'American Idol' - 'Top 10 Girls Perform' Recap

We start the show off with an update on Crystal Bowersox: still no word on what landed her in the hospital yesterday, but she's back and ready to sing. We then transition into an awkward joke from Ellen about her dead grandmother, and even more awkward pseudo-flirting between Kara and Simon. It's gonna be that kind of night, I guess.

In general, the girls show a marked improvement from last week, and there are really very few horrific performances, so that's definitely a step up. I was getting a little worried about this competition, but after tonight, I feel a lot better about the whole thing.

Crystal Bowersox is singing Credence Clearwater Revival, which seems to be more up her alley than Alanis. I really have no idea how Simon is going to react at any given point this season, but as far as I'm concerned, she killed it. Crystal is ridiculously talented, unique, and compelling to watch, which is not something I can say of very many of the girls this year. Randy and Ellen absolutely fawn over her. Kara gets the song that Crystal sang last week wrong, but likes her, and Simon makes up a new word: "misunderestimated." However, he basically says that he was wrong about her and continues to heap well-deserved praise upon her.

Haeley Vaughn has the unenviable position of not only following Crystal, but doing so with a Miley Cyrus song. Unfortunately for her, it's kind of a mess. She hits some nice notes toward the end, but she sounds really off throughout it. I really liked her during Hollywood week, but she's been less than impressive so far, and I can't see this performance getting her very much further in the competition. While Ellen thinks she's adorable, neither she nor Randy think that Haeley connected to the song at all. Kara tells her that her talent is inconsistent, and that she needs another year to really get it all together. Simon tells her that it was "a complete and utter mess."

Lacey Brown is singing 'Kiss Me,' which is a super-annoying song that is probably now going to be stuck in my head for the next month. She does a good job with the song, and sounds great vocally, but it's a pretty boring performance. Big Mike seems to be enjoying it though. He's just rocking out in the audience, which is pretty funny. But that's the thing: I probably shouldn't be more interested in the audience than I am in the person on stage. Randy says that it sounded like Karaoke, while Ellen says that it was adorable. Kara says that it was good, but she needs to step it up a little bit, while Simon says that she wasn't memorable, which is totally true.

Katie Stevens is singing the recent 'Idol' favorite, 'Put Your Records On.' She's one of the few whose personality translates pretty well to the stage, and she does a good job with this song, but it still doesn't quite blow me away. She's quite talented, but maybe she's still too young? There's just something about her that doesn't really do it for me. Ellen still wants to see Katie be younger, while Kara is "so frustrated" with her. Simon sums it up nicely by telling Katie that she's not telling them what kind of artist she wants to be.

Didi Benami is choosing a classic song, 'Lean on Me.' She's another one of my favorites in the competition, so I hope she does really well. Unfortunately, it starts off really boring, but she really picks up in the middle and finishes strong. Randy, however, gives her a terrible review and says that he wouldn't have picked that song for her. Ellen tells her that she has a great voice, but that she wishes she would have chosen a different Bill Withers' song. Kara, however, continues to try to be a bad ass and tells her simply, that it wasn't good. Simon even tells her that it was screechy.

Michelle Delamor is singing one of my least favorite songs ever written, 'With Arms Wide Open,' by Cree. I can't begin to tell you how much I hate Creed, so I'm not looking forward to this even a little bit. With that said, she starts out really well, but it just seems to lose any interesting aspects in the middle. Randy doesn't think she did enough with the song, while Ellen says that it "almost worked." Kara tells her that it was her favorite performance of Michelle's ever, which is just really weird. Simon really likes the performance, as well, and I officially just don't understand this show anymore.

Lilly Scott is also hopping in the Way Back Machine and singing 'A Change is Gonna Come,' by Sam Cooke. She starts off weak, but by the end, I remember why I like her so much. She has a unique voice, and sounds unlike anyone else who's ever been on this show. Randy and Ellen both tell her that it was their favorite performance of the night, while Kara tells her that she had her first "moment." Simon, however, thinks that Crystal was stronger, but says she was still great.

Katelyn Epperly is singing Coldplay's 'The Scientist,' which has been known to induce comas, so good luck with that. She's playing the piano, though, which is pretty cool. The first line is crazy. She sounds so unsure of herself, that it almost seems as though she's not positive she's even singing the right song. She ends really strong, but again, it's just such a boring song. Randy says that it was strong, but that it was a really slow song. Ellen straight-up tells her that she fell asleep during it, which I totally agree with. Kara, on the other hand, tells her that she kind of loves her. Simon tells her that it's nearly identical to the Natasha Beddingfield version and that it's better than last week, but that she can be quite corny at times.

Paige Miles is making me nervous by choosing a Kelly Clarkson song. However, she does a great job with it. My only fear is that she didn't make it original enough. But judging by the way Kara is boogying at the judges' table, I think she's good. However, that could just be because Kara co-wrote it. Randy liked the performance, but tells her that he didn't hear enough of her in it. Ellen disagrees and says that she likes everything she did with it. Kara actually says she thinks Paige could have a hit with that song, but that she didn't really get the anger behind the song. Simon, however, tells her that while she has a strong voice, the song overtook her.

Siobhan Magnus takes on Aretha, which is just ... whoa. Much like many of the other girls performing tonight, Siobhan starts off weak, and then really gains confidence about 3/4 of the way through. Randy loved it, and calls her "fearless." Ellen loved it, as well, while Kara can't get over that crazy note that she went for at the end. Simon calls her a strange person again, and tells her that while there were parts of the song that were terrible, that note was wonderful. He also calls her incredibly talented.