Loren Lott auditions on the Hollywood stage for American Idol. (photo: American Idol)

San Diego’s Loren Lott woke up this morning and found herself in the Top 24 finalists of American Idol Season XIV…

Well, no, make that one morning a week ago she discovered out of the 60,000 or so aspiring vocalists who started this journey she was in the final couple of dozen.

OK, OK, it’s been some time now that Lott knew she had made the cut to propel one step closer to a dream come true.

“Yes, it was frustrating,” she said Tuesday morning in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “I knew but I couldn’t tell anyone, not even my mother. That was really difficult. She had friends wanting to give me advice on how to advance in the competition, but little did they know I was already in the Top 24.”

Because of production limitations, the first few rounds of every Idol season is shown via tape recording. And that includes this week’s (Wednesday and Thursday) shows. The performances were taped, but the voting by viewers to whittle the Top 24 down to a Sweet 16 will be live.

There will be 8 boys and a like number of girls left after the votes are tabulated. And that doesn’t sit too well with the 22-year old and first-time contestant on the show Lott.

“We (Lott and the other females remaining) and have discussed it and that part of the show isn’t fair. Like what if 12 girls are the best and only four boys. That means four of the girls, even though they were better, would have to be eliminated.,” she explained.

Other topics she touched on:

On Harry Connick, Jr. not voting to put her through the the Hollywood Round:

“He (Harry) said he thought I thought I was a star already.. I think it was just difficult for him to decipher who I am as an artist. So I just decided to show al of them a little more of who I really am.”

On that initial tryout:

“No, I had never tried before. Never thought about trying out. But when you do your emotions take you to a certain, emotional place. It’s a strange place that isn’t normal. But I just believe in myself and hope that I am an inspiration to other folks to do the same thing for themselves.”

And on her pets:

“We had two Australian shepherds when I left. And when I got back they were gone. I don’t know where they went. No one’s talking.”