jlh | how quickly we revert to type, oh beloved idol family

In the first five minutes of the show Kara was useless, Randy yammered a string of cliches, Simon made a pronouncement, Ellen did a bit and Ryan giggled. This is American Idol.

Rymon moment: Ryan warning Kara away from Simon under the guise of teasing him about his "engagement."

Paige Miles, "All Right Now." Y'all, don't sing wedding songs. Also don't freak out the D.Cook loyalists. I got what Kara was trying to say (for once) about putting soul into the rock song.
Ashley Rodriguez, "Happy." Was any of that on key? Also, she didn't deliver what the song is about—I didn't feel it the way I do with Leona, though as Simon pointed out that might have been the arrangement. However, Randy got to give his annual "don't sing diva songs" speech.
Janell Wheeler, "What About Love." So if you don't have a big power voice, you can't sing Heart songs, because you just sound small. She did fine because she has a good voice, but it wasn't the song for her. And it really didn't show her off to the best effect, as Kara said.
Lilly Scott, "Fixing a Hole." It was very charming, though her phrasing was a little weird. I adored it, but then I adore her.
Katelyn Epperly, "Oh! Darling." Takes more than a flower in your hair to be a blueswoman, Katelyn. It didn't suck? I'm sure she'll go through, but I didn't love it.
Haeley Vaughn, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." I'm getting a Jordin vibe from her, that sort of unconcerned happy floating thing. The vocals were all over the place, and she got through it on charm.
Lacey Brown, "Landslide." So that was a lot of not good.
Michelle Delamor, "Falling." It was really generic. I have no idea who this girl is, even though she sounded great.
Didi Benami, "The Way I Am." I can see why Simon would call it self indulgent. I liked it, but I'm not sure it was the choice when you're singing for your life. Also she's wearing an Andean blanket.
Siobahn Magnus, "Wicked Game." The beginning was not very good, let's face it, and it didn't show her off to best effect. But she's a little different and that might be enough.
Crystal Bowersox, "Hand in My Pocket." Simon's already giving Crystal the level two crit, which is a little early not for her but for the audience. And he was right, at least when he stopped talking about stuff that didn't matter.
Katie Stevens, "Feeling Good." I see why she got that pimp spot, but it really was like she was a little kid playing dress-up. And wow, Randy actually said something useful about the specific mistake that she made.

No one new won me over—there were no breakthroughs, nothing particularly surprising after Hollywood Week. I'm voting for Lilly, Didi, Crystal and Janell. Thoughts on who's out? Who did you like?