Idol Maniac says:

JP, I just created a temporary Chatzy room that we can use if you prefer.

http://www.chatzy.com/398352399689

DougMod says:

Chat here , above!

rk349097 says:

Not to be rude or anything, but what the hell was that last night? Honestly, I think that Lunesta should become an official sponsor of “Idol”, because last night’s episode put me to sleep faster than any drug could. It was like every performer last night decided that they were going for a downbeat, nocturnal feel, which, instead of coming off as chill, came off as horribly depressing. Last night’s show underscored exactly what I feared about this season, being packed with a group of performers that all share the same, quirky “singer-songwriter” vibe. Now, don’t get me wrong; I vastly prefer a group of performers similar to this one over a group of overly pre-fab pop singers (see Stevens, Katie). However, there has to be a bit of musical variety in the mix, or the show becomes terribly monotonous, like last night. I mean, would it have killed one of these girls to have played an up-tempo song? My rankings, as follows:

1. Didi Benami: Going into last night, I thought Didi would have needed a damn miracle to save her chances of surviving into the Top 12. As turns out, she didn’t get that miracle. Fortunately for her, she didn’t need it. All Didi needed to do last night was give an original, confident performance that reminded us of why she was put here in the first place, and she did that in spades. This may be as good as Didi will ever get (I think the projections of her as a front-runner might have been a tad premature), but she managed to save herself for at least one more week. Congrats.

2. Lacey Brown: Yes, that’s right. No, you’re not hallucinating (although I might be). As awful as Lacey has been up to this point, I think that she might have reserved herself a spot in the Top 12 with last night’s performance. More importantly, I think she might have actually found herself a niche as this season’s “country girl” (albeit more of an alt-country style than a Carrie Underwood pop-country style). While Lacey wasn’t blow-away great last night, she at least showed us something that we hadn’t seen from her before, which may have been good enough on a night of mediocrity to keep her around for at least another week.

3. Crystal Bowersox: Maybe it was just me, but I could barely hear Crystal’s guitar playing in the early part of her performance last night. It was like her guitar wasn’t plugged in, or the amp wasn’t miked properly, or something. Regardless, I wasn’t as blown away by this performance as most everyone else seems to have been. There was nothing that Crystal did here that separated her performance from Tracy Chapman’s original (actually, I liked Jordin Sparks’ version of this song in Season 6 better than this one). Dare I say that Crystal was a bit karaoke last night? Still, it was one of the better performances of the night, and was certainly enough to get her through to the Top 12.

4. Lilly Scott: Let me get this out of the way first: Lilly’s performance last night wasn’t bad by any means. In fact, it was actually pretty good in a Cowboy Junkies / Nan Vernon / Shivaree kind of way. However, I have to say that Lilly’s song choice last night was damn near idiotic. In order to have staying power on this show, a performer needs to connect with a core audience. Exactly how did Lilly accomplish that with a bluegrass version of a freakin’ Patsy Cline song? Country fans are never going to accept her (in fact, they might be offended by her song choice last night), and that song choice may have actually alienated the handfull of young, indie-inclined fans that actually watch “American Idol.” Lilly needed to sing a hip, current song in her unique style to draw in a core audience, and, in that respect, she failed. While she stuck to her guns (and I respect the hell out of her for it), I’m afraid that Lilly made a fatal mistake last night, and that she will be going home for it.

5. Siobhan Magnus: Janell Wheeler must have been cutting herself during last night’s performance, as I think that she gave us a much better version of this song than Siobhan did (now THAT’S a scary thought). Don’t shoot me, Siobhan fans; I still like your girl a lot, and don’t think that she’s in any danger of missing the Top 12. I just wasn’t wowed by her performance last night (there was something very “high school talent show-ish” about it that was simply off-putting). Siobhan will need to step up her game from here if she’s going to be a contender for the prize, though.

6. Katie Stevens: Even the show’s producers have come to the realization that Katie is just not quite ready for prime time. It was actually kind of painful watching the judges turn on their one-time presumed favorite like that, but, hey, I guess the harvest needed a fresh sacrifice this year (and if you understand that reference, you get a gold star). Honestly, I think that Katie’s biggest mistake was being Diana DeGarmo in a Brooke White year. If Katie had been born 6- or even 3- years earlier, I think that she would have skated to the Top 12 with ease. It just wasn’t meant to be this season, however. Oh, well; there’s always Broadway.

7. Katelyn Epperly: What the hell was that? I wasn’t as crazy about Katelyn’s take on Coldplay last week as some were, but even that looked like a professional-level performance compared to this week. Everything about Katelyn this week- from her low-rent keyboard, to her chintzy appearance (it’s really hard to make this girl look bad, yet the “Idol” stylists keep managing to do it), to her pained facial expressions and underwhelming vocals- just screamed “Now Appearing at the Rapid City Holiday Inn Ballroom.” This was easily the most disappointing performance of the night (honestly, it was like she was TRYING to become the VFTW pick), and Katelyn certainly deserves to go home for it. However, I think that she has managed to build up a core audience of supporters who will be scared enough by last night’s debacle to vote for her en masse.

8. Paige Miles: Ugh. Simply depressing. I mentioned last week that Paige had been the pleasant surprise of the season due to the fact that she had out-performed my low expectations for her. Tonight, she reminded me of EXACTLY why my expectations were so low to begin with. That performance did nothing to energize her existing fan base (if she had one to begin with), nor win over any new fans- with the notable exception of VFTW. Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I think that Paige may survive this week (at the expense of Lilly, unfortunately). She won’t last more than a week in the Top 12, though.

Should Go Home: Katelyn and Paige

Will Go Home: Katie and Lilly (please prove me wrong…)