American Idol 7 - Girls3

It's both ladies' night and '80s night on the Idol stage. Lets see if the girls can compete with what the guys did last night.

Asia'h Epperson
"I Want to Dance With Somebody"
Nice job on the song. She had a nice clean vocal and decent stage presence. Asia'h is probably in the top two or three of the girls overall. My one issue with tonight's performance is that the song strikes me as a hair dated since she didn't do anything with the arrangement. It could have been a teeny bit better, but overall this was quite good.

Kady Malloy
"We Can Have Forever"
It was OK I guess. She has nice tone, but I couldn't understand the words. She has the potential to be really good, but she hasn't arrived yet. Her performance was fairly bland and forgettable overall - nothing about it really popped for me. If she's still here next week she'll really need to crank things up a bit or she will go home sooner rather than later.

Amanda Overmeyer
"I Hate Myself for Loving You"
Amanda was more engaging and interesting tonight that she was either of the last two weeks. The vocal was solid. She's back to being a real rocker chick with normal rocker chick hair. I know there are people who don't like her, but I think she's a very good performer. She isn't going to win the big prize, but she'll definitely be around next week.

Carly Smithson
"I Drove All Night"
Carly has a great voice. There's a lot of power to her singing. She looks great. She's fun to watch. But, girl, what were you thinking with those pants? They made her look fat. And Carly ain't fat. I like Carly a lot, but I want the pants to get voted off. Seriously though, Carly (along with Asia'h) is probably one of the top girls this year - maybe the best. She'll be around for many weeks yet.

Kristy Lee Cook
"Faithful"
I like Kristy. I think she started this song out great. But then the nerves started creeping in and her voice started to shake. Eventually it really killed her support and her pitch so she completely blew the big note at the end. I liked the country flavor she gave this song, but she can't let the nerves get to her like they did tonight.

Ramiele Malubay
"Against All Odds"
If this was season one or two, Ramiele might have a chance. It's not. She doesn't. She has an ok voice, but there are pitch problems and a complete lack of vocal power. I think Ramiele staying around for the top twelve goes against all odds.

Brook White
"Love is a Battlefield"
Two kinds of singers can do acoustic arrangements like this. Those who have smaller, quirky, folk-music-type voices (like Jason Castro), and those who can really deliver the goods in a pinch. Brook proved tonight that she has the goods. This ws by far my favorite performance from her yet.

Syesha Mercado
"Saving All My Love for You"
I do like Syesha, but I fear she has a problem - this song is just too big for her voice. I think she's good, but just not good enough. The song got away from her. She'll be back next week, but she really has no chance. She's cannon fodder, not a contestant in the running for the prize.

Top Honors: I think Asia'h and Carly killed tonight. Great job! Brook and Amanda were not far behind.

Pack Your Bags: I think we've found the end of the road for Ramiele and probably Kady. Kristy also should have been better, but she's the only one doing country so she probably has a fairly strong built in fan base in her genre.

I will say this, the girls overall aren't anywhere near the level of the guys. There are a couple that will do very well, but I think it's a guy's year to take home the big prize. But don't be surprised when a couple of the very niche-oriented girls (Amanda) get great offers after they 'lose' on Idol. A bunch of folks who don't hit the top two or three will still be pressing records in the next year or so. Mark my words....