Thank goodness American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox was able to return to the stage last night after her brief hospitalization. Bowersox ended up being one of the few women of the American Idol top 10 ladies that didn’t sound like a total train wreck. It would have been a serious loss to the competition – and the fans – if Bowersox had been eliminated over her sudden illness.
While the women of American Idol certainly outshined the men Wednesday night, that’s not really saying much. While most of the performances were just boringly mediocre, a few were just appallingly bad. Luckily, there were a few rare exceptions. Which is good for American Idol, because otherwise we might seriously consider not even tuning in next week. Thankfully, there were at least a few ladies that we were seriously impressed with and can’t wait to see what they do next week.
Best:
Lilly Scott – Quirky girl Scott set the state on fire with her take on the Sam Cooke classic “A Change is Gonna Come.” While most of the contestants are struggling and straining to sing their songs, Lilly Scott just opens her mouth and does it. She’s an artist, a natural talent and a unique presence. We hope she goes very far indeed.
Crystal Bowersox – If you hadn’t known the girl had just been languishing in the hospital, you’d never have guessed. Bowersox proved once again why she’s a favorite to make the American Idol top 10 with her cover of Credence Clearwater Revival‘s “Long As I Can See the Light.” I think we’re going to have to call Bowersox as our early favorite, although we think Lilly Scott probably has a slightly higher commercial appeal.
Katelyn Epperly – While we agree her take on Coldplay‘s “The Scientist” was way, way too slow – we still liked it quite a bit. Finally, Epperly chose a song that really showed off her pipes properly. If she can just find her ‘niche’ and get into the groove of picking the right songs for her voice, she could prove to be a powerhouse to reckon with.
Best Runner-Up:Â Siobhan Magnus received high praise from the judges for performing Aretha Franklin‘s “Think,” but we’re not really totally clicking with her. While we agree it was a good performance and so close to being even better, something about this girl drives us a bit nuts in a way we just can’t understand or explain…
Middle of the Road: Katie Stevens was so unimpressive; we don’t even remember whether she was really sucky or just boring. Paige Miles made the mistake of covering past American Idol winner Kelly Clarkston and not even coming close to the original. That always irritates us to no end. Michelle Delamor was sort of okay and we want to like her more than we do. But she’s just another one of those girls we can’t seem to click with. Maybe it’s because she just doesn’t really seem to feel the music. You gotta have passion to impress us girl!
Worst:
DiDi Benami – For god’s sake, STOP singing “Lean on Me” on American Idol! It’s another one of those songs that everyone friggin’ does and no one ever does well. And it’s so overdone and so unoriginal that it just makes you look cheap, pathetic and easily expendable. Not to mention, Benami’s rendition of the song was just plain bad.
Lacey Brown – While we think “Kiss Me” was a much better song choice for Brown, she’s struggling so hard with her vocals that it’s painful to watch. She has a constant nervous burr in her vocals and can’t stay on pitch or hold onto the notes long enough. This girl has got to lose the nerves or she’s going to be out on her butt. It was pretty much a rather decent karaoke performance, which means it sucked pretty hard.
Haeley Vaughn – Anyone who actually chooses to sing Miley Cyrus is probably going to put us in a bad mood anyway. But to choose to do so and then do it really badly – that hurts man. Simon Cowell called it a “complete and utter mess” and for once, we totally agree with his judgment.
>> Previously: American Idol Top 10 Men – Win or Fail?
