A Glimmer of Hope

Currently Listening To: Adele - One and Only

Maybe it's finally time for a female to win the Idol title because the girls were INDEFINITELY better than the guys tonight. Even the worse trainwreck wasn't as bad as Eben. Perhaps, just perhaps, the curse will be broken in 2012.

It's easier for me to rank the ladies than the gentlemen, so here it goes.

At the bottom of the pack is Haley Johnson, who gave the most random and out of tune performance of the night. I mean, it was just totally all over the place and a little bit manic? Don't know what that was and I don't wanna know. It's not that she had a bad voice, she just...didn't do anything positive with it. On the bright side she's really pretty?

There was a lot of hype about Baylie Brown during the auditions but I didn't see any of that on the stage tonight. Girl was just flat throughout the whole song. She tried too hard, her voice was shaky, the song choice was terrible...I don't know. She does have a pretty good voice, unfortunately she did not utilize it well. Please don't vote her in just cos she's pretty America. Ain't gonna work.

Chelsea Sorell (who?) wasn't very impressive either, and the fact that she performed first and got zero screen time previously didn't help either. Unimpressive vocals although she actually has the chops. Mostly because of the song choice I guess? She might be singing country music, but she does not have the country-ish voice. Definitely not going through.

I had high hopes for Hallie Day, but she fell short of mark somehow. There was nothing particularly wrong with her voice, it just that she didn't sound quite right. Something was missing...Feeling Good is not exactly the easiest song to sing and let's face it, Adam Lambert nailed it.

Shannon MaGraine is this season's Karen Rodriguez for me. Again, there's nothing with her voice and she actually sounds pretty good when in tune but there were way too many off notes. Plus, she gives off this pageanty vibe just like Miss Karen from last season. Don't like her at all but the voters might. Here's hoping that she won't make it over other more deserving girls...

Next we have Brielle von Hugel, the precocious brat of this season. Didn't think she sounded that bad, but errrr yeah she's annoying. Can't stand her. A very dull song choice for a young girl like her. Not my cup of tea. (And omg her mother. Frightening woman)

Jen Hirsh was another frontrunner that I didn't get, and today's performance confirmed my thoughts. She does have a pretty voice, and sang Adele's One and Only quite well, but there was nothing impressive nor memorable about it. Will she make it through? I doubt it.

My top 5 of the night:

Erica Van Pelt, she surprised me too. Very strong vocals, but I didn't quite like her song choice. She sang it really well though, don't know if America will vote for her but I definitely hope so, she deserves it.

Hollie Cavanaugh was another pleasant surprise. Very, very powerful voice, unfortunately marred by her nerves. She needs to get over her stage fright before she gets eaten up alive by the other contestants.

Skylar Laine is like this, much better version of Lauren Alaina. Better attitude, better vocals and a lot less pageanty, despite the prom dress she was wearing. Great song choice, it showed off her range and she worked the stage well too.

To me, Jessica Sanchez is the best female vocalist this season so I really hope she won't end up like Pia or Thia. Judging from online polls though, it looks like she has a lot of supporters so she's safe for now. Excellent song choice, fantastic voice control and she looks great too.

Elise Testone was the biggest surprise of the night for me. She sang the same song as Jen Hirsh, only she sang it A LOT better. That's the reason why I'm putting her at the top instead of Jessica - the unlikely frontrunner who got almost zero screentime but ended up with the very first pimp spot of the season. Very well done!

Who I think will make the Top 5: Jessica, Elise, Skylar, Hollie and Shannon

Who I want to make the Top 5: Jessica, Elise, Skylar, Hollie and Erica

And with that we're done with the Top 24. I take back my words, I am VERY excited about this season based on what I've seen so far. Can't wait to see the Top 12, definitely looking forward to next week.