Which Girls Will Be in the Sweet 16 for American Idol Season 9

Season 9 of American Idol is well under way and some stars are starting to shine. It was looking a little dicey for a while, as it seemed as though many of these singers were nothing more than Karaoke singers that were trying to make it big. The last two weeks have provided some light on who the real pretenders and contenders are.

The fun thing about watching the progress over the course of the first few weeks is that you get a better idea of who has the actual potential to be an artist and who is doing nothing more than seeing what happens. In all honesty, the first few weeks allow them to sing songs that they may have been singing for years to family and friends. Now they are not allowed to duplicate songs and it makes it much more difficult.

The girls are going to be tough this season because there are at least four of them that could possibly take the title. Unfortunately, I think some of the stronger contenders gave way to nerves in the first two weeks and they are already gone. Two more of the better vocalists could be in deep trouble this week because some of the girls that do not have a realistic shot at winning performed well enough to jump ahead of them.

Who is safe?

There is little doubt that Crystal Bowersox and Siobhan Magnus are going to make it through. Siobhan was actually a little rough at times, but she caught everyone's attention with that big final note. Lilly Scott will also be okay, but frankly, I just do not get it. The judges love her, but it is just not impressive stuff in my opinion. She is going to have some challenges when they have to pick from specific artists. Lacey Brown was not great, but she was solid and put in a much better performance from some of the girls that are more talented than she is. She should be okay here. The same can be said for Katie Stevens. She did a cute song and it was fun to watch, so she should be fine.

Who could be knocked out?

Haley is gone, there is no doubt about it. The little country twang that she has was cute during Hollywood week, but she is not ready for this stage. She needs some vocal training and just overall performance coaching. Can she do something a few years down the road? Absolutely, but she never should have made the final cast in the first place. She needs more time and the judges know this. I can think of several Hollywood-week contestants that would have shined here and still do not understand why she was ever chosen over them.

Didi Benami is in trouble and it is really a shame because she has one of the best pure voices in the competition. I hope that she will be able to hang in there this week and make some better choices in the future because this girl is stacked with talent. Michelle Delamor could also get the boot and she is another one that just had a bad week. She has a beautiful voice and if she performs at her best, there is little doubt that she can make it to the top five. Let's just hope she gets out of this week. Katelyn Epperly is yet another performer who has a great voice and simply chose the wrong song.

While Haley deserves to go, one of the above three will probably also see the boot. Unless they have a huge support group, their performances were among the bottom tier and they are all at risk. Michelle was probably the best of those three and will more than likely sneak through, but it will be close between Didi and Katelyn. Regardless of which one of them leaves, it will be a shame as they have wasted an opportunity to display their talents.