Top 10 Girls - Crystal Cleared

Instead of the guys we were supposed to see tonight, we're finally getting the girls. Instead of being automatically eliminated, Crystal Bowersox is back, because she's a "tough cookie." Instead of the steaming mound of mediocrity from last night, we actually heard several good performances.

Fresh off her hospital stay, Crystal's leading off tonight. We learn she has a twin brother who's kind of a square. Poor guy. I'd hate to have Crystal as a twin sister. Her song choice is "Long As I Can See the Light" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and she intends to put a gospelly church spin on it. Well, the opening organ certainly fits that description. As much as I want to root against heavily-pimped, slightly trashy Crystal, I have to say she's really good. Like Michael last night, she started off the proceedings in style. The judges love it too, though Kara screws up by confusing which Alanis Morissette song she performed last week. Oh, Kara!

Haeley Vaughn likes to make headbands and has trouble looking serious when she sings because she's such a bubbly, happy person. That contagious likability might be all she has going for her. Her song tonight is Miley Cyrus' "The Climb." It starts out OK, but as it goes on there are more and more pitch problems until I have to throw up my hands and say "trainwreck!" She seems like a kid who's not ready yet, and the judges agree, though they like her spirit.

Texas girl Lacey Brown has a hobby of refurbishing antique furniture. That's semi-interesting. Just as the judges suggested last week, she chooses Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me." She kind of adds her own twist to it, and the song's instrumentation is certainly different than the original. Her nerves are still very evident, though. You can hear that slight tremble in her voice and see a hesitance in her stage presence. She definitely has a likability to her, but this performance is nothing more than pleasant. The judges think it was good, but nothing special.

Katie Stevens can say "give me a kiss" in six different languages. She's a saucy one! Her song tonight is the song half of last year's girls auditioned with, Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On." Her voice is too quiet for the first half, and while she shows some good power vocals in the second half, I'm already bored by that point. The judges think she needs to show more of what type of artist she wants to be. Katie seems like your typical cute girl next door, and while she can certainly sing, she's not very interesting musically. I think her early exposure will keep her around though.

Former middle school mascot Didi Benami is doing Bill Withers' "Lean on Me." She has a really nice voice. It seems a little out of sorts for someone with her tone to be singing singing soul music, but somehow she makes it passable. At least I think so. The judges think it was bad song choice, and Simon even said it was painful. They aren't too harsh, but Didi is so discouraged she can't speak after she's done being judged. Huh. I guess I liked her tone so much I didn't notice the imperfections Simon was talking about. Good tone and texture are a big part of my liking a singer.

Church choir director Michelle Delamor, after doing a generically good Alicia Keys cover last week, is doing "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed. Way to climb out of that pigeonhole, Michelle! Unfortunately, the vocals are shaky throughout. I applaud the brave song choice, but it doesn't work at all. Poor Michelle. I kind of like her. The judges give it mixed reviews. Randy seems disappointed, Ellen is lukewarm, and Kara and Simon think it was her best performance yet. Well hey! I hope their praise keeps her around!

Lilly Scott lets us know she can play a ton of different instruments. I thought "Moog" was an interesting item on the list. I'd like to see her break that one out on the show! She's doing an Idol standard, Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." Not the most creative song choice, but a very good performance. Like Crystal, she has the poise of an old pro with this playing-the-guitar-and-singing thing. The judges all give her deserved high praise.

Katelyn Epperly says she was studying to be a recording engineer before auditioning. Since her odds of making it as a recording artist are pretty slim, that's a good backup profession if she wants to stay in the industry. Her song choice is "The Scientist," by the musical equivalent of melatonin, Coldplay. Oh, and she's playing the piano too. The vocals are good. Katelyn may be the best technical singer in the competition, but sheesh, what a boring song. Still, she deserves credit for the vocals. The judges all think it was good, but offer small pieces of constructive criticism here and there.

The still-relatively-unknown Paige Miles reveals that she likes to color. How cute! She's doing Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away," which sounds pretty good. I don't know the original, so I can't say how it compares. Paige hits some crazy high notes near the end, which I guess gives it an extra oomph. It's a little awkward at parts, but overall pretty good. The judges think the song choice could've been better, but that her vocals were good. Kara, who wrote the song, thinks she didn't capture the feeling of the lyrics very well. Does anyone else think it's a conflict of interest that she's allowed to judge performances of her own songs?

This week's pimp spot goes to Siobhan Magnus, and she reveals she used to have a mohawk. What a shocker. She seemed so clean-cut. Her song choice is Aretha Franklin's "Think," and...well, she shows off an impressive vocal range, going into shrieky Lambert territory a few times. Eh, it was half-shaky and half-impressive. It just seemed a little contrived, with a pure karaoke arrangement. I'm sure the judges will love it because of the high notes, and as expected, they do.

My performance ranking:

Crystal (8/10)
Lilly (7/10)
Katelyn (6/10)
Didi (5.9/10)
Paige (5.5/10)
Siobhan (5/10)
Katie (4.5/10)
Lacey (3.5/10)
Michelle (2/10)
Haeley (1.5/10)

My picks to go home: Lacey and Michelle

Lacey's been forgettable two weeks in a row, and Michelle wasn't as good as the judges made her out to be. I think the praise they gave her might lead some to assume she's safe.

See you tomorrow!