AMERICAN IDOL Top 10 Girls Perform

If that’s what Crystal Bowersox is capable of after coming out of the hospital, then the other ladies in the Top 10 really have no excuses. Bow-er-sox! Bow-er-sox!

Echoing what one of the judges said last night, there are a few girls this season that are really helping to reinvent what AMERICAN IDOL is all about.  IDOL has turned out some amazing artists with real talent, but there is a different kind of authenticity this season.

IDOL has made some changes over the past few seasons in an attempt to stay fresh and new, but this year it’s the contestants that are reinvigorating the show and helping it to stay relevant.

Right now it might be less than a handful of contestants that are leading the charge, but I have a feeling that they are going to force those around them to raise their game.  Those of us watching at home will be the beneficiaries.

Crystal is more of a woman than me. I’m still feeling pretty lousy so I didn’t write up a full recap, but I still wanted to talk IDOL. Hoping you do too. So allow me to cozy up next to Simon as the 5th judge at the IDOL table, and stroke his arm while I build my self-worth based on his acknowledgment of me. (Kara – you might be stepping it up in terms of your critiques and feedback, but you really need to stop hanging on Simon, it just makes you look pathetic.)

Quick thoughts on each of the ladies in order of their kickass-ness (just go with it).

• Katelyn Epperly – No on is more surprised than me that Katelyn is topping tonight’s list. Maybe she didn’t give the single best performance of the night, but for the second week in a row this girl has really showed me something.  I easily dismissed her early on and questioned why she was in the Top 24. She answered me last night.  Her take on Coldplay’s “The Scientist” was a bit slow, but I think the tempo allowed her to really explore each note and phrase. In doing so she not only connected with the song and the audience, but showed she is just more than a pretty face.

• Crystal Bowersox: This girl is the real deal. Rumor has it that serious diabetes related complications almost took her out of the competition completely. But thank god she’s one “tough cookie” because IDOL needs her…big time. I’m glad this girl has never seen IDOL. She’s not trying to manipulate the audience or the judges by taking cues from the IDOL playbook (I’m talking to you Todrick).  She performed the hell out of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ”Long as I Can See the Light” and introduced her version of the song to a whole new generation. Crystal is so talented and I think she’s got an easy journey to the Top 10. I wonder if anyone has clued her in about the IDOL tour (she’s going to hate that).

• Lilly Scott: I think Lilly’s real competition this season is Crystal. Both women are going to appeal to the same kind of IDOL watcher/voter.  Like Bowersox, Lilly brings such authenticity to each of her performances.  I’m not sure I would have picked Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” only because it’s been done on the IDOL stage before, but I have to give her props for giving us a version we hadn’t yet heard.  Lilly doesn’t have to rely on playing to the camera to connect with her audience, she does that through every note of her performance.

• Siobhan Magnus: I debated where Siobhan would land on my list.  Musically this girl has got some serious junk in the trunk.  That glory note last night was worth the whole performance.  I’m working out my personal issues with Siobhan. I like odd and quirky…I’m odd and quirky sometimes, but I haven’t yet connected with Siobhan.  I’m still getting the feeling that she’s trying just a bit too hard.  But two snaps for her performance last night. That was a lot of voice coming out of a little girl.

• Didi Benami: Much like Didi, I too was a bit taken back by the harshness of the judges’ comments last night.  Randy always says that when you can sign you can sing anything.  Right or wrong, that’s how I feel about Didi.  I love, love, love the tone and texture of her voice. Her take on “Lean on Me” wasn’t perfect (especially in the second half), but I thought the changes she made to the arrangement and with her voice, were fresh and exciting.  I guess the judges and I weren’t on the same page.

• Michelle Delamor: In any other season I think Michelle would be a front runner, but with this crop of ladies Michelle seems a bit ordinary.  I wasn’t feeling her take on Creed’s “Arms Wide Open” last night.  Given her vocal abilities, I’m not sure why she would take on a song that kept her within three or four notes from beginning to end. When the judges told her last week to take more risks, I don’t think this is what they had in mind.

• Paige Miles: Ok, Paige.  You’ve been hyped up enough about your vocal prowess, why not show the voting public? I couldn’t help but compare Paige’s take on Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away” to Katelyn Epperly’s performance.  The latter took her time and sang each and every note, lending meaning to each phrase.  Paige belted out words not notes, leaving her performance feeling like something that she got through rather than truly performed. I think Paige has to deliver big time next week or she’s going to be so lost that there won’t be any chance to come back.

• Katie Stevens: In IDOL’s earlier years, Katie would have been a contestant that we’d be talking about.  (Need I remind you of the season where Diana DeGarmo placed second?) With this group of girls, Katie just comes off a a high school kid trying to hang with the older kids. She’s trying too hard.  So far I’ve seen nothing authentic about her voice.  I disagree with the judges that she has to sing only the songs of her counterparts (really no more Miley Cyrus and I’m turning off the show if a Selena Gomez song is performed), but she does need to find out who she is as an artist.  I honestly don’t think she’s ever thought of it.  I really liked the advice Simon gave her about doing her research (even though it clearly went over Katie’s head).  What Simon was hoping to get across is that you have to do the work, and be more grounded in the music and artists that came before in order for you to know who you’d like to be. Just having a good voice isn’t good enough this season.  You have to show you can bring something different to the over-saturated music industry.

• Lacey Brown: I can’t begin to tell you how much I loathe the song “Kiss Me”.  It was the one track I would always skip on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack.  It’s a catchy and upbeat tune with cute lyrics. It’s not a terribly offensive song, and probably not deserving of my hatred, but I can’t help it.  So I guess Lacey lost me before she even started singing.  Her performance did nothing to win me back. Will she survive this week? I don’t think she deserves to.  Lacey could have sang the most amazing version of “Kiss Me”, but I never would have bought it.  The fact that she took Kara’s song suggestion the week after she mentioned it seemed desperate and lazy.  Of course the fact that she tried to be a Sixpence None the Richer sound alike didn’t help her case.

• Haeley Vaughn: For the love of all things holy, please please send this girl home with week.  It’s painful for me to listen to her shrieky voice and I shouldn’t be forced to. I’m still flabbergasted that Haeley got to sing another song this week while Janell Wheeler watched from her couch at home. That’s wrong on SO many different levels.  Despite my hatred of all things Miley Cyrus, “The Climb” is actually a fantastic song.  But it has meaning and depth, and Haeley sang it (and I use the term “sang” loosely) as she would “Happy Birthday”. There was nothing behind it and as a result there was no opportunity to connect with the audience.

Are we on the same page with the ladies?  How would YOU rank the Top 10 after last night’s performance?  Any standouts?  Anyone over-hyped? I’ll push Randy, Ellen, Kara and Simon out of the way and make room for you.