AI: The night the women almost made me fall asleep

Oh my, American Idol decided to go all crazy with the drama and lighting for this week’s intro. And in my opinion, it was Ryan’s creepiest intro ever. Word.

We’re down to 8 women and apparently, a one hour show. For some reason, that makes me ecstatic. What doesn’t make me ecstatic is the fact that when the show begins, Ellen is sitting on Simon’s lap and nuzzling him. Weird.

First up is Katie Stevens singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” And I can tell you from the beginning that she’s not exactly on the right notes. She seems just under pitch in all of the important moments. I think for a 17-year-old Katie is amazing, but this wasn’t her best performance. Bad song choice and a not-so-good performance while wearing some not great pants. Randy says he didn’t get it; Ellen complements the song choice but says she didn’t show personality; Kara says Katie has a great radio voice but she doesn’t know who she is as an artist; Simon agrees, saying she hasn’t worked out what kind of artist she wants to be. . . which is absolutely true.

And commercial.

Siobhan is next and she’s singing “House of the Rising Sun” as a surprise for her dad who apparently loves that song. I’m a little confused by the jacket Siobhan is wearing and the fact that we’re not watching video packages of the contestants this week. But that’s kind of a good thing, because now the show is just an hour long! See, editing is good! Siobhan starts the song a capella, which scares me a bit. She has nice tone and pulls it off, though. I like that she plays with the melody a little bit, but not too much so that the song is still recognizable. Great, understated performance, though I could have done without the weird tag at the end. Randy says he’s already a fan and loves that she takes risks; Ellen says Siobhan was captivating and current; Kara loved the a cappella at the beginning and the performance; Simon thought it was all a bit weird and didn’t think she did anything with the song. I do think it was very understated, but it was nice and I did enjoy it.

Lacey Brown sings Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” next. This is a perfect song choice for her only because SHE SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL! There are a lot of sound-alikes on AI this year. It’s a good song choice, but she does nothing original with it, meaning that I end up comparing it to the original, and the original is better. Randy says it was her best performance but boring; Ellen agrees; Kara says it’s a brilliant choice; Simon didn’t love the song but thought she sang it well. I think Lacey can sing and I like her, but for me she has very little star power or charisma.

Coming up next is Katelyn singing Carole King. And wearing some weird suspendery overall skirt and big hair. And she stands behind a Wurlitzer the entire time. I like Katelyn and this performance is OK, but it’s not astounding or great. It’s very safe and very middle of the road for me. Randy said it all felt very put on and there was nothing special about it (agreed); Ellen questions the song choice and says it wasn’t a wow performance (doubly agreed); Kara says she didn’t feel like Katelyn was competing this week; Simon says he likes Katelyn’s hair but that the performance felt like request night in a restaurant. Oh, Simon, that might be the best example you’ve ever given.

And commercial.

Didi Benami is on next and is playing her guitar. She’s wearing a one shouldered dress and her hair looks a little bedraggled. Weird. Her voice is pretty but she’s singing Fleetwood Mac and she’s making it boring. Is that possible? I do think the performance gets better toward the end, but the whole vibe is really kind of depressing. At least for me. Randy says there wasn’t a wow moment but good; Ellen agrees and calls it lovely; Kara says it’s one of her favorite moments of the show so far (really?); Simon agrees and calls it the best of the night, at least so far, and calls the whole performance a wow moment. Maybe I’m just in a mood, because it really didn’t do that for me. I thought it was nice, but it didn’t thrill me to the tips of my toes!

Paige is up next, singing “Smile.” And she has me at the first note. I like the quavery emotion she puts into the word “smile.” I do feel like she gets a little under pitch on some of the notes and misses some moments to really have a wow moment. And then the enunciation issue comes back—I’d love it if she’d actually say “crying” and “trying.” It started out good, but she kind of got lost in the song. This is one time when I would actually pull out the cliche and say that she picked a song that was too big for her. Randy says it didn’t work; Ellen said the song was sad and heavy; Kara agrees and calls it “all wrong;” Simon agrees, dissing the song choice and the arrangement.

And commercial. Again. I got so crazy with the fastforward on the DVR I sped right through part of AI. After rewinding, I discover Crystal Bowersox is up next singing Tracy Chapman. I will admit something: I don’t really like this “Give Me One Reason” Tracy Chapman song. But I like Crystal’s performance of it. It had more emotion than the original and I liked how the drums dropped out to emphasize the lyrics. I liked all of this performance until Crystal got to the very end and did a little too much on the “ain’t no more to say” line. But it was still one of the best of the night. Randy loves it and says it was hot; Ellen calls it the best performance of the night; Kara says Crystal knows who she is as an artist; Simon predicts she’ll be in the top 12 and has a lot of confidence in herself, predicting this is her competition to lose. Agreed, Simon.

One final commercial, then Lilly Scott (who I always want to call Lilly Allen) is singing a Patsy Cline classic. Don’t. Mess. With. Patsy. That’s all I’ve got to say. It’s “I Fall to Pieces,” and I like that she kept the original honky tonk arrangement and sound, but I sort of hate this entire performance. Her voice is all wrong for this song, too babyish and I don’t buy that she feels any of the things this song talks about. She isn’t falling to pieces; there’s laughter in her voice and her eyes. It’s OK, but it’s just not astounding or great for me. Randy thinks it was hot (?); Ellen loves Lilly’s voice and performance; Kara says she made Patsy feel current (Patsy’s always current, Kara, Lilly didn’t make her that way.); Simon says Lilly was brave but that the song didn’t have the wow factor. Completely agree.

Best of the night: Didi, Siobhan and Crystal

Going home: Paige and possibly Katie or Lacey. Katelyn might need to worry a little, too.