Last night it was the ladies’ turn to show off their vocal wares. Most of the guys on Tuesday night looked like they were walking on egg shells the whole time, being careful not to mess up too much and just coast into next week. Lucky for them two guys and two girls will get voted off this week, and not four guys, because most of the ladies brought it Wednesday night.

Of course, what is “American Idol” without Ryan Seacrest taking shots at Simon Cowell? I mean, dude just doesn’t let up. He was ribbing Cowell about the night before when Simon and Chris Sligh were trading jabs. Who cares? Simon did call Ryan “obnoxious” and that’s all that needs to be said.

So here is the good, bad, and in-between recap of last night…..

THE GOOD

Stephanie Edwards, who is 19 and has the poise of someone who is 29, started off and was awesome. She put on a show and displayed a voice that is capable of taking her far. Randy said she set the bar, and Simon said it was the first performance so far of someone basically saying “I want to win this thing.” Exactly.

Sabrina Sloan, who I’ll admit to not remembering in the audition rounds, took on Aretha Franklin. That’s always a tough nut to crack, but she cracked it. Randy said “Now we have a competition,” Paula gave Sabrina a drunken standing O, and Simon said she was the best so far.

Melinda Doolittle also took on Aretha and was unbelievable. Like, winning it all unbelievable. This career backup singer has been thrust into the spotlight, and she isn’t going to let go of it any time soon.
Paula said as much, and Simon called Melinda an “incredible singer.” That’s strong praise from Mr. Cowell.

Lakisha Jones brought down the house at the end of the night performing a Jennifer Hudson tune from “Dreamgirls.” I kind of thought she was shouting, but my wife informed me that Lakisha performed the song to a tee. The judges all agreed, in particular Simon who boldly stated that the other 23 contestants should be booking a plane ticket home.

Jordin Sparks is only 17, but is another young competitor who doesn’t fear the big stage. She wasn’t the best of this bunch, but was good enough to land in this category. Simon said Jordin has been getting better and better as the rounds go by and that she may wind up surprising some people.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Leslie Hunt, a.k.a. the “dog walker,” was just pretty good. She was the first of three to take on Aretha Franklin, and the only one who didn’t do her song justice. She wasn’t awful, but as Randy said, the song was “too big” for Leslie. Simon said she looked like a “dog walker” who was out of her comfort zone, and that’s pretty much it.

Nicole Tranquillo sang an Erykah Badu song and kind of made it seem like she was singing in another language. It was more style than substance. Paula said Nicole hit the notes, but that’s about it. Simon called the performance “self indulgent and aggressive.” Agreed.

Gina Glockson is so full of herself that I really hope she gets voted off soon. She took on Celine Dion’s version of Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself,” and was pretty much shouting the whole time. Paula said it was the right song, but Simon said Gina didn’t hit the big note at the end, and he was right. Gina, however, told Ryan Seacrest that she gave her own performance a 12 out of 10. Hey Gina, SHUT UP.
You are just not that good.

THE BAD

Amy Krebs sang Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and was not bad vocally, but really had no flair at all. Randy and Paula said that Amy played it safe, just like the guys on Tuesday. Simon said that Amy was not memorable at all, and that she had the “personality of a candle.”

Antonella Barba showed why she really doesn’t belong in this competition anymore. This girl has gotten by on her looks for long enough, and last night she sang Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” like really bad karaoke. Randy said it was “not good” and pitchy, and Simon said that while Antonella is attactive, that song just didn’t work. The good news is that she will likely be reunited with her best friend soon.

Haley Scarnato also took on a Celine Dion song and while she wasn’t the worst of the evening, her performance was way less than memorable. Randy said it was just “okay,” Paula thought it was a bad song choice, and Simon declared that Haley looked like a 40-year-old singing in a hotel lounge (she’s 24). This girl is cute, though, and I think her looks will allow her to stick around for another week.

Alaina Alexander played it super-safe by singing The Pretenders’ “Brass in Pocket.” Randy said it was “not great” and pitchy, Paula said Alaina didn’t “go for it,” and Simon called it “a mess.” I’m going to say that Alaina may be heading home really soon.

Randy Jackson admitted at the end of the night that four guys should be going home instead of two guys and two girls, and while that is a fair statement to make, there were definitely at least two chicks who were bad enough to book a plane ticket home.

Me? I”m going with Antonella and Alaina. This is a singing competition and both of them had awful performances. For the guys, I slipped up by predicting one going home (Sundance Head) but I forgot that two guys will go home in each of the first three weeks of this round. So Sunjaya, you will soon be reunited with your sister.

Tonight is the painful hour-long results show. And if Ryan Seacrest starts jabbing at Simon again, I may just jump on a plane to LA and beat the crap out of him. See you all tomorrow with the recap….