American Idol Recap: The Top Twelve Girls

I have to say, even though I disagreed with the judges A LOT tonight, I was still really pleased at some of the things they were saying.

For the first time I was hearing them talk about musicality, singing technique, and being one-of-a-kind.

Granted, they probably should have thought of some of that before they advanced these people to the Top 24.

Simon's "X-Factor" has an element in it that I'd love to see integrated into Idol--having the judges coach the contestants. A lot of the problems were the results of poor song choice and extravagantly bad personal style.

Overall, I agree with Randy. It didn't seem like many of these people were keeping star quality in mind. They need to think about busting out a little bit more.

That being said, from Worst to Best, here are my Top Twelve:

LACEY BROWN: What the hell was this? First of all, this girl isn't likable at all. Secondly, I know what she's going for, and it's not working. It wouldn't work on the radio. It wouldn't work for an album. It's certainly not what music is about today. I'd feel bad about saying she should go home, but considering how good she thinks she is compared to how good she actually is, I think the time to send her away is now.

PAIGE MILES: "Chabun a wonnn, lesna a grunnnnn." What? I couldn't understand what she was saying. The choruses were lackluster. I don't blame the song choice; I blame her. I think it was an interesting choice, but she didn't do enough with it. I don't know what the judges were listening to, but I thought the performance was a C+ at best. That being said, I can tell that she can do better. Hopefully she brings it next time.

KATELYN EPPERLY: First of all, why didn't anyone tell me it was 80's Madonna Week? She can sing, but she needs to get a new hair stylist and let someone dress her who isn't legally blind. The riffing was a little much as well. Do less, Katelyn, do less.

HAELEY VAUGHN: I'll make an admission. Haeley is my guilty pleasure of this season. I think most of her trouble lies with the fact that she's SIXTEEN! With a little more coaching, I think she could be fantastic, but tonight was just a straight-up mess. She should have stayed closer to the "Across the Universe" version of the song. I'm still hoping she doesn't get eliminated though. That being said...Pooter?

MICHELE DELAMOUR: To me, the danger with the song she picked was that it can become really boring, really fast. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. It was a very bland performance. I agree that she's very marketable, but other girls have the edge on her when it comes to presence. It'll get her to the next round, but I think she needs to bust out of the box a little bit more the next time around.

ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ: I really like this girl, and I think they were way too hard on her. Her presence is fantastic. She's one of the few that I think is unique, not just in terms of people that are on the show now, but previous contestants as well. I think her voice needs a little more umph (yes, I said "umph") behind it. When she goes for the big notes, they're not always there. I think she needs to play the sultry card a little bit more, and not try out the ballads as much.

Sidenote: Kara, Leona Lewis has a loooooong way to go before she becomes our generation's Mariah Carey.

LILLY SCOTT: I definitely thought her performance was more polished, but I disagree with Randy. I think she is Duffy, she is Lily Allen. I think she has some dopplegangers in the music industry, and I don't necessarily see that she brings more to the table than anyone of them do. Plus I can't stand it when people get this far then take on that 'I don't care' attitude. I want every one of those contestants to be hungry, or what's the point?

JANELL WHEELER: I liked her take on the song. Lots of people do Heart, but she went for something other than "Alone"--that by itself made me give her points. That being said, I had the same problem with her that I had with a lot of the other girls--not being able to handle the choruses. I think she could have country-ified it even more, and that might have helped her really nail it.

DIDI BENAMI: Ellen hit it on the head--as a song in a set, it would have been fantastic. As far as making a first impression, it wasn't a good choice. At first I thought, who let this girl out of the hookah bar, but then I got into it. It had a great mood to it. I think she needs to work on her style more, and get a little bit more intense. Next week, she needs to try going for the impression she should have made tonight.

SIOBHAN MAGNUS: I really really really want to like this girl more than I do, but she's making it really difficult. She had one of the best performances of the night, and I still wondered what the hell she was thinking. Bad song choice. Bad look. No WAY did she seem like an American Idol. She's fighting her strengths and hugging her weaknesses. She needs to bring back the Hollywood vibe, but if she does, I think she'd be unstoppable.

KATIE STEVENS: How is that voice coming out of that body? She was fantastic. I loved the song choice. I thought that simply switching the gender on that song was a great way of taking a risk without really taking a risk. I couldn't disagree with the judges more--Yes, she's seventeen, but what is she supposed to do? Sing Miley? One is more than enough. I think at times it got a little too school talent show, but then again...Isn't Glee looking for new cast members?

CRYSTAL BOWERSOX: Dear God, Jason Castro has come back--as a lesbian...and I like it. She's an actual musician. She reinterprets songs in an interesting way. No, she's not a glamour goddess, but she's different that anybody else that has ever been on this show--and in a really good way. I agree that an Alanis song was playing it safe, but I thought she did it as well as Alanis ever did it. She's my pick for the night. Let's hope America misses Joan Osborne as much as I do.