CHELSEA SORRELL: "Cowboy Casanova" A little nervous, not enough breath support. I think for a country vocalist it's not wise to do the pop-iest of all country songs. She isn't bad, but she isn't unforgettable either.
ERIKA VAN PELT: "What About Love" - She's great, but she ultimately doesn't have the pipes for this song - serviceable, real, genuine, enjoyable. But to conquer that song you have to be so much better. It felt like she was hitting the ceiling and not breaking through it.
JEN HIRSH: "One and Only" - What was lacking in the first two, Jen has - her voice gets past the barrier and out to the audience - even in a soft moment. And obviously with a big note too. Great job with a tough song.
BRIELLE VON HUGEL: "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" - Wasn't her name used in a Roald Dahl book? Good idea to pick more of a standard and riff on it with more of a license. Also to start low and go high, though my wife thinks she started too low. She's a performer, but I'm not sure if everyone in America will take to her.
HALLIE DAY: "Feelin' Good" - I thought she did well in the beginning using the drama and tension of the song, but I was less impressed as she started walking around and losing her breath support. But she's got the potential to be a star. Great start.
SKYLAR LAINE: "Stay With Me" - great start for her, and she was electric. First "raising the roof" performance of the night. Am I starting to like country?
BAYLIE BROWN: "Amazed" - Ironically, she started a bit flat. This isn't a great song anyway, but she was not there. As pretty as she is, that is how off that performance was. But hey, she's pretty.
HOLLY CAVANAUGH: "Reflection" - She has some really interesting vowel substitutions - in the first verse it sounded not quite right. She has one heckuva belt, but that is the only part that is interesting in the performance. But she does it enough to make it better than a lot tonight. Missed the last belt note though.
HALEY JOHNSEN: "Sweet Dreams" - As an 80s child, I appreciate the nod to the original arrangement here - not sure if she's completely pulled off a "Florence + the Eurythmics", but it's close. Great run at the end. Stayed in the character of whatever that was until the very end, and that was commendable. She might be memorable.
SHANNON MCCREA: "Go Light Your World" - CCM in the hizzouse! Good, but a young performance, in that she attacked it too hot too early. She owned the stage though.
JESSICA SANCHEZ: "Love You I Do" - She is crazy good. Her voice sounds like it was manufactured by perfectionists in a rainbow studio filled with unicorns. Wow. And she has the performing prowess to back it up. I hope she picks great songs all the way through like she did tonight. Best of the night by far.
ELISE TESTONE: "One and Only" - Same song as an earlier contestant, but hey, she's playing th piano, so that's different. She's got a great growly voice, but it's kind of a 3 in the morning growl, so I am not sure how memorable that ultimately will be. That last look almost admitted that she ran out of gas.
RANDOM NOTES: I guess the judges got the note from last night about how constructive criticism actually has to include being critical. They were closer to real with Chelsea. Then they admitted being soft after watching it back. Boo.
A singing DJ? What is wrong with Randy? He's making Steven sound coherent tonight.
Okay, Steven just said "my reality check bounced." Check please. Randy, you're the rational one again. What am I saying?
CONTEST! Don't forget, put in your pick in the comments for the one American Idol to win it all, and if you're right - you win a $25 iTunes giftcard from me! You can leave a comment all the way up until the results show airs tomorrow night at 7pm CST.
So who was the best and worst tonight?