Ever since American Idol's Hollywood Round finished taping last week, names have begun leaking online about who has made the Top 24 semifinalists slots on the show.

The most interesting name locally: St. Petersburg native Michael Lynche, a standout football player from Gibbs High School whose mother, Michele Lynche, was a community columnist for the St. Petersburg Times. The Web site for his music, described as a cross between Gnarls Barkley, Outkast and R. Kelly, can be found here.

Though Lynche wasn't shown during Wednesday's episode, which featured auditions in Orlando,  the show's Web site features an interview with the singer among clips of all people from the auditions who were passed onto Hollywood. See it here.

If true, Michael would be the second person from his immediate family to do well on the show; brother Marque Lynche Jr.made Idol's semifinals in 2004, cut before the final 12.

Michael Lynche's father Marque Sr., now living in Sarasota, confirmed that his son made the Top 24 semifinalists. Fox does not comment on results until the episodes air; the Hollywood Round auditions are scheduled to air in February.

Michael Lynche's name also appears on a list of the 24 semifinalists published by MJ'sBigBlog and Joe'sPlace blog.

Idol watchers have also noted that the show's audition episodes are still maintaining the fiction that the crowds which show for their big cattle call auditions go right in to see the marquee judges on the same day.

Longtime readers of this blog know better. I pointed out back in July that Idol auditions take place over many months, with hopefuls from the big cattle calls brought before a panel of executive producers the next month and then winners from those tryouts brought before Simon, Randy, Kara and a guest judge.

Still Reality Blurred has an interesting post on the way the audition shows refuse to acknowledge that timeline (which would also mean admitting that the awful contestants we see on TV have passed through at least two rounds of auditions -- picked specifically to be bad).

And the Daily Beast has an interesting piece on the subject as well, noting that contestants are informed some of them have been selected because they suck (well, duh!).

I'm wondering if Michael is going to surface in tonight's auditions, filmed in Orlando.