Idol Chatter: The Live Blog #2.2.

[I wanted to do this last season, but I got the idea a few episodes too late. I do admit, I watch American Idol. I really didn't start until a couple years ago, though (my mom was a much bigger fan). Similar in style to the Live Survivor Blog over at Blog Cabins, Idol Chatter (pun and all) will be a play by play of the episodes and what I think of what's happening. For those that don't know, just continually refresh this page to get new updates as the show goes on.]

And now we're up to the Top 10 Girls. Let's pray to God they do better than last week.

7:00: Ryan: "And this... is American Idol!"

7:01: Crystal Bowersox is OK! Thank God.

7:02: Is it just me, or is it really annoying when Randy boos Simon? He's really the only one that does it anymore.

7:04: Ugh. I was afraid this would happen. Crystal Bowersox is first (which is great), but that means I have to sit through 2 hours of not-as-great singers after that. Unless they're better this week. So what's she singing?

7:05: "As Long As I Can See The Light" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. She put a Gospel Blues kinda thing to it, and she's freakin' amazing. I actually think her opening gave me chills. This is brilliant.

7:07: Randy... I have no idea what he's talking about right now. Something about truth. But I think he loved it. Ellen: "That is pure, raw, natural talent." Kara thought she made up for last week (though I liked last week, too). Simon: "I completely misunderestimated you last year." And he just compared her to Kelly Clarkson (in star-power).

7:14: Oh hell. Talk about antithesis. Going from the best of the girls to the worst. And she's singing Miley Cyrus. Le sigh. So which Miley song is Haeley Vaughn singing?

7:15: "The Climb"... OK, this is a pretty good song, at least. Let's see how she rui... I mean, does with it. Not doing too bad, but... and this is terrible... her lisp annoys the crap out of me when she's singing. And now she's hitting some really bad notes. Ugh. *Twitch* Just end it already. I think... yeah, yeah, my ears are bleeding again. And the judges think...

7:18: Randy's gonna keep it real ("It was excruciating"). Totally agree. Ellen agrees. Kara says people are rooting for her. I think those are the people at that website who tries to get people to vote for the worst singers to cause controversy. Simon: "It was a complete and utter mess."

7:25: Awesome. I really like Lacey Brown, despite her note doing well last week. Hopefully she redeems herself this week. She kinda reminds me of a red-headed Alice (one of the only good characters in Twilight). So what's she singing?

7:27: "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer. And... her voice is still shaky. It almost sounds like she'd do much better with lounge-type songs, so this is awkward. Though she was more energetic this week; I'll give her that.

7:30: Randy thought it was Karaoke. Ellen thought it was adorable, despite the fact she didn't change it up. Kara thinks she needs to step it up. Simon: "I think it was marginally better than last week." He says it was good, but not memorable, especially compared to Crystal Bowersox.

7:38: 17-year-old Katie Stevens is up. And she can say "Give me a kiss" in 7 languages. Interesting. So what are you singing?

7:40: "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae. I'm actually enjoying it so far. She's doing much better than last week. I liked it. Pretty good. Could have been better, but pretty good.

7:42: Randy: "There were some bright moments in there." Nice back-handed compliment. Ellen thought it could have been better. Kara agrees with Ellen and thought she (Katie) really got into the song at the end, which I totally agree with. Simon's frustrated because he likes her, and she's taking their criticisms, but she's still failing to meet their expectations.

7:50: Up next is the originally thought weird-named Didi Benami. She kinda reminds me of Amy Smart. And now she's meowing... moving on...

7:52: "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers. Good song. And how will she do? She has a lounge-type voice (there's a couple of those this season). I'm not sure how that lends itself to this particular song. But she's doing pretty well otherwise. She has a good voice. Sometimes the lounge thing works, usually when she's in the higher range. But when she gets lower, it gets iffy. She needs to stay in a higher range, in other words. But still, really good for what it was.

7:52: Randy is totally hating lately. He hasn't said more than 2 positive things for the last 2 episodes. Ellen didn't like the song choice. Kara didn't like it at all. Simon thought it was screechy and all over-the-place. Huh. I mean, I can see where she had some bad notes and it wasn't the greatest in the world, but I thought it was at least decent. The judges were hard. And I feel so bad... she's trying so hard not to cry right now.

8:01: Michelle Delamor says her Alicia Keys performance last week was "a bit predictable." Talk about understatement. But this week she's doing "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed. Didn't see that coming. Hope she can pull it off. I used to be a pretty big Creed fan when I was in high school. So... let's see.

8:03: Didn't really change it up at all (at least instruments-wise). She is doing vocals a bit differently. And she's doing pretty well. Though she needs to be belting it out right now. Scott Stapp really goes all-out at some of these parts in the original, and Michelle seems to be holding it all back. And that last note was horrendous.

8:06: Surprise surprise, Randy didn't like it. Ellen was slightly more positive, but still didn't think it was all that great. Kara... um... "My favorite performance of yours ever." Does Michelle really suck that much? And then she followed it up with how it could be a bit unrecognizable? It sounded almost exactly the same except for the voice. Simon agrees with Kara, oddly enough. Though I like that he admitted to giving contradictory advice.

8:08: I also like that Ryan just pointed out Randy's grumpiness.

8:14: Yay, Lilly Scott is up. She's one of those lounge-type singers. She's singing "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke.

8:15: Not much to say. I really liked it.

8:17: Randy loved it and thought it was the best of the night (I disagree there. Crystal Bowersox is still the best of the night). Ellen loved it and thought it was the best of the night. Kara loved it. Simon thought it was good but wasn't crazy about it and thought Crystal was better. I agree with Simon.

8:26: It's Katelyn Epperly AKA Ms. Big Hair. She's singing... "The Scientist" by Coldplay. Blah. Don't care much for Coldplay. Let's see how she does.

8:27: She's playing piano, too. Doing good with her voice. Kind of slow and boring, but she's singing it well.

8:29: Randy really liked it, but thought it was a bit too slow. Ellen thought it was too slow, as well, and "kind of fell asleep." Kara understands what they're saying, but she "kinda loves" her. Simon thought it was a smart choice of song, but thought she tends to become a bit corny when she performs. Despite that, he thought it was "a million times better" than last week, which I do agree with. But I agree with Randy and Ellen that the song was way too slow, but enjoyable.

8:37: Paige Miles is up next. And she's singing... "Walk Away" by Kelly Clarkson. Let's see how she does.

8:38: Simon thinks she's the best vocal of the singers (as he said last week). I really do not agree with this. She's not doing bad at all. But she's just... average. Not blowing me away. Though not making me hate her, either. It's just OK.

8:40: Randy liked it, but wasn't over-the-top in love with it. Ellen disagrees with Randy; she loved it. Kara liked it. Simon agreed with Randy. I agree with Randy and Simon.

8:48: Uh... Siobhan Magnus is last. I did not like her last week. At all. Though the judges loved it. And... wow, she used to have a Mohawk. Did not see that coming. So what is she doing this week?

8:50: "Think" by Aretha Franklin. Goin' old school. I'm liking this better than last week. So I think it was probably the song I didn't like last week. But she has a really good voice. Holy crap, that note was crazy (in a good way).

8:52: Randy loved it ("it was dope"). Ellen loved it. Kara can't get over that note. Simon: "Once again, you are such a strange person." lol. He thought parts of the song were terrible, but that note was incredible. I concur, though not so much about the terrible.

8:54: And the recap. Crystal was still the best of the night. Haeley was still the worst of the night. Lacey was alright. Katie was pretty good. I liked Didi, even though the judges didn't. I did not like Michelle, even though the judges did (mostly). Lilly was really good, though the judges are starting to over-rate her. Katelyn's was too slow, but good vocals. Paige was alright. And Siobhan was insane.

Final Thoughts: The girls were so much better tonight than last week. Crystal, Lilly, and Siobhan were the best of the night. I'm thinking Haeley and either Lacey or Paige are going tomorrow night for the girls. See y'all then.