The Girls: The Good, The Great, and The OK

Tuesday's American Idol provided perhaps what may be the funniest moment of the season when Randy referred to the 12 male contestants sitting in an audience section as "The Dawg Pound." They immediately responded to their new name with whoots and raised fists. The moment was so great because it contained two things that are rarities in the world of American Idol: 1. spontaneity and 2. Randy saying something truly funny. The moment continued to be funny throughout the episode, as "The Dawg Pound" continued to whoop it up in support of their female counterparts.

Speaking of the female counterparts, the twelve girls hit the stage with something to prove. The night before, we saw that the guys all have great voices and fell victim only to poor song choices rather than nerves or lack of talent. The girls didn't fare quite as well. There were several moments of weakness. Luckily, there were also moments of greatness.

The guys have the upper hand this season on American Idol, but at least there are some legitimate girls to give them a run for their money.

Now here's the It's Destiny! Panel with our take on the show.

Vonzell Solomon- "Heatwave"
Destiny:She gave a good, professional performance of the song. There was nothing sensational about it, but it was very good. Score: 7

Liza: Oh no - shades of Kimberley Locke. It took Kimberley weeks to overcome that Heatwave performance in Season 2. I don't think Vonzell will be hurt as much by this, since she did a better job than K Lo did in the first live show in season 2, but that's definitely not a song I would have chosen if I were Vonzell. That being said, she did give good energy, and she got the crowd into it, although I think it's more a case of the guy contestants being more supportive than anything else. The guys are a great audience! Score: 6.5

Amanda Avila- "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You"
Destiny:She is pretty and has a nice voice, but she has no spark. There is nothing about her or her performance that makes her stand out. And why would she choose that song? Come on! This is your one chance to be noticed! Score: 5

Liza: Did Amanda not go to the guy's show the day before? Because really, after that, if I were her, I would have changed my song choice immediately. Joseph was criticized for singing that yesterday. What makes her think she wouldn't? I thought she delivered the right emotion for the song, but the whininess was too much for me. Score: 4

Janay Castine- "I Wanna Love You Forever"
Destiny: She looked adorable. Her dress and hair style were perfect for her. Too bad her nerves made her vocals much weaker than she's probably capable of. Score: 5

Liza: Can you say "train-wreck"? That poor girl delivered the most agonizing performance I have ever seen on Idol. She looked so scared that she made Julia DeMato seem confident and self-assured in comparison. And not only that, but that song was all kinds of wrong for her. It's a belting song, and she didn't even come close to belting. And I think Amanda kicked her butt on this song in the first audition. Score: 2

Carrie Underwood- "Could've Been"
Destiny: She is the most overrated contestant of the season. She is cute and competent vocally, but I don't see the superstar that the judges do. She also had some "pitch problems" that they didn't even address. Her song choice was OK and provided a step back into the rarely tapped vault of the late 80s. Good, but not great. Score: 7

Liza: Excuse me while I stop laughing because she was singing a song by TIFFANY. Ahem. Actually, I thought Carrie did a great job. She picked the perfect song for her, and she sang it really well, save for that one big note that was out of tune in the middle. Score: 8.5

Sarah Mather- "Get Ready"
Destiny:The judges were too harsh on her. While the song may not have been the best choice, she did infuse it with soul and style. Not the disaster they made it out to be. Score: 6.5

Liza: Her posture is horrific when she sings, the ending of the song was hideous, and it was a bad song choice for her. Paula was spot-on (gasp!) - it's a group song, not a solo song. Score: 3.5

Melinda Lira- "The Power Of Love"
Destiny: She was yet another victim of nerves and poor song choice. She also lacks natural stage presence. She is very lucky that the judges like her and gave her the biggest compliment they ever could by saying she is like Kelly Clarkson. Uhhh... I DON'T THINK SO! She's good, but she's not great. To even be considered to be compared to Miss Clarkson, one must be spectacular from the start, not in need of any work or experience. Score: 6

Liza: Randy busted out the Kelly Clarkson comparison, but I am really not seeing it, other than personality-wise and a little bit facially. Melinda actually reminds me more of Camile Velasco than Kelly, but with a much better voice. When you sing Celine, you better bring it. That song is meant to be absolutely belted - you have to have a huge voice to do it any kind of justice, and other than maybe the ending, I didn't think Melinda was able to pull it off. Her stage mannerisms bothered me a little as well. Score: 5

Nadia Turner- "Power of Love"
(song by Ashley Cleveland, not Celine Dion)
Destiny:The girl showcased her specialty of soulful Christian rock- a first on American Idol. Major props to her for bringing that genre to the show and doing it well. She has a great sense of style. I particularly love the rhinestone fish she sported on her belt. Rock on, girl! Score: 9

Liza: Thank you, Nadia, for resuscitating the whole Idol franchise and breathing new life into it. That was quite possibly the most rockin' performance I have ever seen on American Idol. Amazing performance - it completely blew me away!! If you're going to sing an unknown song, sing it like that and no one will care if they're familiar with it or not. That was, to quote Randy, "Da bomb!" Score: 10

Celena Rae- "I Will Love Again"
Destiny: Unfortunately, she was the episode's next victim of nerves, and it made her sound very weak and shaky. Hopefully, she will get to come back and show us what talent she really has. On the up side, she looked really great! Score: 5

Liza: She totally paled in comparison to Nadia, but I think she showed some flashes of potential greatness. I would like to see her stick around at least another week to see what she's got. Score: 5

Mikalah Gordon- "Young Hearts Run Free"
Destiny:She regressed back to the tacky and annoying Mikalah that we saw in her original Las Vegas Audition. What happened to the cute vocal and physical style she adopted in the Hollywood and Pasadena rounds of the auditions? Her newly dyed black hair was really unflattering, as were her dress and her brash and nasaly vocals. Wrong outfit. Wrong song choice. She really showed her young age, too, with her overreaching performance and comments. She needs to stick to old school jazzy songs that highlight her big voice without being too out of control. Hopefully, she can pull herself together and choose better hair, clothes, and songs. Score: 3

Liza: And people thought Fantasia was polarizing? Not only does Mikalah have the most annoying personality of anyone who has ever been on the Idol show (and that includes any of the judges!), but she also has the most annoying voice. The way she sang the beginning of her song made me want to stick stakes into my ears so that I wouldn't ever have to hear her off-pitch, Fran-Drescher-ish voice again. She mugged for the camera more than she actually sang (she even missed a line because she was changing up the words for Randy). Words cannot begin to describe how much I cannot stand the thought of having this girl in the competition another week. Score: 1

Lindsey Cardinale- "Standing Right Next To You"
Destiny:She has a beautiful, smooth voice. It will be really nice to hear her do different styles and show some range and emotion. While the song may not have been the best song she could have chosen, it was really irritating to hear the judges tell her that it was a really bad song choice. Hello!? That is the song they sent her to Hollywood with. I really wanted her to say that to them (or at least someone to say it to them). Hypocrites Central, can we help you? Score: 7.5

Liza: One of my Idol pet peeves is when contestants repeat songs that have already been sung on the show (Amanda Avila, I'm talking to you). But what I hate worse than that is when contestants repeat songs that THEY have already sung on the show. Lindsey auditioned with this song in New Orleans, so to hear her sing it again was disappointing. But I will say that she has a unique voice and that she sang it well, it was just, as the judges said, "safe". Score: 5

Jessica Sierra- "Against All Odds"
Destiny:This girl is a gem! We saw glimpses of the greatness she could bring with the tiny clip they showed of her in the Hollywood round, and she didn't disappoint tonight. She sang this serious song well and controlled, but it will be great when she unleashes the fun side of herself. That will be her strongsuit on this show. Score: 8

Liza: I'm starting to think that all of the girls, with a few exceptions, pretty much sound the same. Jessica has a nice voice, but it's not very distinguishable from everyone else's. It's fairly generic. She is going to need to do more to stand out or she's going to BE out. Score: 5

Aloha Mischeaux- "Work It Out"
Destiny: Sassy! No one has ever sung anything so contemporary on this show. It was fun to see something so bold and funky grace the Idol stage. This girl has great stage presence and style. Personality, boldness and a great voice will take her a long way in this competition. Score: 9

Liza: Whoah. Are my ears deceiving me? Are pigs flying right now?? Is this really a song from this decade being sung on American Idol?? For that alone, I give Aloha props. As for her performance, she really IS working it out! She needed to stand out since no one has heard her sing before, and she accomplished that feat! Good for her! Score: 8

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Destiny:Amanda and Janay
Liza: Mikalah and Janay

Who Will Be Eliminated:
Destiny:Amanda and Janay
Liza: Janay and Amanda

Check out all of our coverage of American Idol by visiting our Idol Talk section.
All pictures are courtesy Fox. www.idolonfox.com

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