The American Idol performances are important tonight and tomorrow night because this is the last week of eliminations before the final 12.  Making it this far and then not making it to the top 12 will be heartbreaking for four of American Idol’s contestants.

First up tonight is Katie Stevens.  She chooses Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway”.  Randy thinks it was too big for her.  Ellen didn’t thing she showed enough personality, but she did like the song choice.  Kara doesn’t think she knows who she is as an artist.  Simon agrees with Kara and thinks she hasn’t found herself yet, but he does give her 10 out of 10 for trying.

Siobhan Magnus picks “House Of the Rising Sun”.  She says she picked this song to surprise her father, who is also a performer.  Randy loves what she does and he thinks she takes risks and they pay off.  Ellen tells her its performers like her that make her love music.  Kara thinks she did a good job.  Simon thought it was all a bit weird.  This is one of those performances that I will download from I-Tunes.

“The Story” is Lacey Brown’s choice for tonight.  Randy says it’s her best performance in a long time.  Ellen agrees with Randy.  Kara says this is the kind of performance she should be doing.  Simon didn’t love the song, but he thinks she sang it really, really well.

Next up is Katelyn Epperly singing Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move”.  Randy didn’t feel a connection between Katelyn and the song.  Ellen didn’t think it was enough to get people to pick up their phones and vote.  Kara thinks something is missing.  Simon starts with a positive–he likes her hair.  But, he thinks the song may have been a mistake.

Didi Benami singing a Fleetwood Mac song doesn’t overly impress Randy.  He does think she did better than last week.  Ellen says “yes indeedy Didi”.  So, did you notice that Ellen is inserting little funny lines in her comments tonight?  Kara says it was one of her favorite moments of the show so far this season.  Simon agrees with Kara.  He thought it was head and shoulders above what he had already heard tonight.  I have to admit, this surprised me.  I enjoyed the song, but I don’t know if it was that good.

Paige Miles’ rendition of “Smile” starts out slow and I was waiting for her to break out and wow me, but that didn’t happen.  Randy tells her “it just didn’t work”.  Ellen thinks the song was sad and heavy instead of uplifting.  Kara agrees with Randy and Ellen.  Simon says it was a horrible choice of song and the arrangement was terrible.  Simon thinks this may be the end of the road for her.  I do too.

On electric guitar tonight is Crystal Bowersox.  Her choice of Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason” is perfect for her.  Randy loves her, the song, everything!  Ellen thinks she’s done the best performance of the night.  Kara says she knows who she is.  Simon says she’s in the top twelve.  He thinks she is the one to beat.  I do too.  This was the first performance all season that I really felt excited about.

Closing tonight’s show is Lily Scott singing “I Fall To Pieces”.  I was instantly confused because her look and this country-style song do not mesh at all.  BTW, what were those things hanging from her ears?  Randy tells her well done.  Ellen loves her style and originality.  Kara says she made Patsy Kline feel current.  Simon didn’t think it had the “wow factor”.

My guess for elimination on Thursday would be Katelyn Epperly and Paige Miles.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Katie Stevens replaced one of the two I mentioned.  Don’t forget that the guys will perform at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow–not 8:00.  So stay tuned…Bloggergal1