It’s Ladies Night and contestant Crystal Bowersox (pictured) who’s fate was up in the air due to complications with diabetes will indeed perform tonight. Let’s hope the women will not be as nervous or jittery as the men were last night. We should see some great performances tonight since just about everyone agrees the women are stronger performers. It will be interesting to see what happens with Crystal since she lost a full day of rehearsal. In fact, she performs first. A full recap, after the jump.
Crystal Bowersox — “As Long As I Can See The Light” by Credence Clearwater Revival — Crystal puts a gospel spin on this CCR song. Her voice is simply fantastic. She has chops; a great tone. It’s easy to see why she is one of the judges’ favorites and her day in the hospital did not seem to hurt her. Randy says “I love that girl. That girl is hot.” Ellen says, “That is pure, raw natural talent. I am so glad you are here today.” Kara says, “You completely recovered from last week.” She added, “When you come out here, it’s effortless.” Simon says, “I completely misunderestimated you from last week…that song, the vocal was incredible…this is like the moment with Kelly Clarkson that we realized we’ve got a serious artist here. And I think we have a serious artist with you.” It don’t get no better than that, ya’ll!
Haeley Vaughn — “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus — Haeley reminds me of a young pageant girl and not in a good way. Her performance tonight is bad karaoke. Ugh. The judges will rip her. Randy says, “It didn’t work for me. It was excruciating.” Ellen says, “I did not feel you connected to that song.” Kara says, “Unfortunately, honey, you need about a year of strengthening your instrument.” Simon says, “It was a complete and utter mess. In theory, it should have worked…”
Lacey Brown — “Kiss Me” by Six Pence None The Richer — God Bless, Lacey for fighting her way back to Idol this season after being cut last season. However, I still think she sounds karaoke, mediocre, average. There is nothing special to her voice and in fact, i think it’s a bit annoying. Randy says, “You didn’t bring anything to it. You didn’t do anything with it.” Ellen says, “I thought it was adorable. I thought you sounded great.” Kara says, “You have to step it up from here.” Simon says, “You compare that to the first performance with Crystal and there is a massive, massive difference.”
Katie Stevens — “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae — I like Katie, I really do, but again I don’t see originality. It’s the same old karaoke performances. She’s good, not great. Randy says, “Some bright moments in there.” He adds, “You can tackle things more difficult melodically.” Ellen says, “I still feel like I want to see you younger.” Kara says, “I am so frustrated with you, Katie, because I see so much in you.” Simon says, “You’re not telling us this is the kind of recording artist you want to be.”
DiDi Benami — “Lean On Me” by Bill Whithers — Great rendition from DiDi. Very soulful, R&B. She gives it her own interpretation and it works for me. Randy says, “I would not have chosen a soul song like that. It showed your imperfections.” Ellen says, “I love your voice. You have a great, great voice.” She adds, “I don’t know that that was the greatest song choice.” Kara says, “It wasn’t good. It really wasn’t good.” Simon says, “It was all over the place. Bad choice of song..It’s a wasted opportunity.” And the judges bring DiDi to tears. I have to say I liked it. We disagree on this one.
Michelle Delamor — “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed — Michelle wanted to take a risk and this is pretty risky, I’m not sure it pays off. I don’t love it and it doesn’t give me chills. It just…is. Randy says, “I sound like a broken record tonight. You just didn’t do enough with it.” Ellen says, “For a few moments in there I forgot that it was a rock song.” She adds, “I thought it almost worked.” Kara says, “My favorite performance of yours ever. It may have not been technically perfect, but you took a risk.” Simon says, “I’m kind of with Kara on this. I thought the first half was stronger than the second half… you got 80% of it right.”
Lilly Scott — “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cook — Lilly has such a unique voice and she does this Sam Cook classic justice. I don’t think she is the kind of artist that I would listen to, but I could see why she would have commercial appeal. Randy says, “That is one of the toughest songs to sing…my favorite performance of the night.” Ellen says, “You have IT! I forgot that this was a singing competition.” Kara says, “You just had your first moment in this competition…You are going to change the game.” Simon says, “I thought it was good. I wasn’t crazy about it…but it was still great.”
Caitlyn Epperly — “The Scientist” by Coldplay — Caitlyn totally sucked me in with this performance. His voice is clear with a beautiful tone and it’s just she and the piano. It’s very classy. I think the judges will love this. Great performance. Randy says, “I really liked it. It was way slow…but I really liked it.” Ellen says, “I fell asleep. It was so slow.” Kara says, “I kinda love you.” She adds, “You have an incredible instrument…you are really good. You are seriously good.” Simon says, “I thought it was a smart choice of song. It was very contemporary. I think it was a million times better than last.”
Paige Miles — “Walk Away” by Kelly Clarkson — I AM A PAIGE MILES FAN! Such a strong voice. Last week Simon called her the strongest voice in the competition. She is, absolutely. Randy says, “I like it, I wasn’t over the top in love with it. I’m not sure it was the best choice.” Ellen says, “I totally disagree with Randy. I loved it. I thought it was fantastic and I loved everything you did with it.” Kara says, “I liked it, I did,” but Kara (who wrote the song, by the way) wanted her to be more angry. Simon says, “I am afraid that two weeks in a row you have failed to choose the right song for you.” He adds, “It’s forgettable.”
Siobhan Magnus — “Think” by Aretha Franklin — Wow! Such a powerhouse voice from a 19-year-old. She just blew everyone out of the water!!! Randy says, “You are so bold and so fearless. It was dope. I loved it.” Ellen says, “Most people would say don’t take on such a big song. I loved it it. It was good.” Kara says, “I can’t get over that {high} note.” Simon says, “You are such a strange person and I mean that in a good way…there are parts of that song that were terrible, but that note was incredible.”
Predictions for who will go home: HAELEY VAUGHN and LACEY BROWN. Until tomorrow night when the results are in…MENDHEIM OUT!