American Idol: 8 women

It's '80s night, part two! The performances:

Asia'h Epperson. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." I guess the stylist thought it would be cute to try to do Asia'h's (see how stupid that looks, with the unnecessary apostrophe?) hair like Whitney's in the video for this song. This is pretty bad--it sounds like she started off on the wrong note and has been flat throughout. And what's up with her outfit? Is it a two-tone jumpsuit? Is it a two-piece outfit with an identical zipper/buttons running down both pieces? I am really surprised that Randy and Paula thought it was so wonderful. Was I listening to a different performance?

Kady Malloy. "Who Wants to Live Forever?" I remember Katherine McPhee singing this a few seasons ago, and being really disappointed. My feeling after Kady's rendition is no different. She sapped all of the energy out of the song. She did sound better than she has the last couple of week, but she didn't sound great (she, like Asia'h, sounded flat). And she was boring.

Amanda Overmeyer. "I Hate Myself for Loving You." Wow, what a surprise. Amanda is singing Joan Jett. Why do so many American Idol contestants favor the squat as part of their performance repetoire? It is really unattractive. I feel like Amanda is just a better version of Nikki McKibbin. This was a good song choice for her (if obvious), but in a few weeks I imagine Simon is going to start complaining that she is one-note. It did seem that she took Paula's advice and toned down the makeup.

Carly Patterson. "I Drove All Night." Oh my god, her pants. I'm having trouble concentrating on her performance because I can't imagine how she allowed anyone to put her in those pants. I really, really don't get the judges' infatuation with her. I continue to think she is weak on the high notes. She sounds good on the low notes, but seems that she is straining when the notes get big or high.

Kristy Lee Cook. "Faithfully." I didn't even recognize Kristy when she walked out; she looks really different. I think she oversang the song, but sounded okay. Not great, just okay. Did anyone else notice how very red her tongue was? Was she sucking on lollipops? Cough drops?

Ramiele Mulaby. "Against All Odds." Her facial expressions and enunciation are awkward at times. She's my dad's favorite contestant, but she just confuses me. I hate her song choices, and she often seems to not understand the song. I get that she wanted to show that she can hit big notes, but can't she weave it into an entire performance? Randy, for once, was right on with his critique, saying that you can almost see her thinking about what to do next.

Brooke White. "Love is a Battlefield." Gobo and I continue t marvel when they show her age as 24. She looks so much older! Surprisingly, I really liked this performance. I liked that she did something different with the song by stripping it down, and her voice sounded really good. I think Randy is really wrong in saying that she didn't really bring anything new to the song--I think her entire performance was about doing something new with the song. The song is a total rock anthem, and she totally changed that. And, unlike Paula, I liked that she didn't use the band. Oh, and Simon agrees!

Syesha Mercado. "Saving All My Love for You." I was just singing this song the other day, and Gobo was impressed at how much of the lyrics I remembered. When I sang it, however, it didn't sound quite like Syesha's performance. I thought she was pretty good--a little shouty at times, but overall a good performance. She got kind of robbed on the commentary, though. Too bad Paula wasted so much time blabbering at the audience earlier.

My favorite: Brooke, then Syesha.
Who should go home: Asia'h, Kady.
Who will go home: Kady, Ramiele (or maybe Kristy, and I continue to fear that Syesha could end up getting kicked off)