The Season 9 Top 12 finalists are....

Michael Buble is currently rising up the Billboard HOT 100 with the biggest hit of his career so far, I Haven't Met You Yet. The finalists added some group choreography to their festive little lip sync of this great song.

Didi, Siobhan, and Paige all got the first spots in the Top 12 while earth moved in the wrong direction for Katelyn Epperly. She sang on the American Idol stage for the last time.

Casey, Tim, and Lee have all been given the opportunity to join the girls in the Top 12 while Todrick Hall failed to find enough somebodies to call in and give him some love. He pleaded one more time but it's not going to change the results.

Billy Joel spent one week at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1983 with the very fun song Tell Her About It. Tonight Season 8 finalists Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre returned to the American Idol stage at their pianos to entertain the crowd with this energetic number. Last week's returning finalist, Danny Gokey, hasn't quite hit the Billboard HOT 100 yet, but the song he performed, My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me, is at #113 on the itunes sales chart. But his album of the same name made its debut on the Billboard album chart all the way up at #4 with first week sales of 65,000 copies.

Crystal, Michael, Lacey, Aaron, and Andrew are all in the Top 12, but Alex Lambert ended up having trouble getting votes even though he improved greatly each week. He showed some of that improvement in this last performance.

That just left Katie to take the final seat in the Top 12 while Lilly Scott refused to fall to pieces upon hearing the bad news. She butchered that song one last time for the handful of fans who like what she does.

This week I got two right correctly predicting that Todrick Hall and Lilly Scott would be sent home. This leaves the Season 9 Top 12 as:

Katie Stevens
Crystal Bowersox
Michael Lynche
Lacey Brown
Aaron Kelly
Andrew Garcia
Casey James
Tim Urban
Lee Dewyze
Didi Benami
Siobhan Magnus
Paige Miles

It looks like Crystal is the front runner going into the next round....

The Top 12 girls take their first shot...

This is the girls first chance to impress us and try and get our votes. They can choose any song they want that appeared on the Billboard charts so they have no excuse for getting stuck with the wrong song....

Paige Miles is 24 and she decided to sing All Right Now that hit #4 in 1970 for the one hit wonder band, Free. Paige did not do anything special with this rock anthem and she too should end up being a one hit wonder.

Ashley Rodriguez is 22 and she decided to sing Happy that is the first single from the second album by Leona Lewis. This single fizzled on the Billboard HOT 100 failing to match the success of her first breakthrough hit Bleeding Love. Ashley's version ended up fizzling also....

Janell Wheeler is 24 and she decided to sing What About Love that hit #10 in 1985 for the queens of Rock and Roll, Heart. Lead singer Ann Wilson has the best female voice in the history of classic rock and Janell did not come close to being comparable.

Lilly Scott is 20 and she decided to sing Fixing a Hole that was an album track on the Beatles amazing release Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Lilly failed to do anything amazing with this tepid rendition.

Katelyn Epperly is 19 and she decided to sing Oh! Darling that charted for Robin Gibb in 1978 when the Bee Gees made a movie of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. That movie was quickly forgotten and so too will be Katelyn.

Haeley Vaughn is 16 and she decided to sing I Want To Hold Your Hand that was the Beatles first #1 hit back in 1964. She was very brave and got out there with her acoustic guitar and did a very unique arrangement of the song. It wasn't flawless, but it was memorable.

Lacey Brown is 24 and she decided to sing Landslide that became a hit for Fleetwood Mac when they released their live album The Dance in 1997. Lacey is not going to be able to make a hit out of this lifeless performance.

Michelle Delamor is 22 and she decided to sing Fallin that hit #1 for 6 weeks by Alicia Keys in 2001. Michelle was easily a stand out from the competition so far as she was able to perform this song with confidence and great vocal talent.

Didi Benami is 23 and she decided to sing Way I Am from indie singer songwriter chick Ingrid Michaelson. Didi is a very down to earth folk singer type and should fit right in singing at your local coffee shop.

Siobhan Magnus is 19 and she decided to sing Wicked Game that Chris Isaak took to #6 in 1991. It started off pretty shaky but this song allowed Siobhan to show off her impressive vocal range in the end.

Crystal Bowersox is 24 and she decided to sing Hand in my Pocket that was an airplay hit by Alanis Morissette in 1996. Playing both her guitar and a harmonica Crystal demonstrated what this song could have sounded like if it were sung by someone who actually has talent. Great job!

Katie Stevens is 17 and she decided to sing Feelin Good by Michael Buble. Katie clearly has a very good voice, but this big band style song wasn't the best choice to highlight her youthful energy.

It was a night where the girls failed to blow me away. It's possible that Michelle Delamor, Crystal Bowersox and Katie Stevens could be secure in their safety at coming back for another chance next week. But seriously, any one of the 12 could be at risk of going home. I'm going to predict that Paige Miles and Janell Wheeler will be sent packing....