Okay, who runs the world? Girls. But will that be true this season on AI after the boys strong showing last night? Here are my thoughts, formed before I've heard any of the judges reactions to be true to my school just like you would to your girl or guy. Hope you like it!

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?

_Okay, we're off - time to react as effectively and instantaneously as possible to the vocal prowess of the top 12(13) boys. As always, I form these short sentences before I've heard any of the judges reactions to stay as true as I can to my own thoughts as possible. Hope you like it!

REED GRIM: "Moves Like Jagger" - pretty big risk to jazz up this song - really reveals how brutal the lyrics to this song are. So an A for the risk but a C for execution. But he's the Andy Kaufman of the show and I want to see more.

ADAM BROCK: "Think" - White chocolate, huh? Someone's going to need to tell him that isn't going to stick as a nickname. Solid performance. Strong voice. Needs to be considerate of the CBG vote.

DEANDRE BRACKENSICK: "Reasons" - Earth Wind and Fire is a good choice for his falsetto, but maybe a different song? Between this song and the last two I'm getting confused about what decade I'm in… Time stops for the big high note. And we're back.

COLTON DIXON: "Decode" - Pretty tough to rock out to Paramore with the AI band. I have not been impressed with him thus far and this didn't really change my mind. It's too insular, I can see him feeling it, but I don't see it outside of himself.

JEREMY ROSADO: "Gravity" - It's a little too scratchy for me. I've liked him in earlier performances better. The "bieber-esque" vote is going to be tough for any one of these guys to grab all by themselves. But I like the kid.

AARON MARCELLUS: "Never Can Say Goodbye" - Arsenio, is that you? A perfectly serviceable vocal with some good runs and a killer last note. But for a dancer I would love to see the rest of his body more invested in the performance. The last note earned him that standing ovation.

CHASE LIKENS: "Storm Warning" - Seems like a demographic pick - his voice isn't good enough, pretty thin, but hey, he's a looker (in a Brendan Fraser sort of way), and it's country - but the annoying cowboy from Hollywood week was actually better.

CREIGHTON FRAKER: "True Colors" - He's like Justin Timberlake as impersonated by Dean Pelton from Community (Oscar winner Jim Rash) - I like him, but this pick was boring for me. I want to see something more. But I like his runs and want to see him next week.

_PHILLIP PHILLIPS: "In The Air Tonight" - Where is his acoustic guitar in the mix? I'm angry with them for trying to put in that drum machine in the arrangement. I love him, and it was great, but I lost the feel of it not being able to hear his guitar - without it, it sounded too plodding. But he's awesome.

EBAN FRANCKEWITZ: "Set Fire To The Rain" - Hair. I like him, he's cute, but this was a bad pick for him. This song is impressive in a key where those high notes in the chorus are actually high. Not good, but he's got the Beiberest chance to stave off elimination.

HEEJUN HAN: "Angels" He is my favorite. Not sure if he has the voice versatility to be able to hang on til the end, but I love his personality. Seriously, he cracks me up. And I enjoyed his performance.

JOSHUA LEDET: "You Pulled Me Through" - Wow, let's go to church. See, this guy lets what's inside of him come pouring out in his performance - he has what was missing in Aaron and Colton. Remember them? I didn't think so. That last note had an Eddie Murphy Coming to America vibe, but I don't think anyone standing and applauding noticed.

JERMAINE JONES: "Dance With My Father" - That was a great choice to bring him back - and a great song pick for him. Now we just need him to get over the tall-guy syndrome of bending down to talk to the short people. He needs to straighten up, and embrace the power he clearly has.

RANDOM NOTES: How many times does Randy have to say that this is the eleventh (one-one) season?
Pretty disappointed with the judges not taking Chase to task for bad notes and a shaky voice. Same with Eban.

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 on Thursday at 7pm CST.

We'll see the girls tomorrow. Talk to you then. So who was the best and worst tonight?

(NOTE: I realized later that my great idea for a contest showed up pretty late in the day - so I've extended the contest through to Thursday, 7pm CST - when the voting results show starts.)

Friends, Romans, Countrymen: lend me your American Idols...

We have 24, and a surprise 25th competitor coming to our television sets tonight, in the 11th year of American Idol. (12 guys, 12 girls, and then one additional guy that the judges put in in the last minute, but who won't be announced until tonight)

And, as always, I will be blogging my reactions to the performances of the competitors as I watch it - we've gotten through the preliminary auditons, Hollywood week, a jaunt to Las Vegas for the "final finals", and now we're back to LA for the "real" competition, the one where the American People get to vote.

I'm excited, as it's a strong crop of young performers who I think could really make a splash in the pop culture scene.

So here we go: Who wants to pick the winner now? Anyone who puts their pick in the comments section before the first live show tonight will be entered: and anyone who picks the actual winner by the time the final show airs, will win a $25 iTunes giftcard from yours truly.

Anyone. If I have two winners, that's two giftcards. If I have no one pick the winner, well, that's none. So do your research - I'm not going to give you the names here - go to the American Idol Website and determine your pick. You get one pick. (and to be fair, if you pick one of the four dudes who haven't been announced yet, your pick will go to the 25th contestant regardless of which dude it ends up being.)

Good luck!

This picture has gone across facebook today in the theatre community. I saw my brother Elic's repost of it. The thing is pretty powerful - a note regarding a tech rehearsal from a theatre production that puts the healing power of storytelling into perspective.

Everyone who creates art in some way will have their own take on this story and the meaning of it, and so here's mine: We may not ever be able to see it as clearly as it is described in this paragraph, but do not be mistaken about it - the storytelling that we do, be it in video, theatre performance, podcasting, writing, poetry, dance - you name it - it accesses the healing power that can only be found from a loving God who wants to be in relationship with us.

The reason that we storytellers love to tell stories is on the off-chance that a moment like the one described in the picture could occur - that God would work in an incredible way. He does, He is, He will.

We just have to be brave enough to keep telling the stories, no matter the cost.

If your computer is "image impaired", here is a transcript of the note that was taken during a tech rehearsal for this show: "It was generally agreed by all that the show was "kind of rough" (tech wise). But after the show we learned that there was a 5 year old autistic child in the house. He had never spoken. But as the lights went down, he began to talk. In full sentences. He called the teacher by name. She had no idea he even knew her name. He was engaged in the show - at one point commenting to the teacher that if there is a dragon then there will be fire. And there was fire. He talked all throughout the show. When the lights came back up - he quit talking and returned to his world. So, yes, I could list all the little things that went wrong today but that is not what this show is about. And that little boy certainly didn't see those things as he sat talking in the dark theatre watching Harold and his Purple Crayon."

Keep story-telling, storytellers.