American Idol Season 7: My Picks for the Top Ten Girls

The girls took the stage tonight, and I must admit, they have a lot of work to do to catch up with the boys. No one singer stood out for me and poor song choices across the board hurt many girls tonight. Maybe the 70's (which was the theme for this week) was a better decade for male music. At least that's the way it sounded.

So to recap. Carly Smithson opened things up with Heart's "Crazy on You" which the judges themselves weren't too crazy about. I really wonder about her, since there's always the fact that she once had a multi-million dollar recording contract. It's the fact that everyone knows, but no one mentions on the show. Whether that can hurt her or not is still unclear - but I know as a voter, it's hard to vote for her versus some of the contestants who are having their first big break on the show.

Let's look at the mistakes of tonight. The big one was Amanda Overmyer's rendition of Kansas' "Carry on my wayward son." It's a great song, no doubt, but it had too much guitar and not enough vocals. And since this is basically her second chance after a lackluster performance last week, she's probably out of the running. Same for Kady Malloy - Heart's "Magic Man" was less than memorable and I've really got to wonder if some music history is needed for these girls to pick the best songs from each decade.

Songs were also chosen that were simply too safe. Alexandrea Lushington didn't push herself on Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now," which suggests to me that she's saving herself for a later performance to wow the judges. She's probably one of the better female vocalists, but so far she hasn't shown it on the national stage. Safety was also the name of the game for Syesha Mercado. Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" did not allow her to demonstrate her range nor her style, leaving the judges confused with why she picked a song by a male to begin with.

There were more mediocre performances from Alaina Whitaker, who sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You," from Greases. Too slow, too boring, and too pagenty.

Needing to find their groove was Asia'h Epperson and Kristy Lee Cook. Asia'h started off poorly with a Eric Carmen's "All by myself," a tough choice but one that she really took off with at the end. She's got talent, but she's inconsistent. There's always mention of her being sick, but that can only get your sympathy for so long. Kristy Lee was so-so with "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt causing Simon to suggest she attempt a country song next week. And while I think Kristy Lee is a lot better suited for that genre, I do think that country singer's don't fare particularly well on the show - I mean, when was the last (or first time) there was a rapper that won American Idol? Country music, I feel, is not mainstream enough for the pop culture teenage/adolescent market.

Well, I saved for the best for last and I've gotta admit that while Ramiele Malubay did not song her best with Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way", she's got an incredible voice and all the judges love her. And so do I.

The surprise performance of the night came from Brooke White who last week was my #12. She totally fit with Carly Simon's "You're So Vain," and the poignant looks at Simon while she sang that line is going to win over the fans for this week. She'll be cruising into the next round.

So without further ado, my rankings for this week:
10) Amanda Overmyer
9) Kady Malloy
8) Alaina Whitaker
7) Alenxandrea Lushington
6) Syesha Mercado
5) Kristy Lee Cook
4) Asia'h Epperson
3) Carly Smithson
2) Brooke White
1) Ramiele Malubay