Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Barring a medical emergency, the girls go first this week on American Idol.

And here’s cause for celebration — Idol is going to try to squeeze eight singers into a one-hour show.

Did last week’s show seem to drag? Little wonder. The way I figure it, we got 1 minute of singing for every 6 minutes of TV time.

Pretty pathetic ratio for a singing competition, huh?

Still, I wouldn’t bet a nickel that Tuesday’s show will end on time.

Enough complaining. On to this week’s rankings.

1. Crystal Bowersox (1): Take away her show-opening performance and I would have thought the audio on my TV had gone off pitch for the first half of last Wednesday’s show. Finals bound, for sure.

2. Lilly Scott (3): I get the feeling nothing flusters Miss Lilly. Well, disco night might. But no might about it, Lilly’s another sure thing for the finals.

3. Katelyn Epperly (4): So what if “The Scientist” was a little sleepy? It was on key, a major accomplishment Wednesday night. And Katelyn looked so much more wholesome following Kara’s advice. I hate it when that woman’s right.

4. Siobhan Magnus (7): Wonder if her pre-performance lip tricks have caught on after the way the judges raved over that big note last week. It overshadowed lots of imperfections in her performance.

5. Didi Benami (5): Wonder what Kara DioGuardi song she’ll dust off to improve her chance of making the finals? Please, don’t pick “No Boundaries.” Pretty please, Didi.

6. Katie Stevens (6): Pretty Katie can say “kiss me” in six languages. For just 17, she also seems pretty poised on stage.

7. Paige Miles (8): I thought she might go away after butchering Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away.” The judges were way too forgiving.

8. Lacey Brown (9): They must be voting like crazy at Victory Chuch in Amarillo. No matter. Three stinkers and you’re out, or at least should be, Lucky Lacey.

Editor’s Note: Go here for rankings on the American Idol guys. The number in parenthesis above indicates where each singer was ranked a week ago.