It's Ladies Night

Ladies night inevitably means poo squattage, sashaying, and probably a lot of ? as to why they made it to the live shows in the first place.

Ryan wants to know if one of these ladies will be the first female winner in 5 seasons. Brielle thinks that by raising one eyebrow and looking "shexy" (shady/sexy) she is stating that she will be the first female winner in 5 seasons. I say notinamillionyears.

Steven Tyler was getting one last sip backstage and was a little tardy for the party this evening.

Tomorrow night we'll narrow down to 10 and each judge will have a wild card pick. Which means Nigel will tell them which 3 that are "eliminated" shouldn't have been "eliminated" and force the judges to pick them.

Chelsea is first. She is from the country. I like her. She is singing "Cowboy Casanova" by Ms. Underwood. Wow. That's gutsy. That was actually really good. Enjoyable. She seemed to lose a little steam towards the end, but it was pretty good overall. Randy Yo Dawg: "Kickin' it off with a big Carrie Underwood, you can definitely sing, but I don't know if it was the best song choice, we've seen the Carrie Underwood thing, it'd be like if somebody got up there and tried to sing Steven Tyler." Me: "Huh? Last night, practically everyone did a copycat performance of someone else's song and you were falling over yourselves worshipping the very ground they stood on." Jenny from the Block: "Your voice sounded nasally and people didn't get to hear the best part of you. It sucks to go first." Steven Tyler: "I can hear your heart pounding from here. Watch your phrasing." Me: "Either I no longer have good taste in music or I need to get my ears checked." Namedrop: 1

Erika Van Pelt is up next. She lives in Rhode Island. She's a mobile DJ. That would be a fun job. I like her personality. I think she's fun. She's singing "What About Love?" She has a really powerful voice. You know how I said I thought the odds were against a female winning this year? The girls are straight showing up tonight. I may have been wrong. Steven Tyler: "I loved your confidence, I loved the notes, it's beautiful." Jenny from the Block: "You could have pushed it a little more. Next time, let loose, let loose on us. But you're amazing." Randy Yo Dawg: "Well, yo. You showed this confidence, this restraint, kind of an Adele vibe. I was thinking, yo, if this girl DJ's as good as she sings, yo, a singing DJ!" Ryan: "Were you holding back a little bit?" Erika: "Maybe a little melodically, but I wanted to show my rock side."
Me: "I dug it." Namedrop total: 2

Jen Hirsch is from Agoura Hills. She has a cute dog and a cute family. She is singing Adele's "One and Only." I've never heard this song. I like Jen Hirsch alot. She has a raelly amazing control to her voice. I liked this performance. Not as much as Erika but more than Chelsea. Jenny from the Block: "I felt the feeling in the song. Really good job." Steven Tyler: "Confidence makes a voice fly and yours was soaring." Randy Yo Dawg: "I love you and your voice, you can do those runs, you can naturally go there." She was good.

Brielle. My favorite. NO. Her Mom is living with the contestants. That's probably LOADS of fun. She's singing "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay." Correction. She's growling it. And now she's shouting it. The NY accent on this song was so irritating. Not to mention the fact that she tie-dyed her dress in arts and crafts class. Steven Tyler: "You have a sense of the blues. Nice, nice, nice." Jenny from the Block: "This is what I love about you, people don't think about you as one of the big voices. But you're a performer." Randy Yo Dawg: "You can really sing. You surprised me. Like a little Janis Joplin." Namedrop total: 3 She drives me insane.

Hallie Day is up. She lives in Baltimore, MD. She is strange. I don't know why I think that but I do. She's singing "Feelin' Good." That was a pretty decent performance. She has good stage presence. Her voice was shaky in spots but overall it was pretty good. Jenny from the Block: "It had some really beautiful moments. You looked like a star." Steven Tyler: "Since day one you know how I feel. I think your voice is old-timey, like Adele. It's great." Me: "Not everyone can be Adele. In fact, no one IS Adele except Adele. What you're trying to say is, they have talent. Which is rare." Randy Yo Dawg: "What do you want to do?" Hallie: "I just want to put soul into everything I do." Randy Yo Dawg: "I just didn't know where you would be. (unintelligible name) is doing that, Adele is doing it, but I didn't know how you would fit." Namedrop total: 5

Skylar is up next. Skylar lives in a small town. Skylar is the one that I said I thought might win at her audition. Not Bailey. Skylar. I like her a lot. I love the country twang. She really does remind me of Reba. I love her. I'm Team Skylar all the way. Randy Yo Dawg: "You are like the rockin' country chick. You're like a mix of Reba, Kelly Clarkson and Tina Turner. I recorded that song with Travis Tritt." Namedrop total: 9. Jenny from the Block: "I love your twang. You're a natural born performer." Steven Tyler: "You made Galveston proud. You're a pistol. Keep it up." Awkward pause while cameraman waits for Steven to keep talking.

Baylie Brown is up next. She lives in TX. She lives with her GrandDad. Awww. Landry has a GrandDad too! She's singing "Amazed." She's kind of falling apart. She's about 1/2 a beat behind the band. She's flat in spots and sharp in others. And she's being overpowered by the background singers at the key change. She's also peaking her voice on the high end of her range. That was disappointing. And surprising. I expected her to do better. Steven Tyler: "I don't know if that was the best song you could have picked. But I enjoyed it. You're very pretty." Jenny from the Block: "It was a little shaky all the way through. You didn't have total control." Me: "Finally, we agree!" Randy Yo Dawg: "I agree. You never seized control. It was good. You look amazing. But I don't think it was great." Baylie had fun, bless her little country heart.

Hollie Cavanagh has a strange accent. Or perhaps a speech impediment? I don't know. She's singing "Reflection" which is a song from "Mulan," the Disney movie. I give this performance a big ol' ???????? She looks like she's very confused and scared and oh my goodness that big note was SHARP! Steven Tyler: "One of my favorites from the start you hit your notes perfect." Me: "She did?????" Jenny from the Block: "I think you can win this. I know you didn't have everything you wanted in that song." Me: "She can win this????" Randy Yo Dawg: "You're one of my favorites. I love your vocals. It'd be nice to see you let go a little bit." Me: "I just don't get it. She's cute and everything, but I don't find her voice all that fabulous."

Haley Johnson is from Oregon. She's singing "Sweet Dreams" and she has a strange dress. Also, her voice is odd. It's pleasant, but odd. It's plodd. Jenny from the Block: "I hope America heard all of the intricacies that you did." Steven Tyler: "Some of your turn arounds weren't perfect, but what in life is? You pulled it through. The money shots were spot on." Randy Yo Dawg: "It was a bit of a nightmare more than a dream. Annie Lennox. I'm dizzy." Namedrop total: 10

Shannon's Dad is here and he's going to beat up Steven. Not really. She is singing "Go Light Your World" by Kathy Troccoli. This is a Christian song. Wow! That was really good. But I'm very sleepy. So this is going to have to wait.

Well that's frustrating. I had the whole thing completed and it didn't save. Stupid technology.

Anyway, in a nutshell. Shannon was good. Jessica Sanchez was a'ight for me for you. Elise was awesome, but I just really love her voice. This is my ideal top 13.

Phillip Phillips
Reed Grimm
Joshua Ledet
Heejun
Creighton Fraker
Elise Testone
Jen Hirsh
Skylar Laine
Shannon Magrane
Erika Van Pelt

Wild Cards: Jeremy Rosado, Adam Brock, and Jessica Sanchez.

We'll see, America. We'll see.