American Idol's Top 8 women performed Tuesday night in the hopes of surviving the last cut before being named one of Season 9's Top 12 finalists.
The women continued to garner mixed reviews from the American Idol judging panel.
Katie Stevens, the 17-year-old high school student from Connecticut, sang first. After being told by the American Idol judges that she was picking songs that were "too old" for her, Stevens tried for a more youthful feel with Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway". The judges were negative across the board. Randy Jackson said that Katie Stevens' version paled in comparison to the original. Simon Cowell said that she "sucked the energy out of it a little bit, and made it a bit gloomy".
Siobhan Magnus was up next with a slow, soulful version of the 60s hit "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals. Randy Jackson called it "hot," Ellen Degeneres called it "spectacular," and Simon Cowell called it "weird, ploddy, boring and dark".
Watch video of Siobhan Magnus' performance below
Lacey Brown was up next Belinda Carlisle's "The Story". Randy Jackson said that it was Brown's "best performance in a long time". Simon Cowell said it was "good," but still not the ultimate song choice for her voice.
Katelyn Epperly performed Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move" while accompanying herself on keyboards. Randy Jackson said he didn't feel that the song and Carole King had "anything to do" with Katelyn Epperly. Ellen Degeneres called Epperly "adorable" but thought she chose the wrong song. Kara DioGuardi said she was just "going through the motions". Simon Cowell said that it sounded like "request night" at a local restaurant. Epperly said that she was trying to be "less corny" with her performance, but wondered if she had toned herself down too much after the judges' critiques.
Didi Benami took on an acoustic version of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon". Randy Jackson called it a vast improvement from Benami's performance last week. Kara DioGuardi went so far as to call the performance "one of my favorite moments of the show so far this season". Simon Cowell called Didi Benami's whole performance "a wow moment" and praised her for coming back after last week's "mauling".
Paige Miles brought Charlie Chaplin to the American Idol stage for the first time by singing "Smile". Randy Jackson said that it "just didn't work" and Ellen Degeneres called it "sad and heavy". Kara DioGuardi said "it was all wrong". Simon Cowell said that it was a "horrible choice of song" and called the arrangement "something you'd hear at the Holiday Inn in 1974". Cowell said he thought "it could be the end of the road" for Miles after the performance. Miles said that she was inspired by Michael Jackson's version of the song and became overwhelmed by the emotion during the performance.
Crystal Bowersox performed Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason". Bowersox got rave reviews from the judges across the board. Simon Cowell said that Bowersox is "the one to beat" and told her that the competition is "yours to lose".
Lilly Scott rounded out the night by singing Patsy Cline's country classic "I Fall to Pieces". Kara DioGuardi said that Scott made the song feel "contemporary". Simon Cowell said that it was "cute" and "quirky" but didn't have the "wow factor" to close the show on a high note.
The Top 8 men perform for American Idol on Wednesday night. Four contestants will be eliminated from the competition on Thursday night.
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