AMERICAN IDOL Top 8 Girls Perform

It’s 5:20am on Wednesday morning and I’m just catching up on last night’s AMERICAN IDOL.  I’m fresh out of coffee so here’s to hoping that the Top 8 ladies bring something special to help me wake up. There is some serious talent this season but I’ve yet to see that breakthrough performance that really grabs my attention.  With all the singer/songwriter type of artists this season, I’m just hoping that moment comes.

Two minutes into last night’s live show and they’re already running behind? How does that happen? Ah, the pressure of the one hour performance show.  No pre-vids tonight, just straight to the performances.

Up first tonight….

Katie Stevens
Much like Haeley Vaughn, Katie is another girl who would have benefited from a year or two of experience before taking to the IDOL stage.  She has a nice voice, but there is this “choir” quality to it. She’s not a pop singer. Her voice isn’t nuanced enough.  Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” is an amazing pop ballad, but there was no life or freshness to Katie’s version.  Bravo to the judges for giving her some quality feedback tonight.  The girl has been taking their notes and trying her best, but she doesn’t know who she is as an artist so her whole performance is based on doing what she thinks the judges want her to do rather than doing what feels organic to her.

Siobhan Magnus
This girl just keeps getting better and better.  What an instrument she has. The beginning of “House of the Rising Son” was haunting and rich. Starting off the song a capella was risky but it paid off well as it forced me to concentrate on nothing else but Siobhan’s voice. She demanded my attention.  This wasn’t a safe song by any stretch of the imagination. She showed depth, range and a real step forward as an artist. Do I see a place for Siobhan Magnus in the current music scene right now? I’m not sure. But I’m most definitely coming around on her. Three out the four judges agreed with me. Simon wasn’t really loving the performance.

Lacey Brown
Argh, I’m so bummed out! Lacey performed Brandi Carlile’s “The Story”, a song that was secretly hoping that Didi Benami would take on as it’s so well suited for Didi’s voice.  It was a decent enough song choice for Lacey. Despite the performance being a snoozefest, it was the best I think I’ve ever heard Lacey. She sang it well and it did represent her as an artist well. My problem is, she lacks charisma. She has zero star potential.  Her voice is unique and almost quirky, which means you have to have something more to bring to the table if you want to be an international musical superstar.

Katelyn Epperly
Bad move to play the keyboard tonight. It really hindered Katelyn’s ability to connect with the audience tonight. “I Feel the Earth Move” is a song she really should have been groovin’ out to but she was tethered to the computer. I don’t think this was the right song choice at all.  There was nothing special about it and Katelyn didn’t make it relevant enough to grab my attention. There was no ‘wow’ factor to that performance. Katelyn’s been on a great trajectory, but I think she stumbled a bit tonight. Kara said she didn’t feel like Katelyn was competing tonight, but rather going through the motions.  I’d have to agree.

Didi Benami
Here’s what I have to say about Didi.  Maybe more than any other contestant this year, I think not only would I buy a whole album of Didi’s song, but I think it would be a CD that would get a lot of repeat play. I absolutely love the texture of her voice, and the subtle cracks that makes everything she sings interesting. I know she’s had a rough time of it thus far, and maybe I’m too forgiving, but I really, really like Didi. Glad she finally picked up the guitar last night, because I think she looks more comfortable on stage with it.  Randy didn’t think she had a “wow” moment, but Simon disagreed saying the entire performance was a “wow” moment. YAY!!

Paige Miles
Yikes! Talk about being pitchy. Paige couldn’t find the right pitch at any point in the performance.  “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin is one of my favorite songs of all time, but Paige brought nothing to it.  It’s a touching song with real emotion to the lyrics but she sang it like she was at a funeral. Her voice was shaky and she looked terrified up there for some reason.  First of all, she should have started down a key or two because it wasn’t in the right part of her range. Second, she needed more rehearsal time.  No pre-vid for her tonight, but I have to wonder if that song was a last minute switch. I think tonight was a big oops for Paige.

Crystal Bowersox
There’s just such a difference between what Crystal does on that stage. She fills up the entire theater with her performance. Maybe she’s not the artist that most IDOL viewers would be into, I don’t know, but there is she’s bringing something important to the show this year.  Tracy Chapman was a fantastic choice because, as Kara said, it’s the type of artist Crystal would be. I guess I’m the one being hypocritical here, but I’d like to see something that wasn’t so “Crystal”.  What can she do with a top 40 hit or something a little less coffeehouse.  I say that not because I think that she’s picking the wrong songs but I think she might be on the verge of becoming predictable.  Does that make any sense?

Lilly Scott
I really dig Lilly’s voice, but I’m not sure I would like to listen to a full album.  Her voice is great for a song or two, but it’s a little too tinny for me to perhaps enjoying a straight hour or two of listening.  But there’s no denying Lilly is one of the brightest spots in this season’s competition.  She brings something necessary to the program.  Although the way she approaches a song is becoming a bit predictable, her song choices never are.  This is a woman who knows who she wants to be as an artist, and what she does is pick other artists, from over the past 30 years or so, that share a common thread to who she is.  She makes artists like Patsy Cline her contemporaries. Not an easy thing to do.  Every time the judges tell people that they don’t know who they are as an artist, they should look to what Lilly is doing.

A rather mellow night across the board for the girls.  Strong performances from a few people, but nothing that truly blew me away.  When are we going to get THAT performance?

I think Paige Miles is the girl going home on Thursday, but I’d personally rather say goodbye to Katie Stevens or Lacey Stevens.  I think Paige has more in her that we haven’t seen yet, but Katie and Lacey have shown us everything they’ve got.  Do I think that Paige is going to have this breakthrough performance next week that will make her a contender?  No, but I’m still more interested in listening to her than Katie or Lacey.

So that’s that.  The guys are up tonight.  I’m sure somewhere in Hollywood Tim Urban is having heartburn just thinking about performing tonight.