Now, the next American Idol is in our hands. 

The top 12 girls performed last night and with the exception of Connecticut native Katie Stevens, no one stood out.  There were a number of very good performances and a handful of not-so-good performances.

I’ll break it up into two categories: the good and the not-so-good.

The Good

Katie Stevens: Blew me away.  Blew me a-way. Yes, she should have sung a more contemporary song, but she can sing just about anything.   At this point, pencil her into the top 5.  

Michelle Delamor, courtesy AmericanIdol.com

Michelle Delamor: Amazing. Amazing.  She sings like a professional.  She looks like she just stepped out of an album cover from En Vogue.   Her singing was amazing.  She’s top 10 material, and I have a crush on her (did I really just type that?)

 Crystal Bowersox: She can really sing.  While her performance of “Hand in my Pocket” wasn’t terribly original, it was an excellent performance.  Also, I’m a sucker for the harmonica….love it!

Katelyn Epperly:  She can wail! She’s a natural singer who hit every note last night.  She looked like a teenage female actor from an 80′s movie….Karate Kid or Can’t Buy Me Love.  She did great last night, and I hope we see more of the Des Moines, Iowa native.  She belongs in the top 10.

Siobhan Magnus: This Cape Cod native has the potential to go deep in this competition.  Her take of “Wicked Game” was great….she continues to surprise me.

Didi Bonami: Quirky girl with a great voice.  I like her a lot.  I’m not sure why the judges were only luke warm to her. 

Lili Scott: Her story and demeanor remind me of Jewel.  Her voice is pretty close to Jewel’s as well.  Living on the streets and singing on street corners for money will make you a good singer fast.   She’s a very good singer.  I thought her song choice was odd — Beatles “Fixin’ a Hole”.  I’ve never heard the song before.  She was good though. 

The Not-So-Good

 Haeley Vaughn:  I think she had the worst performance of the night.  Her rendition of the Beatles’ “I want to hold your hand” was not very good at all.   In fact, it was a mess.  Her voice is like something you’d hear on a children’s DVD.  

 Paige Miles: Because she sang first is only part of why I think she might be going bye-bye.  She was flat, screechy…ugh.  Her performance was forgettable and because she was first on the show, she was even more forgettable. 

Janelle Wheeler:  Singing any Heart song is difficult.  It’s been done soooo many times on American Idol and no one ever does it right.    Janelle’s song choice was bad.  She was off on some notes, and it wasn’t terribly memorable.  She could be in trouble. 

Ashley Rodriguez, courtesy AmericanIdol.com

Ashley Rodgriguez:  I’m hoping she does better next week…if she’s back next week.  The Chelsea, MA native can really sing…but she didn’t last night.  She really hit those high notes in the song “Happy”, but them came down to the low notes and it was bad.  I’m hoping she’ll be around next week, but she could be in trouble.

 Lacey Brown: Ya know, I had really high hopes for this song.  The judges were right…this was a boring performance, not too mention, it wasn’t so good.  She and the backup singers were not in synch.   She’s another quirky girl who could be fun to watch, but this version of “Landslide” was not good.  I hope she sticks around another week, but she could be in trouble.