American Idol Season 9 - Top 16 - Final 8 Girls Perform

Now, that's how I like my American Idol folks!  Short, sweet and to the point!  I love when they get down to a manageable number of contestants to fit it into an hour.  Unfortunately, when we get to the top 12 it will be another 2 hour opus with long-winded comments from the judges.  But, let's savor in this brief episode while we have it!  Now, you may have heard a little rumor that I picked 4 out of 4 to be eliminated last week.  It is surely a feat not to be repeated this season.  There are some tough choices for who is going home on Wednesday.  Well, one easy pick and one difficult pick!  Let's get right into it shall we?   Ellen, get off Simon's lap and let's get started!

1. Katie Stevens - "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson -  Katie already had a lot riding against her by picking the smash hit for the 1st American Idol winner.   It's bad when the only good thing I can think to say about her this week is that I liked her outfit!  There was really nothing to the performance that made it stand out.  To make it worse, she went first.   The judges brought up the great point that she is taking their advice and trying to improve.  And she is a very likable contestant.   So, I hope she gets in.  But, I just don't know.  I have always said that the 16 year olds are just not mature enough for this competition.  Maybe she's 17 now, but it's still young.  Jordin Sparks was an exception in a lackluster year (I always mention that too!)   Good luck Katie, and good luck to me with my pick!     
2. Siobhan Magnus - "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals - So, this was a surprise performance for her Daddy.  Okay, great.  There is no question that Siobhan won over America last week with that crazy high note in "Think".  She will definitely be back for the Top 12.  She really does have an incredible voice, but I agree with Simon that there were no "WOW" moments in the performance.  Then again, it's tough to replicate a great Idol moment.  Just ask Andrew Garcia!   She'll be back and we can judge her more then. 
3. Lacey Brown - "The Story" by Brandi Carlile  -  I went into this performance hoping Lacey didn't do well to make life easier for my picking!  (I know, I'm a cruel human being)   But, I do love that song and she gave a very good vocal, albeit boring, performance of it.   Kara wishes for more performances like this because this is when she sounds good.  Trust me, if Lacey does a sit down, acoustic performance so that we can hear all the nuances in her voice EVERY week?  We are going to get really tired of it.   But she may have done enough to keep her in this show.  She does really have a nice voice, but is she going to win anything with it?  No chance.   I think Lacey does NOT have the fan base that others might have, so this perhaps might be in Katie or Katelyn's favor.   I would count against her also that she didn't take the risk by singing the really big part of the song!  That's the best part! 
4. Katelyn Epperly - "I Feel the Earth Move" - Carole King  -  Ummmmm, Katelyn what on earth are you thinking?  We definitely did the time warp on this song.  Yeah, it's great you can play that 70's organ thingy (the Wurlitzer? Thanks for the history lesson Randy!) but is that really what you want to do the week before the top 12?  She said she was trying to be less corny.  I think, if anything, she would be taken LESS seriously after that performance.   Don't get me wrong, it was a good vocal performance, but not memorable in the least.  The best thing she has going for her is that she's pretty.  Yikes, I don't know.  I've been supporting her but this may have been a rough choice for her.   
5. Didi Benami - "Rhiannon" Fleetwood Mac - Well, my wife and I disagreed on this one.  I bring this up because this is her surprise pick to get eliminated this week.  And I'm gonna hear it if it happens!   I just can't help it.  I really love her voice.  There are 3 people with similar voices in the competition.  Didi, Lacey and Lilly.  Lilly is definitely the best of the 3 of them.   I really haven't bought into the whole Lacey thing, but maybe others have.   But Didi, I still like her.  She won't be taking home any 1st place trophies either this year, so it probably doesn't matter in the long run.   The judges were very impressed with her.   Simon thought the whole performance was a "wow" moment for her.  Kara equated it to her great performance of "Terrified".  Then again who cares what Kara thinks?  I can see Didi in the situation where the judges praised her so much that she may get forgotten due to voters assuming she's safe.   Here is the biggest compliment I can give her though.  Taylor Swift, the world's biggest star right now and arguably worst singing voice to accompany her star power, butchered this very same song on the Grammy's while singing with Stevie Knicks herself.   Didi, was far better than Miss Swift ever would be on that song.  (did I just lose my teenage readers?!)  Granted, Swift is a good songwriter which keeps her in the biz of selling lots of records.  So, that's where my comparison ends.   I think Didi is safe, just don't tell my wife if you agree! 
6. Paige Miles - "Smile" - Charlie Chaplin - Would you believe me if I told you that when Paige went on and on about how this song means so much to her that I thought out loud "Yep, you're definitely talking about because it was sang at Michael Jackson's all-star Memorial Service!"   And wouldn't you know it, it's all she could come up with to explain why it meant so much to her.   Well she didn't say exactly that but she did name drop Michael.   WHAT!?!?!?!?!?   Wow, talk about one contestant getting it wrong 3 weeks in a row.   And this was the worst performance of all 3.  I don't even think sympathy voters could get the strength to dial the number to support her.   There was warbled runs all through the song.  There was snooze inducing low vocals through the whole thing.  I've said this about other performances in other weeks.  No redeeming qualities whatsoever.  If there is anyone locked to get booted this week, it is Paige Miles.   By the way, how bad is it that I have been calling her Paige Davis for weeks now and never thought to double check her name?   Ahhh Trading Spaces.   
7. Crystal Bowersox -  "Give Me One Reason" by Traci Chapman -  When a contestant has the goods, it's hard to even write about it without sounding repetitive.  Crystal is definitely the one to beat right now, as Simon also acknowledged.  She just goes out there every week and kills it.  (well 2 weeks in a row at least).   She changed up the song enough to give it a life of its own, and to showcase her vocal chops.   I will probably post a video of her performance as I have the past 2 weeks.  Loved it!  At this point, I don't see anything stopping her from getting very far in the competition (I don't want to declare a winner yet, but top 2 is definitely in the sights right now).  But we'll see.  
8. Lilly Scott - "I Fall to Pieces" Patsy Cline - Did anyone else roll their eyes when Kara made another one of her comments where she was looking around trying to get people to agree with her?  "Don't know how you did it but you actually made Patsy Cline feel CURRENT!!"   Wow, I cannot stand her.  First of all, Patsy Cline is timeless!   And 2nd of all, the fact that Lilly took on Patsy Cline, like Simon suggested, was a very risky thing to do.  He meant it as a warning, I mean it as the utmost compliment.  I still really like this girl.  Her voice is wicked cool!  (yep, I said it)   You guys remember that song "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star?  I kinda get that vibe when she sings.  But she was singing Patsy Cline!  And it sounded cool.  Yeah, it started off a little shaky, but she finished real strong.   Love this girl and can't wait to see what else she has.  Definite Top 12er.   Nice Mandolin playing too.  

Okay, so I'm all out of contestants to review!  Better move on with the program here.  Let's do our process of elimination!

Who is in the Top 12 with no doubts?  Crystal, Lilly, Siobhan  

Who is out of the Top 12 with no doubts? Paige

Who had a good performance but might get overlooked?  Didi

Who had a rough performance, went first, but people like? Katie

Who had made a bizarre song choice but is pretty?  Katelyn

Who did I forget?  Lacey

Elimination Picks: Paige Miles, Katie Stevens  

Bonus Pick: Lacey Brown  Double Bonus Pick: Katelyn Epperly

Yikes, really tough week folks!  In the end, I felt I was overthinking it so I went simple.  Katie went first and gave an unmemorable performance.  And Paige is going home.  Nothing more to say about it.  I think the thing that is important to note here is that if it's Katelyn, Katie, Didi, or Lacey it really doesn't matter.  I don't think any of them have a shot to win it.  But I have been wrong in the past.  I was pleasantly surprised week after week with Kris Allen's run to the finish (Did I lose my Adam Glambert readers?  At least I got you to the end!)   Anyway, I don't expect to go 4 for 4 two weeks in a row, so I'll play things safe and we'll see how it goes.  But definitely count on me gloating if I do it again!   Hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you next week!

Ending Credits

Please Click to Support!  I'm moonlighting at Gather.com and writing some entertainment articles, including re-posting these blog entries.  Every page hit gets me closer to a teeny tiny donation for my efforts.  If you enjoyed my writings, please click here  to register a page view.     And also check out my other writings at http://mvitullo.gather.com/ 

Check out my other Blogs: 

LOST - http://www.lostaddictsblog.com/ (blog is back and on fire!)
FlashForward - http://www.flashforwardaddicts.com/ (back March 18th)