Eight women. Somebody beautiful is going home tomorrow night.

Asia’h Epperson sounds fine singing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” I suppose. Shame I love that song. A little on the karaoke tip, a little too bland. Good Lord, she’s pretty, though.

Randy loved it. Paula loved it more. Simon’s “not quite so enthusiastic.” He calls it “second rate Whitney Houston.” Strangely, she seems happy being a second rate Whitney Houston. I’m not happy when anybody calls me second rate at anything. Except blogging, of course; I’ve accepted my fate there.

I think I’m somewhere between offended and impressed that Kady Malloy did Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever?” from Highlander. I’m going to go with offended because she sucks. Misses notes, warbles a bit, sounds wrong especially in comparison to the Queen original.

Randy thought she did okay. Yet again proving that Randy can be just as wrong as Paula. Paula thought it was her best performance. Seriously. No, seriously.

Anyway, Simon thinks that she’s boring but that the song was better than last week. Personally, I think she’s going home and so does darling girl. In fact, girl says, “If that was her best performance, she needs to go home.” Amen, sister.

Amanda Obermeyer has a chance no to redeem herself. She should have gone home last week, but survived by luck alone. Doing “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” she’s back in the comfort zone. Nice, fun, pleasantly husky. While I’m not sure she makes me feel that same tingly sensation that I have when I think about Joan Jett circa 1980’s, but it worked perfectly. Great song choice and good performance.

Randy loves it big, Paula loves her hair (which, to be fair, is wildly improved over last week). Simon thought it was fantastic. That makes all of us.

I’m not entirely sure what to think of Carly Smithson version of Cindy Lauper’s “I Drove All Night,” except to say that I’d prefer to hear Carly sing it than Cindy. But that’s not saying much. I hated the song in the 80’s, I hate the song now, and it’s hard for me to get past that. Vocally, it’s solid, though with only a few rough patches and a strong performance. If I could get past the song choice, I’d probably have been impressed.

He thinks it started a little slow, but Randy thinks she pulls it off. Paula calls her a dependable dog, but she means it in a good way, and comments more on the smiles than the singing. Simon doesn’t like the song choice, either, and he thinks she’s better than the song. I totally agree with that. Celine Dion did a version of this song? Why? And why would anybody know that?

Ooo. Journey’s “Faithfully.” You know how I feel about that. Kristy Lee Cook sounds pretty good doing it until she tries to hit the big notes. There are some really rough moments there at the end. I think the bigger negative is that it’s rough to follow up a song that Steve Perry made popular. His voice is so unique that it’s impossible to avoid doing the comparison if you’ve ever heard the original.

Randy wants to like it, does like it, but seems a little awkward trying to find reasons why. Paula thinks it could be a hit. Simon seems to think that the song was okay, but her personality is too small on the stage. I dunno. Country personalities are a little different than pop personalities, and that’s obviously the direction she’s traveling.

I’m always surprised by Ramiele Mulabay and her voice--although not in a good way. She’s consistently almost a good singer and just as consistently not quite there. I’m not sure she should have taken on Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” because it doesn’t really suit her voice or her personality. It isn’t such a bad song, but it’s a little slow and boring and it just doesn’t connect. Bland at best.

Randy wants her to be more fearless. Paula thinks she has a beautiful face. Simon doesn’t dig it at all. Neither do I in the end.

Coming back from the commercial break, SImon and Paula are cuddling. Disturbing.

Brooke White does a stripped down version of “Love is a Battlefield” that works pretty well. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a similarity in voices between Brooke (I can use her first name because, you know, I love her and stuff) and Pat Benetar. I wasn’t jumping out of my chair or anything, but I liked it.

Randy calls it interesting. Paula likes it but wishes she had used the band. Simon liked it because she didn’t use the band and made it something that suited her more than the original. Indeed, Simon, I give you the Instapundit-y salute.

Another song that I hate. Syesha Mercado really screws up Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You.” She misses notes, can’t get the performance quite right, and still gets big applause. What the hell?

Randy and Paula like it, SImon calls it predictable but good. I would have said predictable but bad. But what do I know?