Top eleven y’all. Is anyone going to surprise us tonight? Remember, it’s not about where you end up, it’s about… the climb… here are my comments before anyone says anything…

LEE: “The Letter” – great pick for his voice fo sho. Love having the horn section up there. I can’t tell if he’s going to turn into Taylor Hicks or Jay Leno. Looks a little bored, and he’s just telling everyone that this is the top of his range.

PAIGE: “Against All Odds” – If you have problems with pitch, don’t start sitting down! Seriously, if she doesn’t go home tomorrow night I’ll eat my hat. I understand why Simon thinks she has so much potential, but it just isn’t showing up.

TIM: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” – is the name of the Disney movie he’ll be starring in later next year. I mean Paige was worse, but this was hardly singing. He was just placing his voice at the note. And his elbow never unlocked.

AARON: “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” – Again, I think he’s getting better and better. Give him some pitch problems due to illness, and he’s still miles ahead of the previous two. I’d like to hear him “bubblegum-ify” other Aerosmith tunes.

CRYSTAL: “Me & Bobby McGee” – Finally, a Janis song! The last half of this song was awesome.

MICHAEL: “When a Man Loves a Woman” – good, predictable a bit, but he was the most polished he has been so far.

ANDREW: “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” – Hey, remember when he sang “straight up?” Seriously, what is this guy doing here. I think he sold me a cell phone accessory last week.

KATIE: “Big Girls Don’t Cry” – I want to like her, but this is Karoake. Didn’t like it.

CASEY: “Power of Love” – I’m digging this. It’s not a vocal prowess song, but he nailed it, and took some risks to go this arena pop with his selection. I approve.

DIDI: “You’re No Good” – She’s ready for her Desperate Housewives cameo… Smokin’ hot. Loved it.

SIOBHAN: “Superstition” – Best quote of the night: “I think it’s so wicked cool that she said that my voice had swagger.” Holy crap it’s 1983. She’s still got the pipes but she is bringing an unwanted comparison to Sheena Easton with that hair and outfit.

There are probably three different people who should go home and who I would prefer not to see anymore, but if it isn’t Paige I’ll be so surprised. But then I said that a couple weeks ago.

It's the top twelve y'all...

Looking forward to seeing the song selection from the Rolling Stones Anthology. I think that the girls have a real chance to shine here, since anything they do will be a departure from Mick Jagger's take on the same song, and the guys would all have a hard time matching Jagger's swagger, especially since that 70s retro guy left in the first round of the top 24...

Alright, enough yammering. Here are my thoughts on each performance, notes and scribed before I hear the judges chiming in...

Michael Lynche: "Miss You" - Good falsetto, but disco is just not memorable, even when it's the Stones...

Didi Benami: "Playing With Fire" - This is the kind of arrangement that reveals how unnecessary most of the verses of Rolling Stones songs are. Just seemed mad, not sexy.

Casey James: "It's All Over Now" - I can't say that this was the best RS song in the world to pick, but again, he's so solid. I love his voice and he's just so dang consistent.

Lacey Brown: "Ruby Tuesday" - Now we're talking. I think overall it worked, though knowing that she's a PK makes me think that her voice mimicking Sixpence is more than just a happy coincidence...

Andrew Garcia: "Gimme Shelter" - not a fan of this arrangement. It's like if Richard Marx was forced at gunpoint to cover it with Mr. Mister in 1986.

Katie Stevens: "Wild Horses" - Man, why in the world would they lose the acoustic guitar? I'm really disturbed with these arrangements tonight. I don't think this is going to change the judges minds, but after the surprising vote last week, they might phone in a vote of confidence not to look like total heels.

Tim Urban: "Under My Thumb" - He is the clinical hybrid of every Disney Channel tween-dude on every show/musical/movie of the last 6 years. This song should not be reggae, and he should not sing reggae regardless. But puppydogs get votes.

Siobhan Magnus: "Paint it Black" - That was theatrical genius. At first I thought she was gonna fade out into boring with the uptempo section, but then... that note. She makes Adam Lambert sound like a warm turd.

Lee DeWyze: "Beast of Burden" - Like Casey, his voice is always right in the pocket. I bought it.

Paige Miles "Honky Tonk Woman" - I feel like this song should not be gender switched, but that's just me. She did great this week but still should have gone home last week. Fighting for her life.

Aaron Kelley: "Angie" - So it looks like his eyebrows' civil war have sent his toupee into convulsions. He's more talented than others in his category in years' past, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to go home.

Crystal Bowersox: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - She's getting a little dolled up, and it's working. That was great, I wanted to hear the full song. March 28 y'all, at a CCC campus near you.

So who's going home? The judges didn't crucify anyone tonight, so it'll be interesting...

Well that was annoying. I got all finished with my post, and then pressed a goofy delete button and lost it all. Gotta remember not to do that in the future. Here's what I remember about what I said about the ladies:

Katie - better than last week, but the judges still won't like it.

Ciobhan - Good, still very odd. Someone will call her a dark horse after this.

Lacey - The leopard print might save her, and she did well with this quirky performance.

Katelyn - I didn't like the overalls, but I still like her.

Didi - I really liked it. Way cool, and I even opened iTunes after to see if it was there.

Paige - Going home girl. No one sings "Smile through the pain and sorrow" without singing it again on Thursday night. It's AI law.

Crystal - Hot from the moment it started. Yowsa!

Lilly - This wasn't as bad as it seemed considering she had to follow Crystal (and I think the judges had to assume that and gave her high marks)

Random notes: I think Kara is working with a bookie in Vegas to predict how Simon will react to a performance and then is using hand signals to try and align herself with what he's going to say. It's very "I thought of that first."

Gotta be Paige goin' home. Is it only one this week?

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

Well, it's time for the girls - they're still being hush hush about Crystal, but they let her go first. Let's go, and I'll try to stay as brief as I can given that any time spent on this is probably superfluous...

Crystal Bowersox: "As Long as I Can See The Light" - I would totally buy this record. Of course, with iTunes I could, and probable won't, but I would. Love it.

Haeley Vaughn: "The Climb" - and the hands releases, and she falls.

Lacey Brown: "Kiss Me" - Good for sixpence to get some royalty $  - she was okay, but it's not a "singer's song." and her nerves get the best of her.

Katie Stevens: "Put Your Records On" - Much better than last week, she's got potential to become a player in the competition.

Didi Benami: "Lean On Me" - Boy I could be okay not ever hearing this song again. She's okay though, this performance shows that her little accents and tone are really her, their not imitating Adele per se.

Michelle Delemour: "With Arms Wide Open" - Congrats Creed, you've arrived. As for Michelle, well... meh. That was a lot of things, but good was not one of them.

Lilly Scott: "A Change is Gonna Come" - Another one where I would totally buy it if I could but I can't even though I can so I won't when I could. Loved it. These indie freaks can actually sing, and they're putting the "singers" who don't have any personality on notice.

Katelyn Epperly: "The Scientist" - That was Streisand-ian. At first I was put off by the dramatic tempo change, but I eventually bought it. A bronze medal for sure.

Paige Miles: "Walk Away" - Simon's right, she's got the best effortless voice. The problem is, the effortlessness looks like she doesn't care as much, so I'm not sure that I do...

Siobhan Magnus: "Think" - She looks like she came off of the Desperate Housewives set. I swear her unpronounceable name will either be her undoing or her saving grace. Holy moley that last note. She might be an alien.

Okay, well, that's it. Lovin' me some Crystal and Lilly. Okay, I know their names now.

Well, last week came and went, didn't it? I would have blogged about the guys last week, but it would have been really short: they were all bad, but the ones who were at least not truly horrible ended up going home anyway. Hmmmm. But, they get to go first since Harmonica girl had an undisclosed medical condition - so the girls sing tomorrow night. Fun. Well, off we go. Here are my thoughts, as usual, before the judges have their say...

Michael Lynche: "A Man's World" - Big Mike kept a James Brown song from being catchy. How is that even possible?

John Park: "Gravity" - This fits for him, but it's not enough of a singer's song for him to be off on even one note. And he was.

Casey James: "I Don't Wanna Be" - Seems too low for him. I actually like him, but wasn't crazy about that song choice.

Alex Lambert: "Everybody knows" - Much better than last week's freakout. Nothing to write home about though.

Todrick Hall: "What's Love Got To Do With It" - I think he's actually a genuine performer, with legit stage presence. One big "eh?" on the song choice and arrangement.

Jermaine Sellars: "What's Goin' On" - could not dislike this any more than I do unless maybe Pee Wee Hermann was next to him doing sign language. No wait, that would make it better.

Andrew Garcia: "something by james morrison" - eeek. That was no good.

Aaron Kelley: "My Girl" - Good, but his face is still looking strained. Tanked the falsetto in the middle.

Tim Urban: "Come On Get Higher" - I am so over this hairstyle for the tween boys. It's like he loses his ability to have breath support so it doesn't seem like singing, it seems like aiming at notes with short arrows.

Lee Dewyze: "Lips of an Angel" - This guy has the authenticity that David Cook wished he had. Not sure he's as good a singer, but he's good.

So there you have it. And since last week I couldn't come up with the names of the girls, here are the three I like: Big Mike, Pretty boy, Gruffy. What do you think? Who's going home?