Thursday Thirteen #43 - American Idol Recap - Week 1 - The girls

Before I get into this week's TT, a little business to attend to. In last week's Thursday Thirteen I hosted a little contest, I will announce the winner tomorrow.

Now, onto this week's TT. Yesterday I did an American Idol recap of the Top 12 boys' performances, so it's only right that today I do a recap of the girls' performances...so I give you 12 performances and a bonus thought. For more about the contestants click here. As with yesterday, I was writing these recaps as I watched the performances, and before the judges commented. THIS is American Idol...Recapped:

1. First up we had Kristy Lee Cook, the girl who sold her horse to pay for her trip to the auditions. I liked this girl at the very first audition, and was looking forward to seeing what she could do. I liked it. She had some strange facial expressions going on, and it wasn't the greatest performance, but I like her voice and I thought she did fairly well. And, right off the bat, at least I wasn't bored. Which I as through most of the guys' performances last night.

2. Next up, Joanne Borgella, the plus size model. The talk of the evening is about how many of the girls are feeling quite sick this evening, and as this girl starts singing, sounding almost out of breath, I can't help but wonder if it's due to illness. She was stiff, not moving very much, and looked obviously nervous. But as the end of the song approached, she got a bit better and I think she ended on a high note. Still, there wasn't a whole lot of energy in it, and I think it fell a bit short.

3. The youngest contestant, Alaina Whitaker was up next. And wait, didn't one of the guys sing ths song yesterday? How is it then that I was bored silly then, but loved it this time around? Girl Power, that's why. She was fantastic, easily my favorite so far. Great job!

4. And then we had the rock chick, Amanda Overmyer. Now, I think this girl is a bit more overrated than she is talented, from what I've seen so far. So, I was interested to see what she'd do. See, I'm not feeling it. Her voice sounds exactly the same with every song she sings, and I don't even like it all that much. Just because you have a rock chick look, and a bit of an edge, does not a good singer make you. There wasn't a whole lot of singing here, some screaming, some swagger, but no, I don't get it. I don't love her. She's not the worst by any means, but I don't get it.

5. Amy Davis was next. I've liked this girl from the beginning, and think she has an amazing voice. Therefore, I was pretty disappointed with her performance. I'll borrow a word from Randy and say that she was "pitchy dawg"...and again, song choice...ugh.

6. Onto the good-girl nanny, Brooke White. She looked pretty damn nervous to me, and I could have done without the "pa pa pa pa pa pa" at the end of the song, but she has a great voice and I thought she did a good job, and it was fun to listen to. And I have to add that I love the fact that her "niceness" totally makes Simon uncomfortable.

7. Well, we've reached the half way point, and I'm not nearly as bored as I was last night by this point. Let's see what Alexandrea Lushington has to offer. I'm not really sure what was going on with this performance...I felt it was a bit scattered, and there were definite moments when her voice was (oh boy, there's that word again) pitchy. There were also some really good moments with her voice, and she was having fun with it. But, I have to agree with Simon, it wasn't great.

8. Next was Kady Malloy. Simon wanted a wow performance, and for me, this was it...at first. I wanted to be blown away by it, but felt like she never took off. She sounded great, and I wanted to see her stand up and really get into it, but she never quite did it.

9. Asia'h Epperson, the girl who's father died two days before the audition (TWO DAYS??) was up next. I love this girl. There's the wow moment, the great vocals, the life, the energy, overall my favorite performance of the night so far. (And I swear I was typing it and Simon was saying it). Seriously, no wonder I like the guy!

10. And next was Ramiele Malubay the little girl with the big voice. And a big voice she has indeed. Looks like they saved the best for the end of the show. Another great performance, another wow moment. She's made it to my top two for the evening so far.

11. Next up Syesha Mercado, another big voice from the auditions. Well, it's official, they definitely saved the powerhouse singers for the end of the show. Another great performance, fun, powerful, enjoyable. Great talent.

12. And last up is the controversial Carly Smithson. Controversial because she's had a 2 million dollar (unsuccessful) record deal before. But can she sing? She was another one of the power voices from the auditions. I don't know...I'm not sure if it was the song, or if she was a bit lost within it, but I wasn't feeling most of it. She has a powerful voice, and hit some great notes, but it just didn't feel 100% to me. Again, I was with Simon, I didn't get it.

13. So, there you have it, my recap. My bottom two for the night? This is much tougher than it was last night with the boys. I saw clear "unfavorites" if you will last night. Tonight, not as easy. I'd say there are quite a few girls in danger, but if I had to pick two for the bottom I'd go with Joanne Borgella and Amy Davis. But Kristi Lee Cook and Kady Malloy should probably be worried as well.

What did you think?