American Idol, 12 women

It's time for American Idol! I'm hoping this gets me back into a more regular blogging schedule. I meant to blog about the twelve men on Tuesday, and forgot. Then yesterday I was at a truly excellent hockey game (Islanders-Capitals, a game with potential playoff ramifications that the Isles won in a shootout), so I didn't have a chance to watch the women sing until today. So I'll give you my thoughts on the women and then my thoughts on the elimination. Here goes:

Kristy Lee Cook. "Rescue Me." Just not very exciting. Not horrible, not great. Her voice didn't seem very strong or exciting.

Joanne Borgella. "Say a Little Prayer." I could basically paste what I said above about Kristy. The song really did not showcase her voice, which sounded nasal.

Alaina Whitaker. "More Today Than Yesterday." I really dislike this song, and it's unfortunate that Chekezie sang it yesterday and then Alaina today. She did a better job than Chekezie, but still sounded shrill. But she was definitely better than the other two women. And she looks kind of like Carrie Underwood, version 2.0.

Amanda Overmyer. "Baby Please Don't Go." I don't get this woman. She is 23 but she really looks 43 to me. I thought this was a pretty bad song choice for her. Based on her gravelly voice, I thought she would do a decent job with it, but it was almost like the notes were too low for her lower register because it was hard to hear her through most of the song. Simon's advice was interesting--he thinks she is authentic, and likes that about her, but then he says he thinks she needs to show that she can really sing. I feel like he is almost telling her that she needs to become a little less authentic in order to really stick around.

Amy Davis. "Where the Boys Are." I didn't think she was bad, but that song is so associated with Connie Francis' truly excellent version that I don't think it is a good song choice. Kimberly Locke sang it in season two, and I thought she did a good job with it, but not so much Amy.

Brooke White. "Happy Together." How limited is their song list? Someone sang this yesterday too! I thought she did a pretty good job with the verses, but the chorus is pretty atrocious. She sang the verses in kind of a breathy, sexy, wistful way, but then the chorus was all cheery. Like she was singing two different songs. And how did she make the age cut?

Alexandrea Lushington. "Spinning Wheel." I thought she sounded good in the beginning, but as soon as she started with the notes in her upper register she sounded really bad. It was like her voice had no power with high notes. Maybe she was sick? I don't get how Randy said she "blew the doors off" of the song.

Kady Malloy. "Groovy Kind of Love." Oh, a stool! It's going to be a Serious Song. She hit a rough note near the end (on the "ee" in "agree"). I think of "Groovy Kind of Love" as a happy song, but she was so melancholy, it didn't work with the song. But she didn't sound terrible. Just blah.

Asia'h Epperson. "Piece of My Heart." Gobo says she looks like someone is tickling her. I actually liked her a lot! (So did Gobo, despite the tickling and the extraneous apostrophe in her first name.) She managed to change around a really recognizable song and she sounded good.

Ramiele Malubay. "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me." Another blah performance by someone whose voice sounds like it might actually have some real potential. I didn't think she showcased her vocal at all. I'm really surprised by Simon's adoration.

Syesha Mercado. "Tobacco Road." I have never heard this song before, but I thought she sounded really good and her performance was fun to watch.

Carly Smithson. "The Shadow of Your Smile." I don't get the adoration the judges have had for her throughout the tryouts. When she sang in the initial audition, as well as in Hollywood, I just didn't see why they were so excited about her. After this song, I can concede that she is a good singer, but I just don't see much more to her than that. I, again, felt like it was blah. The best vocal of the top 24? I'm not so sure Randy. And I don't really like her "sick is not an excuse" after Randy said she sang well. I'm sure she would have been singing a different tune had she not gotten so much praise.

My favorites: Asia'h and Syesha. Least favorite: Joanne, Kristy.

On a parting note, I have to say--we have an Asia'h, a Syesha, an Alexandrea (pronounced Alex-ahn-DRAY-uh, and spelled with an accent over the second e, which I couldn't figure out how to add in this post), and a Ramiele in this competition. Parents--don't do this to your children.

Of the guys to go home, I'm voting against Chekezie and Garrett (could he have sung "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" any more slowly?).

And now...the results show!

Garrett goes home, making me one for one. It was a fast elimination. Then Amy, which wasn't my pick (Kristy was safe, and I wanted her to go home instead--I wonder how much the sympathy vote for the sick girl mattered), but Amy wasn't great either. Next Joanne, making me two for three (and sounding better singing the song the second time). And finally... it's between Chekezie and Colton. I have to admit, Colton was pretty bad singing a great song. But still, I really didn't like Chekezie. Gobo is intrigued by Chekezie's "unnatural hairline." Alas, Colton went home. So I was two for four in my picks. Now I'm off to watch Celebrity Apprentice!