American Idol: First 10 Semi-Finalists Revealed

SPOILER ALERT: This story covers events which have not yet been screened in the UK.

Half of the top 20 contestants on this year'sAmerican Idolhave now been revealed - with five boys and five girls being told they are in the semi-finals.

The first five male contestants to be given the good news were Charlie Askew, Elijah Liu, Curtis Finch Jr, Paul Jolley and Devin Velez.

And the first five females to make the grade were Kree Harrison, Adriana Latonio, Tenna Torres, Angela Miller and Amber Holcomb.

Meanwhile, [uuid=2e6baf6a-eba6-4988-9f28-3bc76dcd81a3]Nicki Minaj has been discussing the less pleasant parts of her job - including having to crush the dreams of some of the hopefuls on the show.

Speaking to People magazine, she said: "I don't want to hurt people's feelings but I guess that's what we're required to do."

And her co-judge Mariah Carey elaborated: "I hated it. I really did. Everybody was talented and different. There were some special people we had to get rid of."

Next week's shows will see 10 hopefuls singing each night - with half then sent home according to the results of a public vote.