Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Idol fans, we’re in for a treat tonight.

Finally, we get to hear all 12 female semifinalists perform, on an equal platform.

Some of them, we’ve heard from multiple times. Like Haeley Vaughn, Didi Benami and Crystal Bowersox.

Others, barely at all. Paige Miles? I can’t recall hearing her sing a note.

The best news of all is that last year’s semifinal format is gone.

Remember how it worked? A mix of 12 guys and girls performed each week. Three made the finals, based on that single performance. Nine went home, or held out hope for an invite to the wild card show.

This year, Idol will eliminate two girls and two guys each week. The best part: Contestants will need to perform three time to make the finals.

Along the way, we’ll get to know the finalists much better than we did a year ago.

As for these girls, they’ve already overcome long odds. As I was putting together profiles of all the golden ticket recipients, it became apparent that the judges were sending lots more girls than guys to Hollywood — 102 girls compared to 70 guys to be precise.

The means the odds of a male performer making the semifinals was 1 in 6. The odds for a female: 1 in 8.5. No wonder so many very talented females were omitted.

* And, look at that, I popped Paige Miles’ photo at the top of the blog because I’m anxious to hear from her. And she gets to be first up. And she’ll be singing “All Right Now” by Free.

Well, the background singers sounded good. And Paige sounded pretty decent at spots. All in all, I didn’t think that was a very good performance, contrary to what the judges said. Very forgettable, which is unfortunate for Paige because she was singing first, in the most forgettable spot in the first place. Oh, and the bit about her needing to go to the bathroom and being sewn into her dress, too much information, thank you, Ryan. Grade: C-

* Ashley Rodriguez, a Jordin Sparks fan, is second up, taking on “Happy,” the Leona Lewis tune. You can almost hear the nerves from these first couple of performers, can’t you?

Personally, I liked that a little more than Paige’s performance. She’s getting lukewarm reviews from the judges and that’s probably deserved. But she showed flashes of a very good vocal. And there’s no doubt, she’s got an Idol look. Grade: C.

* Janell Wheeler, the Sunshine Cowgirl, is stepping out of her comfort zone (country music) to sing Heart’s “What About Love.”

Janell should have stayed in her comfort zone. Not that this is terrible, but she’s not lighting up the stage the way I think she’s capable of. That’s three performances, and nothing special yet. Grade: C.

Gotta give these ladies this, that stage, on the opening night of the real season of American Idol, has to be a very scary place.

But someone needs to step up and prove the buzz about this year’s female talent on Idol is warranted.

When does Crystal Bowersox sing? We need something to shout about.

* Lilly Scott is up next. I have a feeling she’ll be a little less intimidated by the Idol stage.

And I was right. Lilly turns in the best performance so far, singing the Beatles’ “Fixing a Hole.” I wasn’t thrilled by the performance. And Simon’s right, I’ve yet to sense the charisma Lilly insists she has. But, on a night of so-so performances to this point, she’s an early standout. Grade: B.

* Katelyn Epperly will also perform a Beatles song, “Oh, Darling.” OK, now we’re kicking the show into high gear. Another nice vocal. Clearly someone who picked a song that could fit her voice.

That, folks, was even better than Lilly. And I like Katelyn’s quirky look. Tonight, she’s playing rocker chick. Grade: B+

* Haeley Vaughn follows Katelyn. I’m hoping she surprises me, because to this point I haven’t heard anything to merit a spot in the semifinals. She’s singing “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

Nope, instead she proved my point. Absolutely the wrong song for her. A horrible arrangement. A tortured vocal. She’s got a great smile, but that’s about it. That would have been a bad audition performance, let alone a semifinal performance. And, of course, we need Simon to speak the truth. Grade: F.

* Lacey Brown: The Texas girl decides to take on Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide.” Problem is, the comparision can’t possibly be favorable for Lacey unless she changes up the song, and she isn’t doing that.

She sounds both sharp and pitchy. I had high hopes for Lacey, because I think she has a unique voice, but those hopes just tumbled. Simon calls it “depressing” and “indulgent.” I’m afraid Lacey, who didn’t get a lot of airtime prior to this, might be in trouble tonight. Grade: D.

* Michelle Delamor: She’ll take on “Falling” by Alicia Keys. We’ve heard very little of Michelle to this point, and I’m telling you, she’s a season nine diva in the making. She’s working her way through a very nice performance.

And she has a very nice tone to her voice. If the nerves are getting to the contestants backstage, she isn’t showing it. Very solid performance. And one of those classic big Idol closing notes. Very, very good Michelle. Grade: B+

* Didi Benami: Please, Didi, just don’t cry. Well, at least she realizes America has seen enough of her tears.

She’s singing “The Way I Am,” and she reminds me of Megan Joy in appearance and in tone. Not a bad vocal, but nothing very memorable. Still, a better vocal than most we’ve seen tonight. Grade: B-

* Siobhan Magnus: The glass-blowing apprentice is up next, a gal we’ve heard very little from. Not a big fan, based on what I’ve heard online. She’ll be singing “Wicked Game.”

She’s trying to imitate the original, which is going to bug Simon, because that’s all he’s been preaching against all night. An OK vocal, but again, not a performance that’s going to one people will remember tomorrow. Grade: C+

* Crystal Bowersox: She’ll be singing “Hand In My Pocket.” Love the tone to her voice, and we’ll get some harmonica to go with the vocals again.

She doesn’t seem the least bit flustered by the Idol stage. Just like she’s performing back in Ohio. A seasoned performer doing what she does best. Predictable choice of song, though. Grade: A-

* Katie Stevens: OK, let’s see what the pageant contestant has to offer. She gets the privilege of closing the show, which has to be nerve-wracking for one fo the youngest performers.

She’s singing “Feeling Good.” And she isn’t showing any nerves early in this performance. Hey, Katie isn’t bad. And she’s showing more vibe than last year’s pageant darling, Jasmine Murray.

Wow, I liked Katie more than the judges. I thought she was one of the night’s pleasant surprises. Grade: B

Check back in a few minutes. I’ll have a recap blog, a complete rundown on who deserves to stay, who deserves to go.