American Idol 6, February 21: First Impressions

Last night you voted for the guys, and now it’s time for the girls to show their stuff. Ryan gives them those Little League high-fives Betsy mentioned yesterday. He reminds us that the decision is up to us now.

We get a mini recap of last night’s guys’ performances, as well as Simon’s succinct advice, “Sing well.” I’m not going to go over everything; Betsy already did that. Suffice it to say that Simon wasn’t very impressed, and many of the viewers weren’t either.

On to tonight! Ryan first gives a shout-out to the guys, then does the roll call. Stephanie! Amy! Leslie! Sabrina! Antonella! Jordin! Nicole! Haley! Melinda! Alaina! Gina! Lakisha! I keep forgetting half their names, but after tomorrow night, two will be gone, so that’ll help.

Ryan introduces the judges, who you should recognize if you live in the world. Ryan points out that Simon tells people to take risks, then slams them for being too risky. Randy says that’s not true; “it doesn’t matter what you sing as long as you really sing it.” Ryan asks Paula how she feels about the guys a day later. She says they didn’t let her down, but the first night is always rough and you learn where you need to go. Simon actually agrees with her and Ryan thinks he’s happy-go-lucky tonight.

Ryan mentions Chris Sligh’s dig at Simon, who says he likes it when the singers fight back because it shows spirit. Simon thinks the guys let themselves down; he couldn’t remember half the performances. Simon denies that Chris got under his skin, even when shown a photo of his reaction. He tells Ryan he’s being obnoxious. Girls, girls, you’re both pretty.

We get another montage of the girls at their original auditions, getting their golden tickets and celebrating with their families. We also see some in The Chair and celebrating back in the holding room and the elevator. I still don’t remember half of their names.

The first girl up is Stephanie Edwards. In her interview in Memphis, she sang “God Bless the Child.” When she saw everyone there, she thought she wouldn’t make it, but her parents encouraged her. Simon told her she reminded him of a ‘30s jazz singer. We see Stephanie’s Hollywood clip, too, of her singing “Until You Come Back to Me.” Stephanie cries as she talks about how much her parents believe in her.

Stephanie is singing Alicia Keys’ “How Come You Don’t Call Me.” That’s a risky choice; Alicia Keys can be tough to sing. But Stephanie not only sounds good, she sounds confident, and she looks like a born performer. She has the crowd on their feet and has me wanting more. I was excited to see more of Stephanie after that brief clip of her last week, and she didn’t disappoint. This girl could go all the way to the finals.

Randy: There’s a huge difference between last night and tonight. Stephanie’s performance said it all. It was a little pitchy, but the conviction was great.

Paula: Stephanie is a great performer and a star.

Simon: A million times better than anything last night, and Stephanie’s best performance they’ve seen so far. He likes that she picked a good song and gave a good performance, and it looks like she came out saying that she wants to win.

Ryan is congratulatory as well, saying that Stephanie looked fearless. He asks if she was comfortable, since she looked like she was. Stephanie says yes, and that the audience is awesome.

Ryan chats with the girls in the VIP room, asking Melinda what she learned from the guys last night. She thinks they did great and the judges are challenging them, which also challenges the girls. Ryan asks Antonella if she’s changed her strategy. She says she just got nervous and she’s trying to calm down.

Amy Krebs is up next, and she’s nervous as well. She agrees with Melinda that the bar is set high and they’re trying to surpass it. We see Amy’s audition and she tells us that she was exhilarated when she got on stage in Hollywood. She thinks you learn more about yourself when you’re in this situation, where all of your good or bad qualities are put before you. Apparently she stood out in her group in Hollywood, as Paula named her the only memorable one.

Amy sings Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” It’s okay, but Amy’s going to need a lot more to survive in this competition. She gets off-key a few times and is kind of boring. She needs work.

Randy: It was a middle-of-the-road performance. She has a good voice but chose a safe song without runs, which is her specialty. Amy’s better than the song.

Paula: She agrees with Randy. Amy impressed the judges early on with a bluesy, R&B feel, and this song wasn’t a good fit.

Simon: The problem is that Simon still can’t really remember her and she doesn’t have much of a personality. She needs to do something to make herself stand out.

Ryan asks what Amy will do now. Amy says she’ll try to let her personality shine through more. Simon thinks that will be tough. Even her clothes and hair are forgettable. Ryan notes that Simon himself is a “fashion disaster,” so we shouldn’t listen to him.

Leslie Hunt is next and says the judges were in a good mood when she auditioned. Her experience has been a boost of confidence that she really needed. When she found out she was in the top 24, she felt like she’d accomplished something and hopes it continues, though she’s pleased she’s come this far.

Leslie busts out the Aretha with “Natural Woman.” I totally knew someone was going to sing this tonight (no, I don’t know how), but I wouldn’t have guessed it would be Leslie. It’s an interesting choice for her, and though she looks like she’s having fun with the song, and she sounds good, I’m not sure it’s a good fit. Her voice isn’t big enough for Aretha. I want to hear more from Leslie, but she needs to make better choices.