They didn’t just perform; they showed up and completely outshined the guys from the night before. There was one performance that stood out above the rest, but overall I think Randy is right and not more than four of the guys would make the Top 12 if the rules didn’t mandate six from each group.

The night started off much better tonight than last night. Then that first performance was sent to the middle of the pack as the night went on. The guys better bring a little more to the stage next week, as of right now the next Idol looks to be of the female persuasion.

There were a couple of the ladies that I liked after going into the voting part of the competition after actually watching the audition and Hollywood episodes. They were Gina Glocksen and Lakisha Jones, also Amy Krebs, but mainly because she is from up here in Seattle, which she may be returning to real soon. So, overall how did the performances from the ladies side of things on American Idol Season 6 rank?

How the Top 12 Women’s Performances Ranked:

1. LaKisha Jones – She was the last one to sing and she came out and took command of the stage and let everyone know she came to win. Her persona on stage is a 180 from her offstage one. She seems quiet and reserved but then she steps out on stage and blows you away. Randy thought that “Jennifer Hudson better watch out” and Paula thought she was “where you belong” while Simon she was in a “different league” than the rest, including the guys.
2. Melinda Doolittle – Randy thought she “blew it out” and Paula called her a “frontrunner” while I thought she had the best performance of the Top 24 until LaKisha took the stage a few minutes later.
3. Sabrina Sloan – She was the fourth to sing last night and the first to make you sit up and take notice. At that time Randy said she was the “one to beat” and Paula thought she was “awesome” while Simon said she was the “best so far, including last night.”
4. Gina Glocksen – When you tackle a Celine Dion song you better bring it and Gina came might damn close to pulling it off perfectly. She has a big voice. Randy thought it was “kinda nice” and Paula thought she chose the “right song” while Simon thought she “didn’t quite get there.”
5. Jordin Sparks – The youngest in the competition show she was to be reckoned with. Paula thought said she is a “natural talent” while Randy thought she should “pick a better song.” Simon told her to “push yourself.”
6. Haley Scarnato – Reminds me a bit of last season’s runner-up, Katharine McPhee. Randy thought it was “just ok” while Paula said “nice job.” Simon told her she sounded “old” and should try to “sound younger.”
7. Stephanie Edwards – Kicked the night off with a pretty good performance. Randy said she really “set it off” and Paula thought she is a “star” while Simon thought it was a “million times better than any performance last night.” It was and it would go on to be surpassed multiple times by the end of the night.
8. Nicole Tranquillo – Randy thought it was “rough” and “didn’t work” while Paula thought she was “out of this world” and that she “can sing.” Simon called the performance “indulgent” and “aggressive.”
9. Leslie Hunt – Personality wise the girl seems to be a bit of a spaz and it showed on stage. Randy thought it was “just ok” while Paula called it a “great job.” Simon disagreed and thought it “wasn’t great.”
10. Amy Krebs – Could possibly be winging her way back to Seattle by tomorrow night. Randy thought it was a “middle of the road” performance and Paula agreed with him. Simon thought she had the “personality of a candle.”
11. Alaina Alexander – Randy thought her performance was “pitchy” and “wasn’t great” while Simon thought she “lost it halfway though.”
12. Antonella Barba – This was the worst performance of the night by a lot. Randy thought it was “really pitchy” and Paula told her it “wasn’t bad.” Simon told her the song was “way, way, way to big for you”.

That puts Alaina Alexander and Antonella Barba in my bottom two but Amy Krebs could easily be in there, as well. Of the Top 12 Women on Season 6 of American Idol, who do you think deserves to stay and who deserves to go? Who do you think had the best performance? The worst? Leave your predictions in the comments.

The O.C. bids a fond farewell tonight. It is really too bad, as the show had once again found its footing and was a lot of fun to watch. Thursday night will be the new night of the game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. It will take The O.C.’s spot starting in two weeks after its three-night premiere next week. Once Idol is back to two days instead of three the new game show will move to the first hour of primetime to lead of the FOX Thursday night.

Prime Picks

My Name Is Earl (NBC): New. Earl harkens back to the day when a darker than expected baby came out of Joy and how his father thought he should try and stick it out with her.
The Office (NBC): New. Michael and Jan attend their first party as a public couple while Jim gets a chance to meet Karen’s ex-boyfriend.

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC): New. In Part 3 of 3, things don’t look good for Meredith and it affects everyone at the hospital. Runs 61 minutes. Last week’s episode replays right before in place of Ugly Betty.

Shark (CBS): New. Sebastian puts his neck out for an old friend, guest star Gary Cole (Wanted, The West Wing), who finds a body and doesn’t alert the police.

Solid Selections

American Idol (FOX): New. We find out which four, two guys and two ladies, are leaving the show. I know who I think it should be. How do you think the ladies did last night? Who do you think won’t make the cut tonight? Fantasia Barrino performs.

The O.C. (FOX): Series Finale. Say goodbye to the Cohens and the rest of The O.C. gang tonight as they head off into the sunset. They say all your questions will be answered. Like who gets married, what becomes of the rest of the couples and what the Cohens will name their daughter, maybe Marissa? Tune in tonight and find out.

ER (NBC): New. A family with frostbite is treated while Neela gets jealous over a new intern and Gates’ father comes back into the picture.

Cable Choices

Emeril Live (Food Network): Repeat. Emeril gets on a roll with Peter Frampton as musical guest.

American Chopper (TLC): New. They continue building the bike for Flowjet.

Throwdown With Bobby Flay (Food Network): New. Chicken cacciatore is the dish that must be cooked.
Ace of Cakes (Food Network): Repeat. Get a look at a cake that looks like Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Other Options

• 30 Rock (NBC): New. Tracy lets Kenneth be apart of his entourage while Jenna gets misquoted and must deal with the consequences.
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS): New. A high school basketball player and his girlfriend go missing and the team investigates.
• The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (ABC): New. Julia Roberts and George Clooney interview each other. Other interview duos include Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe and Jaime Foxx and Sydney Poitier.
• Scrubs (NBC): New. J.D. can’t seem to ask out a new physical therapist he finds attractive while Turk breaks his arm and has to become a resident again. Runs 31 minutes.

Sports Notes

• ESPN has a college basketball doubleheader with Duke at Clemson in the second game.
• Golf Channel has the second round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.
• TNT has an NBA doubleheader with the Chicago Bulls at the Cleveland Cavaliers and then the Wade-less Miami Heat at the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat better hope Wade’s shoulder injury isn’t as bad as it looked last night.

What will you be watching tonight?

Not all that well, but they did perform. The show started off with some energy as Rudy Cardenas picked an up tempo song to debut with. From there we meandered through the rest of the two hours of American Idol just waiting for that Wow! moment, which never came.

Paula was her normal supportive self, Randy found a few things to like and Simon didn’t hear much at all that impressed him. It was a ho-hum night all around. Here’s hoping that the girls bring a little something to the table when they sing tomorrow.

I had a couple of favorites going into the first night. They are funny guy Chris Sligh and beat boxer Blake Lewis. Blake is from up here in my neck of the woods. I thought they both did really well tonight. So, how does the TVaholic think last nights performances on American Idol Season 6 should be ranked? Well, read on and find out.

How the Top 12 Men’s Performances Ranked:

1. A.J. Trabaldo – Randy thought he was “pretty good” and Paula said he “can definitely sing” while Simon thought it was “good but predictable.” He was the 11th to sing out of the twelve and I thought he sounded the best of the night and wasn’t to be outdone by the final performer.
2. Blake Lewis – Blake decided that he should show America that he is more than a human beat box and did so quite well. He had the second best vocal of the night. Randy “kinda duggit” while Paula thought the vocals were “spot on.” Simon was just happy to hear something that “sounded contemporary.”
3. Phil Stacey – Randy thought this performance was the “best of the night.” They all thought it started out pretty shaky as did I but when he hit the chorus he really did sound great. Simon thought he was “ok” in the grand scheme of things but “good for tonight” given the rest of the performances.
4. Chris Sligh – Had the fourth best performance but the best comeback after Simon said his performance “was ok.” He made a dig about not coming to tryout for the Teletubbies, for which Cowell has produced albums.
5. Sanjaya Malakar – Another one from up here in the Great Northwest had a very boring performance but I thought the vocal was pretty good. Randy thought it was “really bad” while Paula said he was “hesitant” and Simon thought it was “dreary.” It sounded good, especially if you were looking for something to fall asleep to.
6. Jared Cotter – Randy thought he was “pretty good” and Simon said is was “unadventurous.” He sounded pretty good to me, as well.
7. Nick Pedro – He got a “wasn’t good” from Randy and a “wasn’t terrible” from Simon while Paula just “didn’t feel it.” It was a middle of the pack performance.
8. Rudy Cardenas – Came with some energy to start things off but that was about it. Randy thought that the quality of his performance good be seen “in any bar.” Paula thought is was “fantastic” and Simon thought it was “nothing unique.”
9. Brandon Rogers – Randy thought he was “pitchy” while Paula thought he did a “great job” and Simon thought it was “safe” and “predictable.” It was a solid performance but overall it was left lacking.
10. Paul Kim – Randy liked his “potential” while Paula thought he was “pitchy” and Simon thought he was “ordinary.” It wasn’t a very good performance but he should be sticking around for another shot next week.
11. Sundance Head – I can’t believe this guy even made it this far in the competition. I don’t think anybody has gotten farther on his or her initial audition in front of the triumvirate than this guy. He belted out another stinker tonight. Randy said he was “off pitch” and Simon thought he was “flat” while Paula thought he “picked the wrong song.” I am not a very musical person and I thought his singing was very flat myself and then was very happy with myself when Simon agreed. This guy has got to go.
12. Chris Richardson – Randy thought he “worked it out” and Paula thought he was “really good” while Simon thought it was a “bad vocal.” I thought it was a terrible vocal and most definitely the worst of the night. I hope Gavin DeGraw wasn’t watching.

So, Sundance Head and Chris Richardson is my bottom two, after the Top 12 Men performed this week on Season 6 of American Idol. If I had all the votes they are the two who would be gone. Who do you think should leaving Thursday night? Who do you think had the best performance of the night? Leave your rankings in the comments.

Wow, the guys didn’t really do all that well last night on American Idol. Hopefully, the girls put on a better show tonight. Due to another extended American Idol episode Bones will not be on tonight but it has, as with House, already been renewed for another season by FOX. Starting March 7th, NBC will be moving Crossing Jordan from Sunday nights to the second hour of primetime slot oo Wednesdays, between Friday Night Lights and Medium. Deal or No Deal will move to Sunday nights between Grease and The Apprentice starting on the 4th of March. What do you think of that move?

Prime Picks

Friday Night Lights (NBC): New. Julie tells Matt she thinks its time and her mother sees him making an embarrassing purchase at the grocery store. Tim’s relationship with his father starts to falter.

Criminal Minds (CBS): New. While in Houston investigating what look to be unrelated deaths at construction sites the team starts to notice Reid’s abnormal behavior.

Lost (ABC): New. A battle for power is waged between Jack and the Others while Kate and Sawyer are still trying to get back to their island. Juliet’s future is uncertain. Last week’s episode replays right before this one.

Solid Selections

American Idol (FOX): New. The Top 12 Women take the stage tonight and they couldn’t possibly do worse than the guys last night, could they? Runs two hours.

CSI: NY (CBS): New. The team investigates a crime or two using forensics.

Cable Choices

Emeril Live (Food Network): New. Emeril whips up some tasty fruit concoctions.

Challenge (Food Network): New. Artists turn 100 pounds of fruit into delicious looking sculptures.

Good Eats (Food Network): New. Alton plays a fowl game tonight in the kitchen.
Dinner: Impossible (Food Network): New. The task tonight is to cook up 14 authentic cowboy inspired dishes for a group of 500.

Other Options

• Jericho (CBS): New. The show starts back up again tonight with an episode that takes place the day before the bombs went off. Sounds like we may get a little more info on who Jake and Hawkins are and what they have done in the past. There will be a new episode each week until the end of the season.
• Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg (TV Land): Season Premiere. The second season kicks off tonight with Jerry Seinfeld as the guest.

Sports Notes

• ESPN has college basketball followed by the Miami Heat at the Houston Rockets in NBA action.
• ESPN two has a college basketball doubleheader.
• Golf Channel has first round coverage of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.

What will you be watching tonight?