but, overall, not as good as the guys.   There was only one highlight last night from the girls.  Pia was THE highlight.  Others were good, but didn’t stand out as much.

Ta-Tynisa Wilson (when did we add the hyphen?).  She sang Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World”.  I’m think Rihanna should be the only girl singing this song.  Ta-Tynisia was very pitchy/screechy in the beginning.  The rest was so-so.

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Pia Toscano

Naima Adedapo sang “Summertime”  and it was very good! She showed good range with high notes and smooth jazzy tones in other places.  She wasn’t the best of the night, but one of them.

Kendra Chantelle: Kendra sang “Impossible” by Christina Aguilera.  Hey, at least Kendra remembered the words.  She delivered a strong performance and showed good vocal range with a nice, yes Randy, vibrato. 

Rachel Zevita:  I wasn’t expecting much from Rachel, but she delivered the goods last night.  The judges didn’t like her “Criminal” by Fionna Apple, but I did.  It was a memorable performance, not perfect though. Some notes weren’t hit perfectly, but it was strong.  I liked her walking around the stage.  I liked it when she threw the cape off of her right in the beginning.  Was it Broadway-like? Definitely.  They kept saying that about Adam Lambert, too.  I think I liked this performance because I wasn’t expecting much from her.

Karen Rodriguez.  I disagree with the judges big time here.  Karen sang Mariah Carey’s “Hero” in English and Spanish.  I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if she was forgetting the words when she was singing in Spanish.  I liked the idea of the English/Spanish mix, but I don’t think she pulled it off.  I thought it was karaoke.  She didn’t hold onto the big notes as long as I’d like to hear.   The one highlight from Karen’s song was near the end when she sang “you-ooo-OOOO”.  It was very pretty, but that’s the only thing pretty about the song.  The judges were excited about the bi-lingual approach and didn’t really talk about the actual quality much. 

Lauren Turner:  I don’t remember seeing much from Lauren thus far, but I was impressed.  She sang “Seven Day Fool” with about us much energy and power as you can give a song.  The voice quaility was good, she hit all the notes….it was fun to watch.  I wish she would have smiled more, however.  She looked like she was in a bad mood.

Ashton Jones sang “Love Over Me”.  I love her Diana Ross hair! She doesn’t quite have the power of Ross, but she sang Monica very well.  She has great stage presence and there’s a lot of potential here.

Julie Zorilla:  “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson.  I don’t think her voice is powerful enough for this song, but it was close.  There was a bad note or two near the end, but it was very good overall.  She didn’t add anything new to the song and she may be forgotten as a result.  On a side note:  I’m no fashion expert, but that dress looked like a prom dress that got waaaay to small for her.

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Haley Reinhart

Haley Reinhart:  Haley sang Alica Keys’ “Fallin’ “.  I love Haley.  I’m not going to hide it.  She didn’t do much with this song, but I think that this is where she belongs as far as song choices.  This performance was solid, she hit every note.  I disagree with Randy, it wasn’t Karaoke.  The judges weren’t overly impressed, but I was satisfied.  I got a growl or two….I’m satisfied.

Thia Megia.  I did not like this or get this performance.  I already forgot about it.

Lauren Alaina:  She’s 16? Really? Wow.  She sang a Reba song and knocked it out of the park.  It was fun to watch, but a little more range wouldn’t hurt her. 

Pia Toscano:  This is the girl to watch.  She sang the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You”.  It was stunning.  She was poised, strong and tender.  She put her own little spin on it and got a rare standing-o from the judges.  It was hot, baby, hot!

Here are my power rankings for the girls:

1. Pia Tascano
2. Naima Adedapo
3. Lauren Alaina
4. Laruen Turner
5. Haley Reinhart

6. Kendra Chantelle
7. Ashton Jones
8. Karen Rodriguez
9. Julie Zorilla
10. Rachel Zevita
11. Thia Megia
12. Ta-Tynisa Wilson

The top 5 vote getters for the women move through to next week, and some wild cards will advance, too.

You can watch the Results show tonight at 8pm on Fox Providence.

Clint, Jovany, Jordan, Tim, Brett, James, Robbie, Scott, Stefano, Paul, Jacob and Casey all stepped to the hallowed American Idol stage last night.   And……wow!

At this point in the competition, you need to stand out! You falter here and you are gone.  This year, things are very different.  The Top 5 vote getters from each gender will go through, and then there will be some wild cards chosen by the judges.  I don’t feel comfortable about this.   America doesn’t always get the vote right.  Let’s hope they do this time, because some of the best may get thrown to the way side.

So….let’s go quickly through the Top 12 Guys.   

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: James Durbin

Clint Gamboa:  This karaoke singer sang “Superstition” very well.  It wasn’t karaoke at all.  It’s a song that’s over-used on Idol, but he had a very good, strong voice with good (not great) stage presence.  I thought it was a good way to start the show.

Jovanny Barreto: He sang “I’ll Be” ….I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I haven’t heard this song about 50 times on Idol.  Anyway, I thought his voice was being drowned out by the musical accompaniment.  With that said, this performance was a borderline train wreck.  The judges loved it, but I think when they re-listen, they’ll change their minds.  He seemed to hit too many notes awkardly.  Jovanny has a great voice, but this didn’t work for him.

Jordan Dorsey:  He sang “Usher”? Really? OMG.  No really, he sang “OMG”.  This is a certifiable train wreck in my opinion.   This was horrible.  Enough said.

Tim Halperin:  Tim sang ”Streetcorner Symphony (Come On Over)”.  I had big hopes for Tim.  I like his voice…a lot.  This was not good.  From a shaky falsetto to a flat Bflat (I think), it was not good at all.  If he’s around next week, he needs to stay within himself, be memorable and have fun.

Brett Lowenstern:  The fired up red head sang “Light My Fire”…and it was HOT! I wanted him to open up and belt it out more than he did, but I was very pleased with this performance.

Robbie Rosen:  I’ve got to be  honest, I didn’t recognize the song at first.  Robbie sang “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan.  Until he got to the chorus I was lost.  I thought his voice couldn’t carry some of the more tender notes.  He probably will be forgotten this week.

Scott McCreery:  Scott is a country singer.  There’s no gettin’ around that.  He sang “Letters from Home”.  I thought each note was perfect and crisp.  While sitting on stool under a spotlight, he delivered a strong performance.   I felt it was a little boring at times, but don’t get me wrong…it was stellar.  He probably could’ve belted out a big note in the middle somewhere, but his end note was perfect!

Stefano Langone:  Hmmm….”Just the Way You Are”.  If he stays just the way he was last night, we won’t be seeing him by the end of March.  I thought the performance was strong, but his one high note was shreeky.  When you go and try to grab your big moment with a high note, you’d better nail it! He can do better.

Paul McDonald: Another one who I had high hopes for.  He sang “Maggie Mae”.  He didn’t quite pull this off.  It was very Karaoke-sounding.  I love his voice though, but it didn’t fit this song.  

AMERICAN IDOL Top 24: Jacob Lusk

Jacob Lusk:  I feel my words can’t accurately grasp this performance.

Casey Abrams:  I feel my words CAN accurately grasp THIS performance.  It was amazing! He sang ” I Put a Spell On You”, and he mixed it up with his raspy, bluesy voice.  He’s very entertaining!  However, I can’t help but look at him and think of Will Ferrell with a beard.

Okay, here are my Power Rankings for this week from best to worst.  Keep in mind, the top 5 vote getters definitely move on.

1. Jacob Lusk
2. James Durban
3. Casey Abrams
4. Scott McCreery
5. Brett Lowenstern

6. Clint Gamboa
7. Stefano Langone
8. Jovany Barreto
9. Robbie Rosen
10. Paul McDonald
11. Tim Halperin
12. Jordan ‘OMG’ Dorsey

My top 5 should be the Top 5 vote getters, but who knows what America will do?

You can watch the Top 12 Girls perform tonigth on Fox Providence beginning at 8pm.

Ciao for now!