The boys showed a marked improvement over their performances last week, even if they still left a lot to be desired. It’s time to see if the girls have managed to pull themselves together and turn this into an actual competition for the best, instead the lesser of several mediocre singer evils…

Last week we said a cheerful goodbye to Ashley Rodriguez (who??) and Janell Wheeler who should have stuck around at least one more week in place of Lacey who murdered the Fleetwood Mac song.

Crystal Bowersox has a twin brother. No mention of what had her in the hospital, but she does say she’s feeling fine and able to perform tonight. She’s picked “As Long As I Can See The Light” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. She’s put a bit of a gospel feel into this arrangement. Her sparse intro was pretty cool. She’s got this very hippie/earth momma vibe about her that reminds me of Melissa Etheridge crossed with Janis Joplin with just a touch of Jewel. This performance wasn’t the best vocal I’ve ever heard, but I will say that I’m glad they switched the performance dates around so that she could still compete. I’m a fan. Randy called her “the truth” and said she was “hot” tonight. Ellen described her performance was “pure natural talent.” Kara said she completely recovered from last week. She called it “effortless.” Simon commended her on ability to bounce back from being ill and said he totally “misunderestimated” her last week. He compared her performance to that moment that they knew Kelly Clarkson would be a star.

Haeley Vaughn makes headbands and hair accessories. Isn’t she just the cutest? She’s picked an ear-bleed-inducing Miley Cyrus song, “The Climb.” The fact that this song is a Billboard top hit makes me insane. Wow she’s pitchy tonight. Again. She’s no less annoying than she’s been in the past. She’s got no real power in her voice. While she’s loud, she’s not strong. This was just a mess. Randy called it “excruciating.” Ellen complimented her smile, but didn’t think she connected to the song at all. Kara thinks she’s got lots of people rooting for her, but thinks she needs about a year of vocal strengthening. Simon called it a “complete and utter mess.”

It seems that so far the judges and I are hearing the same things tonight. It’s about time. I was beginning to think I might need to check my ears.

Lacey Brown is up next. The fact that she’s still here after last week’s massacre of “Landslide” makes me kind of ill. Lacey is an “antiquer.” Isn’t that special? She picked “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer… you know the song Kara suggested last week. This is a good choice for her, but she’s totally fucked it up by trying to do a super dramatic opening which was a bit pitchy. There were some nice moments in the performance, but her accent is distracting, and the pitch problems haven’t gone anywhere. This is definitely better than Haeley, but not even close to Crystal’s talent level. Randy didn’t think it worked because it was super karaoke. Ellen thought it was adorable, even if she didn’t do anything special to it. Kara thinks she has a unique tone that she likes, but she needs to bring her game up. Simon called it marginally better than last week, but doesn’t think she shows herself as an artist.

Katie Stevens is apparently a kiss whore. “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae is her choice. This is a difficult song to perform. She’s trying too hard to sound just like the recording. This is a prime example of a “karaoke performance.” There was really nothing original, special, or remarkable about it. It’s some 17 year old chick with a decent singing voice singing along to a record in the kitchen. Very so what? She didn’t have any major pitch problems or screechy notes, but she also didn’t power out some of the high notes in the chorus that really give this song some balls. She neutered it. Randy said there were some bright moments. Ellen thinks she has a great voice, but she still is performing songs that are too old. Kara is frustrated by Katie picking the wrong song and not making them special enough. Simon is still not sure what type of artist she’s going to be. He thinks she’s safe, but just barely.

Didi Benami was a mascot for her middle school. Furries delight! I liked her a lot last week. She’s picked “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers. Love it! Loved her arrangement. Loved her changes to the melody; they were not significant but very suited to her voice. She knows who she is and what she can do. She’s got an interesting tone, she’s super cute, and hopefully the judges will agree with me. Randy didn’t think it worked. Thought it was a terrible choice. Ellen loves her voice and energy but didn’t think it was a good song choice. Kara said “it wasn’t good.” Simon thought it was all over the place and screechy. He thought it was generic and a wasted opportunity.

So, we’re back to not hearing the same thing. Seriously? Giving her shit for picking a soulful song? It’s almost enough to make me give up.

Michelle Delamor is a church children’s choir director. She’s lost her mind and is performing “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed. I hate this fucking song. What the hell is she wearing? A dress over jeans? WTF? Michelle is not changing my mind. While she’s got a perfectly pleasant voice for the most part, this song was just wrong wrong wrong. Boring cabaret bullshit. Randy thinks her outfit is hot but she didn’t do enough to the song. Ellen liked that she tried to do something different and it “almost worked.” Kara called it her favorite performance of Michelle’s ever. She thought it was believable. Simon thought she struggled a bit with some of the notes, but he agreed with Kara, that it was believable.

I swear the politics of this show get more and more obvious every season. There are three girls of color competing. The judges clearly can’t pin all their hopes and dreams on Haeley, so they have to talk Michelle up far beyond what she deserves, maybe because she is the prettiest of the three? I call bullshit. They slammed Didi because they have plenty of cute blonde chicks to pick from. They did exactly the same thing with the guys, offering crappy critiques to the guys they obviously want the audience to vote off.

Lilly Scott plays multiple instruments, including the melodica and the Moog. She’s playing “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, an awesome soul classic. I really like Lilly. I dig her vibe. She’s unique and interesting in a different way from Crystal. Her version of this song was super cool. Her pitch is great, mostly because her general style has a touch of the blues-slide in it. This is up there in my top two so far. Randy thought she worked it out. He called it his favorite of the night. Ellen thinks she’s got “it.” She agreed it was the best of the night. Kara said she just had her first moment. She was riveted. Simon wasn’t crazy about it, but thought it was quite good.

Katelyn Epperly is studying to be a recording engineer. She’s picked “The Scientist” by Coldplay. She’s accompanying herself on the piano. I really want to hate this, but I’m having a bit of trouble mustering it. My main problem is that she doesn’t really look the part of a piano playing singer songwriter. Again, a perfectly pleasant performance, but not really special. Just a slow tempo downer kinda song. Randy liked it, but thought it was way slow. Ellen fell asleep. It was too slow. Kara “kinda loves her.” She said Katelyn is really good but needs to figure out who she is as an artist. Simon thought it was a smart choice of song, but thinks she has a tendency to come across as a bit corny. He said it was a million percent better than last week.

Paige Miles likes to color. Isn’t that just so quirky?!? Paige is singing “Walk Away” by Kelly Clarkson. Simon might be right. She might have the best voice of all the girls. I haven’t really loved her performances yet, so I think she’s picking the wrong song. I was not thrilled by the money note in this performance, it was a bit shrill and not quite on. Randy didn’t think it was the best song choice because it didn’t showcase her voice. Ellen loved her energy and the changes she made. Kara who wrote the song wasn’t sure that Paige grasped the meaning, but thought she could have a hit with it. Simon thinks she has again failed to pick the right song and that she might be getting lost in the shuffle.

Siobhan Magnus is closing the show tonight. Siobhan used to rock a mohawk. She’s going to tackle “Think” by Aretha Franklin. So this is a strange one… I absolutely love the way she’s doing the verses, but I’m not sure the chorus is quite right. But holy hell’s bells grandma, she threw in a sky high money shot that was dead on pitch. I suspect Simon will say she was shouting this song, but if ever a song called for that kind of force, it’s this one. Sure there were a couple of pitch issues, but compared with some of the other performances this was great. Siobhan remains one of my favorites. Randy called her fearless and “dope.” Ellen thought “oh man that was good!” Kara can’t get over that note. Simon thinks she’s such a strange person, there were parts of the song that were terrible, but that note was outstanding.

Ok… let’s get to the rankings.

1. Crystal Bowersox
2. Lilly Scott
3. Siobhan Magnus
4. Didi Benami
5. Paige Mills
6. Michelle Delamor
7. Katie Stevens
8. Katelyn Epperly
9. Lacey Brown
10. Haeley Vaughn

I think Lacey and Haeley will be going home.

Your turn… who’s going home? Are the judges losing their grip on reality?