Girls! Girls! Girls!

We're off! I see that Chosen Girl Katie Stevens has the pimp spot — blow me down. And Ellen, surprisingly, is sitting in Randy's chair. What gives? (OK, that video was pretty funny.)

Paige "Previously Invisible" Miles started us off, singing "It's All Right Now" [please note: I made up most of these song titles, so no guarantees of accuracy] and doing that seal-clap thing with her arms over her head. She's a nice girl and her voice is fine, but it all feels a little flat to me. Ooh, and then there's a scary moment where the camera pans straight down her throat. Paige is beautiful from the inside.

Simon enrages me when he opines that Paige has got the best voice of the 12. Then why didn't you showcase her more on your own show, you twit? Have you not seen your own show? Does the name Melinda Lira mean nothing to you?

(I promise you that Mrs. Cynicletary is now saying, "Who?")

Next, Ashley Rodriguez shocks us all (insert sarcasm font) by committing the cardinal sin of singing Leona Lewis and sounding like Leona Lewis — I hadn't realized that L.L. had joined the pantheon of Whitney and Mariah, but okay. L.L. means nothing to me, I don't know this song, and I thought Ashley sounded very good, with nice vocal control. Then again, I'm predisposed to like her.

I'm thrilled to hear Janell Wheeler's song choice, Heart's "What About Love" — finally! something I like! — before thinking, Wait, a toothy little blondie is going to try this? Uh-oh. And yeah, it's not great — you really can't do a low-energy version of any Heart song with any success, I fear.

Ladies! Ladies! Ditch the granny panties and step up, now!

Thank heaven for Lilly Scott, who sings a Beatles song I've never heard of and pray to never hear again ("Filling a Hole"? Did Ringo write that one?), but brings her whole funky self to the performance; she is confident and assured and sounds just great. Silver-haired Lilly, who knew?

Katelyn Epperley is up next, and I have a little Zen moment with myself, where I breathe in open-mindedness and breathe out pre-conceptions, and then she comes out in that ridiculous drag queen outfit and sings "Oh Darlin'" like someone twice her age. She is confident, though, I'll give her that, and she looks like she's having fun. Woo.

Yeah, she's just not the girl for me. But no one can say I didn't give it my all.

Haley Vaughn = hot mess. Zen or no Zen.
Just curious, though: Do the judges ever scream "You're only 17!"? I feel like "16" is the only age we ever have bellowed at us. If you're a fantastically talented 17 year old, have you peaked?

Lacey Brown is cute and fetching and brings her cool scratchy voice to "Landslide," but it never really comes alive. A disappointment, I had high hopes for Lacey tonight.

Gorgeous Michelle Delamor sings a very polished version of Alicia Keys's "Fallin'," sounding, as far as I can tell, exactly like Alicia Keys. Ellen calls it "safe," and I agree. It's hard to fault Michelle too much, though; playing it safe and playing to your strengths are not unreasonable decisions on a night with so much at stake.

Didi Benami sings "You Take Me the Way I Am" and doesn't cry once; I don't love the song, but I totally love her — her funky voice, her big smile, her quiet confidence, her beautiful mouth. Did I mention her mouth twice? I'm a little obsessed. I have a total girl crush on Didi Benami. Anyway, I love her. Did I mention that? Her singing, I mean.

Oh, man, Idol is messing me up, because here comes Siobhan Magnus, and I immediately get a crush on her too. She is so odd and interesting! But what on earth does she have on her feet? It's like two tiny Buicks or something. Anyway, she sings "I Don't Want to Fall in Love" and it sounds fantastic — she's got such beautiful control of both the high and low notes. She's my favorite so far. Ellen totally agrees with me, because we are sistahs, and Simon shares my little crush on Siobhan.

Brief diversion: Did I ever mention that Siobhan has always been my favorite girl name? Even when I was a kid (when I thought it was spelled "Shovonne" — and my best friend at the time always thought I was saying "Chiffon"). Love that name. But for some reason Mr. Lady Chardonnay didn't go for it when it was time to name Mimosa. Oh, well.

Back to our girls! girls! girls! Crystal Bowersox is up next, and I am deeply enamored of her performance. She is so calm and confident, and I think she chose the perfect song. But I do agree that soon she'll need to mix it up a bit — I'd like to see her without her guitar, doing something that isn't so singer-songwritey, just to see what her range is. But tonight she was spot on. Best of the night, I think.

Not to give anything away . . . but okay, Katie Stevens, our Chosen Girl, Miss Pimp Spot herself, picked a song and a look that were both way too old for her. Maybe it's the mom in me, but I got agitated watching this open-faced wholesome teenager prowl around the stage like a lounge singer. Her voice is fantastic, though, and I don't think she's in trouble this week.

So, who's going home? In my dream world, it's Katelyn Epperley and Haley Vaughn. However, I have a feeling that Haley's high school chums are going to step up for her big time, and show that big meanie Simon a thing or two. I will not be at all surprised if Haley lives another day. Based on tonight's performance and on lack of name recognition, Janell Wheeler and Lacey Brown could be in trouble — or even Paige Miles, because of the lack of screen time. If it's anyone other than one of these five, I will be truly shocked and might even birth the proverbial cow.

(TV Guide picked Ashley Rodriguez as one to watch; I think she has enough of a fan base that she'll survive at least another week. Well, we'll know soon enough.)

I have outings every night this week, so I'm not sure when I'll get to watch the boys and blog again — so enjoy the two posts in one day, fans and friends. But don't get used to it.

Lady C, off to watch "Lost" and revel in Tuesday TV bliss!