American Idol' recap: Season nine Top 12 perform, Top 6 girls take the stage

The "American Idol" season nine Top 12 performed lived on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.

First up to perform were the Top 6 girls:

Crystal Bowersox - "You Can't Always Get What You Want," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - Not his favorite performance but definitely didn't disappoint
• Ellen - Started to see her personality tonight but still needs to see more; Wants Crystal to have more fun on stage
• Kara - Not her greatest vocal performance but still made it look effortless
• Simon - Didn't think the song was up to her standards; Really felt this was the first time she was beaten by somebody (Siobhan Magnus)

Find out how the Top 6 boys' performances went

Didi Benami - "Play with Fire," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - One of Didi's best performances in weeks
• Ellen - Sounded great
• Kara - Really liked the intensity Didi attacked the song with; Great step in the right direction of finding who she is as an artist
• Simon - Likes that she is beginning to show the judges the artist she is trying to be; Cool choice of song; Sold but not brilliant

Siobhan Magnus - "Paint It, Black," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - Performance was hot
• Ellen - Loves that Siobhan always stands out among the crowd
• Kara - Gave her flashbacks of Adam Lambert's performances
• Simon - Definitely the stand out performance of the night

Melody eliminated on episode 10 of 'Frank the Entertainer in a Basement Affair'

Lacey Brown - "Ruby Tuesday," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - Interesting arrangement; Not a huge fan of it vocally; Not a wow performance but pleasantly surprised
• Ellen - A little sleepy
• Kara - Liked the drama but thinks Lacey could do a lot better
• Simon - Nothing wrong with the vocals but really over thinking the performance

Katie Stevens - "Wild Horses," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - Sang the song really well; Very strong performance
• Ellen - Sounded pitchy in the beginning but amazing when Katie really got in to it
• Kara - Katie isn't ever technically perfect; Better than last week; Is moving in the right direction
• Simon - Only week Katie has chosen a really strong song; Didn't like second half of the song because of the arrangement

NBC's 'Minute to Win It' asks ordinary people to do extraordinary tasks for one million dollars

Paige Miles - "Honky Tonk Women," The Rolling Stones

• Randy - Did alright but needed a little more energy
• Ellen - Sounded amazing; Liked how she was working the stage
• Kara - Impressed with how much she tried to do with the song; Performance showed that the young Paige from before is back
• Simon - Did an amazing job for having problems with her voice this week; Still hasn't connected, yet; Still needs something more contemporary and upbeat

Relive last week's performances and results show

Next episode (Wednesday, March 17, 2010): One contestant is eliminated from the competition

For more TV recaps, news and interviews, follow Amanda on Twitter and click "Subscribe" at the top of this page

Other sites:

The Bachelor Examiner - Recaps, news and interviews for ABC's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette"

The Amazing Race Examiner - Recaps, news and interviews for CBS' "The Amazing Race"