Season 9: Week 1 (The Ladies)

The "real" competition began tonight and the ladies started off more than a little shaky. There must be a big difference in a person's mental state, between performing on a stage in front of your peers, and performing on live television in front of America.

A couple of notes on the judges: To me, Simon seemed more engaged than usual...perhaps he's trying to make the most of his final season on the show. A lot of his advice, however, fell flat (more on that later).

I'm trying to decide who dominates in the nails-on-chalkboard factor: Randy or Kara. Randy Jackson's seat could just as adequately be filled by a parrot because all he does is echo whatever the people say who speak before him. And Kara's unrelenting use of feel-good terms including, but not limited to, heart, feeling, inside yourself, know who you are, and believe, make me wonder if she has some kind of inspirational cheat-sheet taped to the judging table. She just chooses a phrase at random and runs with it for whatever contestant she happens to be speaking to.

Ellen, on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise for me. She's unabashed about the fact that she's no musical expert, and I appreciate her as a representative of the typical American audience, who just wants to be entertained (thank you, Adam for helping me to see her role in that way).

Bonus Question: Which contestant did Randy say was his favorite of the night?

Paige Miles - All Right Now - Paige seemed incredibly nervous, and her voice sounded a little shaky to me. I think she would have done better by choosing a song that defined where she'd like to go with her career since we hadn't gotten the chance to hear her sing a single note thus far in the competition. The judges, however, were very easy on her. I guess sometimes it's a good thing to go first.

Ashley Rodriguez - Happy - This song was too low for Ashley on the verse portion. She's a pretty girl, but again, she hasn't been showcased enough for the viewing audience to really know who she is or what she sounds like. She unfortunately chose a forgettable song and gave a forgettable performance. I wouldn't be surprised if she goes home on Thursday.

Janelle Wheeler - What About Love - I would like to start a petition for this song to be retired from being performed on any reality show ever again. I love Heart, and Kara did get one thing right tonight: nobody can sing like Ann Wilson. It's too bad that Janelle even attempted it because her song fell flat. And it just seems like one of those early-round selections someone makes and then they fall into American Idol obscurity and we never hear from them again.
Bonus Question: Simon said that many of the contestants are trying too hard to sound like ____________ and _____________. Name these two artists (2 points for each).

Lilly Scott - Fixing a Hole - It's a funny thing about Lilly Scott. I think she's undoubtedly one of the most talented contestants on the show this season, but I can't see the typical American Idol viewer really liking her all that much. Maybe I'm wrong...it's happened before. I just think that someone who chooses such a strange Beatles song as their first live performance is either a creative genius, or she's digging her own grave. I really like Lilly's voice. She's a little jazzy and bluesy. As of right now, I don't know if I'd purchase a full album of hers, but I think I would definitely give up $1.29 on iTunes to buy one song, even though it's highway robbery to raise your prices by 25% overnight, APPLE! (I think that's right....and I know that happened quite some time ago, but I'm still upset about it.)

Katelyn Epperly - Oh Darlin' - Katelyn chose another Beatles tune, but she chose to do a copycat performance from the film "Across the Universe." The original was sung magnificently by Dana Fuchs, who is amazing. Katelyn didn't quite get there with her song, but I will say she did better than I was expecting her to. I honestly had a difficult time listening to her because I found her entire look to be a little distracting. She reminded me of Sandra D at the end of Grease when she becomes the "bad girl."

Bonus Question: Simon said this would be "The ___________ Year."

Haeley Vaughn - I Want to Hold Your Hand - Oh boy. Haeley is screamy. I can't tell if it's just her singing style, or if she was nervous, but her voice reminded me of a loose car. I can't really explain that since I'm not sure what a loose car is, but that's how I would define it. Her voice just seems a little out of control to me. There is no way I could ever listen to an entire album of Haeley's, though. Maybe as she matures a little, she'll be able to master her own voice.

Lacey Brown - Landslide - Before tonight, every time Lacey has been heard on the show her voice has been beautiful and subtle. And she sings with such an effortless grace that it draws you in. She's been one of my favorites from the beginning and I hated seeing her bomb tonight. I actually thought her performance was not as bad as the judges made it out to be, but I do think the nerves got the best of her in this case. I think she's magnetic enough to draw in some votes, though, so I feel like she'll get another chance. I'm not entirely sold, however, on her Sharon Osborne haircut.

Michelle Delamor - Fallin' - I take back what I said about Heart's song earlier in this post. I would like to put all of my eggs in the proverbial basket of getting "Fallin'" taken off the roster for American Idol. I get so sick of hearing this song over and over again every season. I think I know what a radio DJ must feel like when they have to play the same Katy Perry song a thousand times a day. Michelle sang the song surprisingly well, though. I think she was one of the better performers of the evening. I appreciate that she changed up the melody of the song a little and added her own stylings to it. I would have complained a lot more had she chosen to sing the textbook version. I think Michelle was pretty good tonight, but I'm afraid she might easily get lost in the shuffle of everyone else who was more memorable.

Didi Benami - The Way I Am - Didi has a beautiful voice, and I think up until that point in the show, she had the best performance of the night. I liked what Didi did with her voice in the song, in that she had a lot of surprises up her sleeve. I do agree with Simon's critique, however, that she made the song sound dreary. I don't think the way Didi sang it fit in very well with the lyrics of the song. It's supposed to be a cheesy, happy love song, and she sang it like she was sad. Is this what music people mean when they refer to "phrasing?" I'm not sure. Feel free to answer this question in the comments section, I'd really like to know.

Bonus Question: What former Idol's single did Simon make fun of? (2 points for the artist and 2 points for the song title)

Siobhan Magnus - Wicked Games - I'm not sure where my reasoning is coming from on this, but I think this song is very sexy when performed by a man, but it becomes very creepy when a woman sings it. I can't quite figure that out, but I wasn't completely sold on that song choice for Siobhan tonight. I do think it was an interesting performance to say the least, and I think Siobhan's voice is one of the strongest ones in the competition. I'm glad she stood up for herself when the judges scolded her for not choosing a song with powerhouse vocals. Sometimes understated is a better way to go.

Crystal Bowersox - Hand In My Pocket - Crystal won the night with her impressive rendition of the Alannis Morrisette tune. To me, Crystal already seems like she's a notch ahead of most of her fellow competitors. She's ready to go out and record a platium-selling album, whereas someone like Haeley Vaughn is just getting her feet wet. One thing I'm scared of for Crystal, though, is that I'm not sure how she's going to grow and improve throughout the course of the season if she's already this good. Shame on Simon for scolding Crystal by saying that everyone always chooses the same songs. He may be right about that, but he shouldn't have chosen THIS contestant for that critique, after she sang THIS song! Nobody sings Alanis on American Idol!

Katie Stevens - Feelin' Good - Katie sang a hundred times better than I thought she would. I was impressed. I think she gave a good performance of a wonderful song and I can't wait to hear more from her. She looks like she's a teenager, but her voice is much more mature. Bonus Question: In what musical was this song first showcased?

So what did you think? How did the judges behave? Which parts of the show did you love, and which parts did you hate?

Please email me your predictions for who will be in the bottom 3 and which 2 contestants will be eliminated, along with your answers to the bonus questions!