Friends cheer LI's 'Idol' Robbie Rosen

Staci Cohn, a senior at Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick, remembers the first time she heard Robbie Rosen sing: His solo on "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" five years ago at school left his peers in awe.

"Everyone just stared at him," Cohn said. "We were all so shocked. It was incredible."

She and her classmates have been following Rosen for weeks as he's moved through the "American Idol" competition. He made it to the top 24 and will perform on the 8 p.m. show Tuesday night. Only the top five vote-getting guys and top five vote-getting gals and three wild card picks become finalists, to be announced Thursday.

The school will host an "Idol" watching party Tuesday night so students can track Rosen, 17. There's also a television in the main lobby playing a loop of his "Idol" performances.

Danielle Losee, 17 and a junior, still can't believe her childhood friend is on national TV.

"It's unreal," she said. "It doesn't hit me until after. He's just amazing, just perfect."

Tiffany Minors, 16, a junior, said she chats with Rosen every day by text message. The singer can't talk much about the competition, she said, but has shared his excitement.

In a recent text to Minors, Rosen said he's nervous and that he needs all the votes he can get to avoid being cut. "I'm hoping and praying this happens," he wrote, adding that he needs "a lotta support."

Ian Stone, 16, a junior, has known Rosen since elementary school and remembers when he was in a wheelchair. The singer told "American Idol" he suffered from a severe case of hip synovitis - inflammation of cartilage lining the hip joint - as a young child. "He's come so far since then," said Stone, also a school choir member.

Stone said Rosen has "as good a chance as anybody. Somebody has got to win. Why not him?"

Rosen's teachers said he keeps in regular contact with them, defending his spot near the top of his class.

Sanford Sardo, Calhoun's director of choral activities, has taught Rosen for three years. He called Rosen's voice mature, his style contemporary.

"He's got a great ear," Sardo said. "He can hear not just his melody, but how the harmonies fit into the bigger picture . . . which allows him to improvise. He is constantly thinking ahead. He doesn't understand the talent he has."