American Idol- Top 24 Girls' Night Week 1

And we’re live! A couple of things stood out for me tonight. I thought Randy and Kara were huge improvements over how they usually are. I really hope Randy doesn’t slip back into his Dawwg Pound routine once the guys perform. And second of all, The Beatles! I know they did two nights of Beatle songs last year, but that was when the contestants had to sing Beatle songs even if they didn’t want to. It was nice hearing a more obscure Beatle song choice like Fixin’ A Hole. Well, relatively speaking. How obscure can a Beatles song really be? Anyway, on to the performances:



Paige Miles- “All Right Now”: Song choice, song choice, song choice. I would think that once people made the top 24, they’d spent a ton of time worrying about this. I also don’t think it’s fair that the show gave one of the singers with very minimal airtime the first slot of the night. She may have a very good voice, but it was not showcased well tonight. The judges liked her more than I did tonight. Grade: C

Ashley Rodriguez-“Smile”: A sign of a mediocre torch singer is how she sings the verses. So many female singers can belt the chorus, but if the verses sound low and mumbled then there’s trouble. Well, there’s trouble here. I’m going to miss Simon’s brutal honesty like when he told her she’s not the star he thought she would be. Grade: D

Janell Wheeler- “What About Love”: The most important lesson learned here is that Janell can’t tackle a big song. Unlike Ashley, I thought Janell sounded ok during the verses. I’m starting to realize there’s nothing really special about her voice. Average performance gets an average grade. Grade: C

Lilly Scott- “ Fixin’ A Hole”: The first of our Beatles trilogy! I have nothing against changing up a Beatles song, In fact, I think Didi did an awesome job in her first reaction when she gave the “Na Na Na” part of Hey Jude swing a lot more than it does on the original. This time though, I think Lilly overdid it. She tried too hard to fit the song into her unique singing style, and it became distracting. I still like her voice, but after Didi and Lacey went later I realized there are others who have that similar quality. Grade: C+


Katelyn Epperly- “Oh Darling!”: This might be the best Beatles song for American Idol, and Katelyn did a nice job. Here’s an example of a great song choice. The key is she didn’t overkill it when it could be very tempting to scream parts of the song. Grade: A-


Haley Vaughn- “I Want To Hold Your Hand”: Didn’t this girl want to be the first black country pop singer? Her quirkiness was part of her charm, but she’s starting to annoy me. I like the arrangement to this song and in the right hands it could have been a performance to remember. After tonight, I don’t think Haley is going to make it to the top 12. Grade: C-

Lacey Brown- “Landslide”: Very forgettable performance. Because “Landslide is such a quiet song, you have to nail it to be remembered. Lacey didn’t come close. Grade: D

Michelle Delamor- “Fallin’”- I thought Michelle was the best surprise of the night. Here’s another example of great song choice. Maybe other contestants could have done a similarly great job with it, but we’ll never know. I don’t agree with the judges’ comment that she should have jumped outside her comfort zone. I think the first live performance should be about showing America what kind of singer you are. Save the risks for later on. Grade: A-

Didi Benami- “The Way I Am”- Her vocal style is a lot like Lilly. The song may have been a little too much on the dull side, but I really like her voice. So natural and jazzy. I disagree with the lack of star power comment. I also her liked her film package when she acknowledged that we have seen enough of her crying. I can take only so many crying outbursts! (This comment was definitely Sienna influenced). Grade: B+

Siobhan Magnus- “Wicked Game”- It was only a matter of time they focused on her glassblowing abilities. Siobhan improves significantly as the song move forward, and I disagree with thinking it was a poor song choice. I think she’s one of the best female singers this season. Grade: B+

Crystal Bowersox- “Hand In My Pocket”: It was a fine performance, but I also agree with Simon’s negative comment. That kind of coffeehouse performance can be seen anywhere. It reminds me of some of the rockers from seasons past. It looks unique on an American Idol stage, but put the singer on stage at some local club or bar and it might seem a lot more ordinary. Crystal still sounded good. I also think she has the best stage presence out of the girls. It reminded me of the season when Melissa Doolittle gave by far the most professional performances every week. I almost cringed when she began talking back to the judges. I thought she made up for it nicely when she agreed that picking a Bowie song is a good idea. I hope Bowersox doesn’t become too predictable because I have a feeling that will be her biggest problem. I’d be shocked if she doesn’t sing “Come To My Window” at some point this season. Grade: A-

Katie Stevens- “Feelin’ Good”- Above anything else, tonight proves that Katie has one of the best voices of the season. I agree with the judges that the song was too old fashioned for her, but at the same time it showed off the great bluesy quality of her voice. She has the potential to be better than she was tonight. Grade: B+


Going Home Predictions: Lacey Brown, Ashley Rodriguez, Haley Vaughn were the three worst tonight. I might throw Paige in the mix of people in trouble since she didn’t get any airtime prior to tonight, performed first tonight, and did not give a knockout performance. I see Ashley surviving one more week based on the hype coming into this week. I think it’s the end of the road for Lacey and Haley.


Top 12 in order of how they did tonight:

Katelyn Epperly A-
Michelle Delamor A-
Crystal Bowersox A-
Siobhan Magnus- B+
Didi Benami- B+
Katie Stevens- B+
Lilly Scott- C+
Paige Miles- C
Janell Wheeler- C
Haley Vaughn- C-
Ashley Rodriguez- D
Lacey Brown- D