Wheeling native chosen for Idol's Top 24

Mount Prospect has Lee DeWyze as its hometown idol; will Wheeling repeat the feat with Haley Reinhart?

She's got a long way to go, but Reinhart got one step closer Wednesday night when judges selected her for the top 24 on "American Idol."

Reinhart wowed the judges with strong group and individual showings.

During the first half of Wednesday's show, the remaining 61 contestants were split into duos and trios, then sent to Las Vegas where they tackled Beatles songs on the Cirque de Soleil LOVE stage.

Reinhart's group earned high praise for their rendition of "The Long and Winding Road"

"Very, very nice!" judge Jennifer Lopez said. "That was really good and you all made it your own individually."

Though Reinhart was in a group with similarly big voices, she still managed to stand out.

So it was no surprise when Reinhart was sent back to Los Angeles with 39 other contestants for one final "Sing For Your Life" round before the judges made their final picks.

Each contestant was then called to appear in front of the panel. Reinhart seemed collected, but she admitted she "really wanted this."

Noting that Reinhart had auditioned last season in Chicago, the judges asked her what she had learned after not making the cut the first time around.

"I studied more and learned to grow as an artist," Reinhart said.

Seemingly pleased with her response, Lopez, Tyler and Randy Jackson gave her the good news that she'd made the top 24.

Perhaps the most surprising elimination of the night was that of Oak Forest's Chris Medina. Medina auditioned with a compelling back story - a fiancee critically injured in a car crash - and the judges were visibly touched when Medina brought his fiancee, Juliana Ramos, out to meet them after his Milwaukee audition.

"Ultimately it's about singing," Lopez told Medina when she gave him the news he was going home. But the decision left her sobbing and in need of a break.

We bet Lopez returns at 7 tonight when the final 19 contestants are chosen to round out the Top 24.

Still waiting to hear her fate is Aurora native Tatynisa Wilson. Her Vegas group's performance of "I Saw Her Standing There" elicited mixed reviews from the judges.