Top 8 Ladies on AI Season 9: Crystal Bowersox is the One to Beat

Tonight proved once and for all that Crystal Bowersox is the one to beat on American Idol Season 9, if there was any doubt. With only the top eight ladies singing live tonight, things seemed rushed for the live show. Finally a pace I can get on board with. The opening was short and sweet and Ryan Seacrest got right to the performances.

The best of the Top 8 ladies on AI Season 9:

Taking the Idol stage seventh tonight, we were gasping for a good performance. Bowersox delivered. Sporting her electric guitar tonight (showing yet more versatility), Crystal sang Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason". The perfect song to show her range and rasp on the gritty vocals. Bowersox really got into the performance and the crowd was up and dancing. She was in complete control. The only problem was that it ended too soon.
What the AI judges said about Crystal Bowersox:
Randy Jackson: "...yo listen listen listen listen! This is what the show is for me..."

Ellen Degeneres:"....I need more adjectives to describe you I'm sick of just saying amazing... best performance of the night..."

Kara DioGuardi: "...that is what we're talking about...now I'm picturing the album you'll be recording..."

Simon Cowell: "...you are one million billion percent going to be in the top 12 next week... and right now you are the one everyone has to beat, it's yours to lose..."

Siobhan Magnus is still a weird little flower on AI Season 9. She continues to mystify me week after week. Tonight singing The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", Siobhan brought a new quirkiness to the Idol stage. She rearranged most of the song, but only very slightly. Magnus showed she has the pipes to tackle big songs (though she proved that last week) again. I like this performance, and I like Siobhan Magnus more every week.
What the AI judges said about Siobhan Magnus:
Randy Jackson: "...that was different... dude I just like what you do ... we give you advice and I don't think you do it at all..."

Ellen Degeneres:"....I from LA, I know that house... music is supposed to move you.. I love what you do...."

Kara DioGuardi: "...the thing about is that you are so unique and different... I really liked it tonight..."

Simon Cowell: "...I wasn't such a fan of that... I thought from the interview before hand and the performance it was all a bit weird... there were no moments in that...it was just all a bit dark..."

The worst of the Top 8 ladies on AI Season 9:

Take a bow Paige Miles. As soon as I heard Ryan Seacrest announce that Paige Miles would be singing "Smile" tonight I gasped. This was going to be a huge hit or a huge miss... and was it ever a miss . Only Danny Gokey's Aerosmith scream last season was worse, but that only lasted a second. This was a disaster from the opening notes. Paige Miles' pitch was all over the place and at one point it looked like she knew it and was maybe going to stop... nope, we got the whole song. Now the problem is that if Paige Miles goes home on Thursday night, she'll have to sing "Smile... though your heart is breaking..." See people, song choice.
What the AI judges said about Paige Miles:
Randy Jackson: "...oh... Paige, that's one of my favorite songs of all time...it just didn't work..."

Ellen Degeneres:"....yeah that song is supposed to be inspiring and uplifting.. you have such a great personality and we didn't get to see it..."

Kara DioGuardi: "...it was all wrong... tonight was not the night to do that...did you know it was wrong? You kind of looked like it half way through..."

Simon Cowell: "...it was a horrible choice of song... I call these performances 'peanut performances' because people sit at the bar and eat peanuts...I think this could be the end of the road..."

Lacey Brown continues to under impress me. She has not had a connection yet this season and tonight was no different, though the judges seemed to enjoy it. I think they just feel stupid admitting that most of these ladies do not deserve to be where they there. Lacey Brown has a very cool voice and no idea what to do with it. She does play to the camera well and has kinda cool 80's style hair.
What the AI judges said about Lacey Brown:
Randy Jackson: "...to me the song was definitely a little boring... it was your best performance for me in a long time..."

Ellen Degeneres:"....I agree with Randy it was your best performance to date..."

Kara DioGuardi: "...performances like this are why you got here... this is the kind of record you should be doing..."

Simon Cowell: "...I didn't love love the song, but you sang it really well... you know where the cameras are and where to look... I still haven't heard the right song connection yet..."

The rest of the performances tonight were extremely boring. The surprise of the night for me was Lilly Scott closing the show with a really boring sing-song performance of "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline. I had Lilly Scott pegged as a front runner with Crystal Bowersox, but this was a really weak performance. She should have a large enough fan base to carry her into the Top 12 for the season, hopefully. There just were so many worse tonight.

Based on tonight's performances this should be the last we see of Paige Miles and Lacey Brown. Hopefully the voters will agree and get the best AI Season 9 contestants to the Top 12 on Thursday. Check out all the performances and judges comments at American Idol Dreams.