When "American Idol" made the decision to separate the men and the women for the semifinal round, the idea was that it would provide a deeper pool of male contestants than was provided by last year's group. Ironically — and not in an Alanis Morrisette kind of way — it's going to have the opposite effect.
Unlike last season, when only four men made the final 12 and none were really serious contenders, this year's male semifinalists all looked a lot more polished than most of the women. Under last year's system, three or four of the female contestants would be sent home following Tuesday night's singalong. Instead, only a pair will get the boot, but any protection from the guys ends once the finals begin next week.
Jessica Sierra ended the evening by singing "The Boys are Back in Town," which may prove an unsettling notion for some of the more vulnerable women who manage to make it through.
Once again, Fox made the contestants say their astrological sign and how it affected them, and thus the signs are provided below. Perhaps next week, the audience will get to hear about everyone's favorite drink as well.
Amanda Avila, 23, Las Vegas: Avila has looked great but sang just fair throughout the competition, a trend that continued with her version of Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High." The judges were split: Paula said she expected Avila to make the top 12, while Simon was less sure.Sign: GeminiGrade: C+Stay or go? Opening the show is a lot of pressure, and Avila was clearly feeling it. She didn't nail the song, and is one of the more likely to be voted off.
Janay Castine, 17, Lawrenceville, Ga.: Coming off a pair of mediocre performances in the first two semifinal rounds, Castine trusted her fate to "Dreaming of You" by Selena. It was a little better than her previous efforts, but the nerves still showed. She looked much more poised dealing with the judges comments afterwards, negative though they were, than she did singing the song.Sign: LibraSlam: "Let me give you a horoscope: A suitcase and a plane ticket within 24 hours." – Simon, predicting Castine's fate.Grade: D+Stay or go? Who knows? She probably should have been out each of the last two weeks, and definitely should be gone after tonight. But Paula said that Castine had a lot of fans out there, and it was up to them to pull her through despite the shaky performance. It looked like Simon wished he could go back in time and gag his fellow judge for planting the idea in everyone's mind.
Carrie Underwood, 21, Checotah, Okla.: Underwood started this competition off as one of the favorites, and still may last a long time, but she's labored unsuccessfully to show off her spark and her personality over the past two weeks. Her rendition of Jo Dee Messina's "Because You Love Me" was just average, and she'll have to step it up to be a real contender.Sign: PiscesGrade: C+Stay or go? Two average weeks in a row leaves her a little vulnerable, but it would still be a shock if she was voted off so soon. Underwood did well enough to advance, but is clearly losing ground to some of her rivals.
Vonzell Solomon, 20, Fort Myers, Fla.: Solomon's performances have been strong throughout the competition, but it was her outfit made the most noise in the first half of the show, with a cowboy hat and boots providing a stark contrast to what she's worn in previous weeks. Solomon's rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was an early highlight, and did a great job of letting her have some fun with the audience. She definitely seems a lot more comfortable up on stage than most of her rivals.Sign: PiscesSmart answer: "Myself." – Solomon's response to Simon's musing that he wasn't sure who she was trying to be in this competition.Grade: BStay or go? It was a solid performance, and should be enough to get Solomon to the next round.
Nadia Turner, 28, Miami: Turner stands out among the women because the audience never knows quite what to expect from her, but it does know it'll be really good. She sang "Try a Little Tenderness," made famous by the great Otis Redding, and began it as a ballad. But just as the judges were really starting to squirm uncomfortably, she revved it up and rocked to the finish in one of the best performances of the night.Grade: A-Sign: CapricornQuote: "You've got the X-factor. You really do." – Paula's assessment of Turner's performance.Stay or go? Barring problems with the phone lines dedicated to 1-866-IDOLS05, Turner seems a lock to advance.
Lindsey Cardinale, 20, Ponchatoula, La.: Cardinale went out with Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," the theme from the blockbuster film "Armageddon." The film was a lot more interesting than Cardinale's rendition of the song. It was a mostly dull performance that didn't allow her to show off her personality, but it did showcase Cardinale's voice. That voice is still one of the best in the competition, and she'll be reliant on that to overcome a series of average nights onstage.Grade: C+Sign: AquariusSlam: "You're the musical equivalent of Ryan Seacrest." – Simon's less-than-positive feedback.Stay or go? Despite Simon's soundbite, the judges were a lot more lenient on Cardinale than they could have been. She's shown enough potential that they look content to wait a couple of more weeks to see if it can reveal itself. She's vulnerable, but more likely than not to survive.
Mikalah Gordon, 17, Las Vegas: From Billie Holliday to Barbra Streisand, Gordon seems to pick the songs farthest from the pop music genre. She sang "Somewhere" from West Side Story, as sung by Streisand. It was a risky pick and didn't start off well, but Gordon probably saved herself from elimination with a strong finish.Quote of the night: "It looks like you've gone into an aging machine." – Simon, comparing her performance in the auditions to the ones over the past couple of weeks.Sign: CapricornGrade: BStay or go? She'll probably stay, but Gordon's definitely gone from Avril Lavigne to high-school theatre within the past month. For her to go much further, she'll need to swing the pendulum back to those earlier performances.
Jessica Sierra, 19, Tampa, Fla.: Many, many bands have sung "The Boys are Back in Town," but Sierra's version did all of them proud. That's not just because of the outfit Sierra was in, low-cut enough for Simon to comment that given what she was wearing she "could not have picked a better song." Prime-time inappropriate comments aside, Sierra's performance was part rock, part country and part rhythm and blues, and impressed the audience and the judges.Sign: CapricornGrade: AStay or go? It would be a major, major upset if Sierra wasn't one of the final 12. Moreover, it might cause Simon to die of a broken heart.
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.