Top 8 Girls Night: The Story

Well, I thought I was recapping with less than an hour to go before the traditional Wednesday night "Idol" episode, but it turns out it's at 8. (Fox really needs to stop confusing me with its back-and-forth schedule.) So I have time to ramble. But I shouldn't. (But I probably will. :) ) Tuesday night was thankfully only an hour (two would have been badly stretched-out overkill), and it was thankfully pleasant to watch (afterwards on Rickey.org, for the THIRD DANG WEEK in a row I had something during the girls' performances...is this a curse??), but I'm kind of worried about the eliminations on Thursday. This could turn rather ghastly.

• Katie Stevens: There was a time when I was an enthusiastic fan of Katie. I was excited to see what she would do in the semifinals. I really enjoyed her vocal stylings. I even, I kid you not, compared her to last season's similarly teen-aged redheaded phenom, Allison Iraheta. That time has passed, and after Katie's third successive lackluster performance last night, I regret to say that I take that all back. The 17-year-old Ms. Stevens has gone from OK (a fiery but robotic "Feeling Good") to middling (a disappointingly flat take on "Put Your Records On") to just plain depressing, with this week's sadly out-of-her-element performance of "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. Her notes weren't quite on pitch. Her personality was sorely lacking. It was quite nearly painful to listen to, and a horrible note on which to begin the show. The entire 2 minutes, I kept audibly asking, "What's happened to her?" Where did the girl with a powerful voice and an excellently balanced sense of maturity go? The girl who knew how to pick songs (during Hollywood Week) that both showed some brassy pipes and also some age-appropriate personality? That girl has left the building, it seems, and I can no longer make any excuses for Katie. Her struggles at song choice & following the judges notwithstanding, she has failed to bring a compelling performance in her three weeks in the semifinals, and that's a shame, but it's also shameful. If America has any sense, they will send Katie packing, so she can have time to truly find herself as an artist. Because if she was to end up staying and making the Top 12, we all know that it would be painful for all parties involved. (Side note: Simon threw a curveball when he put a long pause between "You just sucked" and "...the life out of the room." I thought for a second he was going to get all bratty teenager on us. That would have been kind of entertaining. :) )
• Siobhan Magnus: Simon, I don't quite know where your comments that Siobhan was "weird" and "boring" came from, but I suspect it's probably from the same place that your "indulgent" critiques when you're not familiar with a song reside. What do you want Siobhan to sing? A big-band swing version of "Happy Birthday"? An electronic take on "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"? A sunny love song to Randy? Honestly, there was very, very little wrong with Siobhan's hypnotic take on "House of the Rising Sun," and whatever was wrong with it, it was certainly not that it was "weird" and "boring." The a cappella fashion in which Ms. Magnus started off the proceedings was pure brilliance, as it gave us a chance to hear her haunting, beautiful, unfettered vocal instrument. When the instruments came in, things got even better, as Siobhan continued caressing and nuancing the song, giving a highly compelling vocal performance that many of the other contestants (even Crystal) would be hard-pressed to match. On top of all that, it showed that we have here an incredibly versatile contestant (Chris Isaak to Aretha to The Animals?!?!?) that, as Kara astutely (and surprisingly) pointed out, does indeed need to demonstrate just what kind of artist she'll be, but for now, is doing a heck of a job giving whirlwind, unique performances. I'd rather have all that than some of the crap that a few of the other contestants are bringing. Wouldn't you?
• Lacey Brown: Just when I was about ready to give up on the once-excellent Lacey, here she goes and makes my life more complicated by giving a pretty dang good performance, and subsequently making the possibility that she may be headed for elimination anyhow infinitely more painful. Sure, her performance of "The Story" (a song which Randy likes? Really?? If so, he just scored major Brandon points) last night wasn't perfect--she wasn't entirely on top of the beautiful Brandi Carlile-crafted melody, and I wish she would have explored the song's rockier side a little more (though it was probably wise to cut all the roaring guitars in the original's chorus out, seeing as Lacey's had issues with even the slightest of backing-band accompaniment these past two weeks) rather than keeping it firmly acoustic, but all that aside, it was beautiful and an excellent return to form for Lacey. It's probably good that she pulled out a good vocal this week rather than the last two (see Katelyn...viva la Katelyn!!...below for a sad case of the opposite), but after being a viewer punching bag for the past two weeks, chances are she's definitely not out of hot water yet.
• Katelyn Epperly: What kind of cruelty is this, life? (Sorry for that drama-king moment. :) ) The very week after I finally warm up to Katelyn and she gives a killer performance, she stumbles with a lackluster performance and immediately puts herself in serious danger of elimination? This calls for one big "WTF???". I'm a huge fan of both Carole King and "I Feel The Earth Move" (I was raised on "Tapestry", brothas), but I do agree that Katelyn didn't quite bring anything to it, with an uninspired vocal and lack of much discernible stage presence. But she does NOT deserve to get voted off on Thursday, not after "Oh Darlin'" and last week's severely beautiful take on "The Scientist." That the judges went through their (totally jank) critiques without even mentioning how stellar Katelyn has been in the two weeks before, as if to suggest she's been this middling throughout the whole competition, is near criminal. Save Katelyn, America, or I might stage a full-on revolt. (I'm not entirely kidding.)
• Didi Benami: I'm not of the persuasion that thinks that Didi should stick herself in a guitar-slinging 'coffeehouse' corner and stay there (haughty pigeonholing is strictly verboten in my book), but I have to admit tonight's return to her cozy acoustic roots was very welcomed on my part. Her finger-picking, delicious cover of "Rhiannon" was truly excellent, driven by smooth, almost perfectly on-pitch vocals and a subtle reimagining of the tune. Like her very good take on "The Way I Am" two weeks ago, Didi fiddled with the melody in the best way, and adding onto the skills displayed in that performance, she really brought some understated life into the song. I audibly expressed my joy at multiple points while she was singing. Kara and Simon (whoa, this doesn't happen often) were very much correct that this was definitely a "moment" for Didi. That it didn't wow Randy (who had some highly ridiculous and laughably inarticulate critiques tonight, "dawg") wasn't much of a surprise. Who cares about him? Now hopefully the "Idol" voting public was sufficiently convinced that Didi deserves a slot in the Top 12, because anything short of that would be a traveshamockery.
• Paige Miles: Now, I feel sorry for Paige. Her only screen time prior to the semifinals was an unfortunate stint in one of the obnoxiously catty groups that performed "Bad Romance" during Hollywood Week. Hence, definitely an obstacle to overcome. But after tonight's truly painful butchering of "Smile," coupled with two decidedly mediocre performances the past two weeks, I definitely don't feel sorry enough for Paige to want her to stay in any way, shape, or form. No matter how much Simon has proclaimed he loves her voice, or that she's better than she knows she is, she has simply not delivered anything of substance during the semifinals. Tonight was no different. The arrangement was dismal...it's not the fact that the shift into bossa nova (which Randy correctly noticed...I think either the Apocalypse is coming any day now, or Mr. Jackson actually does possess some actual music knowledge) was involved, since bossa nova is quite amazing...it's the fact that Paige utilized it in a setting where she's accompanied by a budget-level backing band led by Rickey Minor. (If Claus Ogerman, Vince Mendoza or Sergio Mendes were there with a lush orchestra or jazz ensemble, then it would be vastly different.) It really just sounded cheap. Ellen was also incorrect that it needed to be peppy and inspiring, as the song isn't entirely so, nor is it ineffective when it isn't done in a cheerful way (two examples are top-notch, depressing versions by jazz vocalists Tierney Sutton and Holly Cole). What the judges did (more or less) hit right on the nose was the fact that Paige's vocal was simply not good. It was flat, wandering, and darn near excruciating. Paige, as much as I'd love to keep giving you more chances, to give you more opportunity to find your "Idol" foothold, you simply haven't cut it. If America is merciful and Vote For the Worst (hopefully) fails, you'll be saying goodbye on Thursday night, and quite frankly, the Top 12 will be better for it.
• Crystal Bowersox: (My goodness, I'm writing a lot...) Crystal gave another winning, solid performance this week. But I highly take issue with Simon's major pimping. Crystal is not far and above all the other female contestants (what are Siobhan, Lilly, and Katelyn? a duck? Yes, I did just pull out a "Princess Diaries" quote :) ), she is not perfect, and the competition is not, Mr. Cowell, "hers to lose." She's simply a very good performer, with a powerful, distinctive instrument, who has not slipped up yet. To do all but crown her the Season 9 winner already is both idiotic, and demonstrates how far out of touch Simon can be (anyone remember the Adam/Danny/Lil fiasco last season? I still do, and it still bothers me) when he fixates on one promising contestant and fails to let go. Crystal brought a committed, soulful spin to "Give Me One Reason," and really sold the performance. But it was not quite the best performance of the night, and it was not a sign that Crystal should just be declared the winner already. There are still weeks and weeks of competition to go, and although I love Crystal and think she's excellent, Simon's constant cheerleading for her is definitely rubbing me the wrong way, and there's more to Season 9 than Crystal's brilliance.
• Lilly Scott: Here's my weekly 'concise moment.' Lilly did well. Her pitch wasn't entirely there, much like last week. And it was (even for me) a strange way to close the show. But I think this Patsy Cline number ("I Fall To Pieces") was a good venue for her entrancingly unique tone, and I think she had better make the Top 12. I'll take weird but a little pitchy (oh, dear heavens, I used a Randy adjective) over boring and solid any day, thank you very much.

And really quick, my predictions of how Thursday may go, and my picks for who should leave "Idol" and never come back:

• Paige and Katie should be the ones heading home. Both of them have failed to bring anything amazing to the table three weeks running, and although I don't hate either of them or their vocals, with a female field this deep and interesting, I wouldn't be too sad at all to see them packing.
• As for predictions, I fear for Katelyn and Lacey. Lacey's musical epiphany might have come too late in the game (she's already built up a sizable level of hatred among viewers, and judging from comments about last night spread out over the blogs and other recaps, not everyone was in love with her improved vocals last night), and the notoriously short memory of "Idol" voters may spell doom for Katelyn, despite her one-two punch of solid performances the past two weeks. I'm not ready to admit that Katelyn will be going home on Thursday, but if she was to (please, no! that would be horrible!), it sadly wouldn't surprise me in the least. My prediction (with wishful thinking leaving Katelyn out) is Paige and Lacey, since Katie may be too much of a lingering favorite to miss out on the Top 12.

And that's how the Top 8 Girls' cookie crumbles. In half an hour, once again I will be forced (I mean, I will have the opportunity) to watch the Top 8 Guys live. Look for a recap hopefully tomorrow, but possibly Thursday. For now, adios.