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Idol: Top 12 Girls

While there were a couple of standout performances last night, overall, I didn't enjoy the girls' show as much as I did the guys on Tuesday night. At least someone reminded the judges that they are- umm- judges, and they kinda sorta remembered how to dish out criticism... even if they still wouldn't admit who they were too soft on the previous night. *coughEBENandCHASEcough*

Unfortunately for a few ladies, history has indicated that good looks don't help them as much as it does the guys.

DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE
  • Baylie Brown ("Amazed")
    "You're very pretty." She's very doomed.
  • Chelsea Sorrell ("Cowboy Casanova")
    She wasn't awful, but all that she accomplished by singing a Carrie Underwood song is that she made it painfully clear that she isn't the next Carrie Underwood.
  • Haley Johnsen ("Sweet Dreams")
    This song and its awful arrangement did Haley no favors whatsoever.

THE BRAT
  • Brielle Von Hugel ("Sitting on the Dock of the Bay")
    If I was going to judge her based purely on her performance, I'd say she did a pretty good job and could possibly be in the running for the Top 13. However, unfortunately for Brielle, I- and all of you- will be judging her based on more than that. She appears to be on the complete opposite end of the niceness spectrum from Jeremy Rosado- and ugh, her mother! If I never see her mother again, it'll be too soon.

I EXPECTED MORE
  • Jen Hirsch ("Your One And Only")
    It's odd that the producers had Jen sing the same song as Elise, who they obviously knew would kill it as they gave her the pimp spot at the end of the show. Is Uncle Nigel mad at Jen for saying the judges made a mistake for cutting someone whose name I already forgot back after the Vegas group round? Maybe it's unfair, but while she gave a solid performance, I was expecting Jen to be one of the strongest of the night and so in that sense she let me down.
  • Hallie Day ("Feeling Good")
    I loved the beginning, but when the end of the song came around, I was extremely disappointed. She also came across as very dry and disconnected, which is something she could not afford to do when she already suffers from being given very little previous TV time.

I DON'T GET IT
  • Shannon Magrane ("Go Light Your World")
    I'm confused. There is SO. MUCH. HYPE. for this girl, and I don't think she really deserves it. Don't get me wrong- Shannon showed some strong vocals, especially for being 16 years old, but I don't think she's nearly as good as the judges make her out to be. But nothing confused me more than Randy Jackson's Lauryn Hill comparison. Just... no.

PRETTY STRONG
  • Erika Van Pelt ("What About Love")
    I've liked Erika since they first showed her, and while I think she showed off her powerful vocals, I couldn't really hear her very well over the background vocals and band. It seemed like they had some sound mixing issues all night long and I worry that it might have sabotaged Erika more than anyone.  
  • Hollie Cavanagh ("Reflection")
    She still looked a little terrified, but showed some killer pipes I didn't expect from the crying, shaking girl who auditioned last season. I'm happy someone (J-Lo) finally made reference to the fact that we saw her during Season 10.

BEST OF THE NIGHT
  • Skylar Laine ("Stay With Me")
    I was beginning to feel a little bored- until Skylar came out and grabbed my attention. She didn't merely "grab" my attention though- she DEMANDED it with strong vocals and amazing energy. She owned that stage.
  • Jessica Sanchez ("I Love You I Do")
    There is no way this girl is really only 16 years old, right?! But in any case, this is how you make up for not getting a whole lot of TV time before your first live appearance and make sure America will remember you.
  • Elise Testone ("Your One and Only")
    I think she can feel safe about her spot in the Top 13- if for some reason America doesn't vote her in, she will definitely be granted a wild card position.


MY TOP 5
  1. Jessica Sanchez
  2. Elise Testone
  3. Skylar Laine
  4. Hollie Cavanagh
  5. Erika Van Pelt (over Jen Hirsch)

MY GUESS FOR AMERICA'S TOP 5 
  1. Jessica Sanchez
  2. Elise Testone
  3. Skylar Laine
  4. Shannon Magrane
  5. Jen Hirsch