Okay, after a full day in bed, I’m finally ready to write the rest of last night’s summary, just in time for the results show tonight.

The judges seemed to be in a good mood last night– especially Simon. Of course, Ryan was behaving like a pesty younger brother, not content to leave Simon happy. On paper, I sure did think that the guys were going to blow the girls out of the water. After last night, I think the reverse may be true.

Stephanie Edwards started the night off with Alicia Keys’ “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore”. She sure is mature for 19. She’s very soulful, and this song was a good choice for her. She had good energy, and she really committed to it. Randy loved it. Paula said, “you’re a star”. Simon said it was “a million times better han any performance we saw last night”.

I love the song “I Can’t Make You Love Me”, so I was excited that Amy Krebs was going to be singing Bonnie Raitt’s hit, but, you know, it just wasn’t great. It really needed something else. I’m not sure exactly what it needed– more energy? More enthusiasm? I’m not sure. But more of something. Maybe it just wasn’t a good choice for tonight. Randy said it was a middle of the road performance– “very, very too safe”. He later added, “she’s better than the song she chose,and she didn’t sing it that good.” Paula agreed with Randy. Simon, in his inimitable way of coming up with metaphors and similes said she was “like a candle”. Huh? I’m not sure why a candle is unmemorable and forgettable, but that’s what he meant by it. At least he didn’t compare her to a hotel lounge singer.

Leslie Hunt sang “Natural Woman”. Up to this point, Leslie has had a very positive American Idol experience. She may feel differently after tonight. She does have a very unique voice, and I did enjoy the performance, but it was a bit too “happy” and “dancey” for the song, I thought. Too fluffy. Randy thought the song was too big for her. Paula said she needed to be careful what songs she chooses. Simon used his famous “I’ll tell you what it is with you…” line on her. The long, drawn out explanation that followed can be summarized as she looked uncomfortable and awkward. Perhaps that’s what I was picking up on that made me feel that it was too fluffy– perhaps it was ungenuine happiness that I was picking up on.

There seemed to be a lot of Aretha last night. Sabrina Sloan sang “I Never Loved A Man (The Way That I Love You). A little piece of trivia about Sabrina. She was in the touring cast of Hairspray. We hadn’t seen a lot of her before last night. Last night she looked like a very young Cher (I mean that in a good way). She has a really good r&b voice. Randy loved it, saying that the was “the one to beat”. Paula gave it a standing ovation, and Simon said it was the “best so far”.

I have to admit, I’m not a huge Antonella Barba fan. Something about her is just very unappealing to me. Last night she sang “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”. I thought this was a really bad song choice for her. Her voice is just not as strong as some of the other contestants, and she clearly seemed very nervous. She picked an emotional song, but I just don’t feel like her emotions really reach her eyes. She kind of reminds me of Ayla Brown from last year. Randy said her performance just wasn’t good. Paula reverted to complimenting her looks, which is never a sign of a good performance. Simon agreed that “the good news is you’re attractive, the bad news is it didn’t work”. She did, however, earn a first for this year– Simon’s first prediction that someone would be going home.

Jordin Sparks is just amazing. I can’t believe she’s so young. Maybe she’s just too young to be nervous. I thought she might have made a mistake choosing Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason to Stay”. I was afraid it might be a bit old for her, but it really worked. She has an excellent voice, and it was a good performance. Randy said she should challenge herself, and “I don’t know if there’s any song too big for you”. Paula said she was a natural talent. Simon said she has a “very, very good voice” and that if she pushed herself, she just might surprise a few people.

Now, onto the most bizarre performance of the night. I think Nicole Tranquillo has a great voice, and I think she chose a horrible song for American Idol. She sang Chaka Khan’s “Stay”. My first complaint was that I couldn’t understand a word of the song– seriously. I had to go back and mute it, so that the words would go across the bottom, so that I could figure out what the lyrics to the song were. She had a lot of energy, and she clearly can sing, but it was just weird. Randy said he didn’t get it, that it was too urban. Now, I have listened to some of the music from the band Nicole Tranquillo sings with, and it’s really urban, but it’s better than what she sang last night. Paula thought it was the wrong song but praised her voice. Simon felt the performance was indulgent, aggresive, over rehearsed and fake. Come on, Simon, tell us what you really think.

I think contestants should be banned from choosing Celine Dion in the first round. Inevitably people choose to sing her in the early rounds, and it’s generally not that great. Haley Scarnato did a fair job singing “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”. It wasn’t fabulous, but it sounded solid. Randy thought it was just alright. Paula thought she did a nice job. Simon said she “sounded forty” and that she sounded like a singer at “a reasonably good hotel”– well, as long as it’s a reasonably good hotel, that’s not so bad, right?

Melinda Doolittle sang another Aretha Franklin song– “Since You’ve Been Gone” (no, not the Kelly Clarkson song). This was a great song choice for Melinda. It was an Aretha song, but not one of the more well-known ones. She was the most polished performers we’ve seen so far. She sang a finale-quality performance. A year ago Melinda was thinking about trying out to sing as one of the background singers for American Idol. I think she made a much better choice auditioning to be the American Idol. I expect her to go far. Randy said “that was the bomb”. Paula said it was a big performance. Simon said she is “an incredible singer, a fantastic person, and I really hope you do well”.

I kind of felt sorry for Alaina Alexander going after Melinda. She sang “Brass in the Pocket”. I liked it okay. I felt like it was fun, but I didn’t like the fact that she tried to take all the rock out of the song. That left it a little flat. Randy said it wasn’t great. Paula said she didn’t make it her own. Simon said she kept singing “I’m special, and it really wasn’t”. I still like Alaina, though, and I hope she doesn’t go home tonight.

Gina Gershon sang another Celine Dion song “All By Myself”. You may remember Gina from last year when she was cut in the final round in Hollywood. I thought she did a good job with the ballad. It wasn’t boring, as some ballads can be. She attacked the song with energy, and I thought she hit two really great notes. Randy liked it, and Paula thought she had picked the right song. Simon said the song showed a different side of her, but he didn’t feel like she hit both of the notes.

Lakesha Jones was the last singer of the night, singing “And I Am Telling You”. She has a HUGE voice, and she’s so sassy. The last note actually brought tears to my eyes. Randy said he loved it– I mean he REALLY loved it. Paula said that this is where she belongs. Simon was tempted to tell the other 23 people to book their plane tickets home.

So, that was it for the top 12 girls. Here’s my ranking of them:

Lakesha Jones
Melinda Doolittle
Jordin Sparks
Sabrina Sloan
Gina Gershon
Stephanie Edwards

(the following are in no particular order)

Haley Scarnato
Amy Krebs
Alaina Alexander
Leslie Hunt
Nicole Tranquillo

And bringing up the rear

Antonella Barba

Tune in this evening for the results show to see who goes home and also to watch Fantasia perform.

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