Lil Rounds Likely Performed for Last Time on April 21 American Idol

Lil, what can we say other than goodbye? Lil sang "I'm Every Woman" on disco week and to be perfectly honest, the first thing I wanted to know is where this had been all along. Not so much the quality of the performance as much as her letting go and having fun with songs. This was the first time that I think she truly enjoyed herself on stage. She has been singing not to lose from day one and it has killed her in this competition.

Lil is like Anoop, she can sing but she needs some help to get to the next level. I don't necessarily agree with Simon that it was Karaoke, but it was close enough and with that opinion already being in place about how she performs, it is tough to get it out of your head.

As I was listening to the judges evaluations and watching the death stare that her parents were giving the judges, I could do nothing more than nod in agreement with what they said. They have been dead on about her all season and she has refused to listen to what they have been telling them. She finally did it this week, but it was far too little too late.

We are only going to be left to imagine where she could have gone if she would have taken their direction early on and grew as some of the other contestants have done. She is at the equivalent of being a student who has missed the first half of the year because of an illness and trying to take a test on her first day back.

The other problem is that Lil is just not as good as Danny, Kris, Allison and Adam. She refused to perform as herself and has been singing safe from the very first week. My guess is that Lil has never had to sing as herself. She has wowed family and friends by imitating artists and now that she has to go into unfamiliar territory, she has no clue what to do.

Lil will be fine and probably mature much in the same way that Jennifer Hudson has done. It will more than likely be a couple of years before we hear anything big come from her, but when we do it will come huge. Lil, your only hope on Wednesday is that Vote for the Worst keeps you alive again. If not, take it in stride and learn from the experience.