Today in ‘Idol:’ Round one of the top 12; Lilly Scott performs on ‘Ellen’

"American Idol" officially gets going Tuesday night, when the newly cemented top 12 — six guys, six gals — take the "big stage" for the first real season 9 showdown. This week's theme? Songs of the Rolling Stones, which could either mean trouble for a few favorites, or an opportunity to wow us all. Two contestants, Casey James and Paige Myles, are said to be under the weather (Casey with the flu, Paige with a throat infection), but barring a hospitalization, the show must go on. It's a two-hour episode and could run over, so set your DVRs accordingly (Fox, 8 p.m.),

Over at "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," eliminated "Idol" contestant Lilly Scott will have her chance at a proper encore on Tuesday. The talk-show host and "Idol" judge blogged about being "shocked" when Lilly got voted off last week, and thus invited her for a performance on the "Ellen" stage (check local listings).

We'll be sitting in the audience for "Idol" this week, with a full post-show report coming to you right after. And because the "Idol" studio usually holds hostage phones, iPods, voice recorders or any other metal objects until the show's end, we likely won't be live-tweeting on East Coast time. But come back to the IdolTracker Twitter for a lively discussion during the West Coast airing!

And remember, on Wednesday morning, we'll have the first Buzzmeter panel results, a guest blogger to chime in on round one of the top 12, and our inaugural post-game chat (more info to come). See you all here, there and everywhere!

– Shirley Halperin

Follow @IdolTracker on Twitter 

Photo: "American Idol" top 24 contestant Lilly Scott performs on the March 3 show. Credit: Michael Becker / PictureGroup

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