsetto. All three will be moving on in Hollywood, and we’re ready to crown McCreary the next American Idol. Even Jennifer Lopez found herself falling in love with him.

Tiffany Rios, 21, stepped up on stage and made an announcement first: “I’m going to be honest. I’m sick of seeing people trying to do what I know I can do.” Then, Tiffany launched into a ridiculously theatrical little audition. Travis Orlando, 17, lives in a family with a lot of financial problems. He’s got a good voice, but his Hollywood audition wasn’t his best. The lackluster audition wasn’t enough to keep Travis in Hollywood, but Tiffany will be moving on.

Clint Gamboa, Emily Anne Reed, Stefano Langone, Ashley Sullivan, Julia Zarilla and many, many others are among the 168 who remain in Hollywood. Idol's Hollywood Week continues next week with the best part of the whole show -- Group Night. Catch up on all the players by reading all our Amerian Idol 10 posts.