American Idol: The Top Twelve Women

This past Tuesday on FOX, the sixth season of the voting portion of American Idol began. The top twelve men performed, and Wednesday night, the top twelve women followed suit.

As with many of the men, this was the public's first chance to really scope out the entire competition. After briefly recapping the men on Tuesday, the women's competition was under way. It didn't take long to notice that contrary to last year's season, this year, the girls are better than the guys.

Stephanie Edwards

19 - Savannah, GA

A college student, Stephanie said of her making it through the Hollywood rounds, "When I came out of the room, I was in shock." That shock certainly didn't stifle her performance ability, and she started the show off right for the women.

Her performance began great and got even better during the chorus. She didn't simply sing, she performed with emotion.

Randy said: "That set it off."

Paula said: "What a performer you are. ... You are a star, look at you."

Simon said: "You were a million times better than any performance we saw yesterday."

Amy Krebs

22 - Seattle, WA

Amy said it means a lot to her to have made it this far in the show. She says of her triumphs, "You have to deal with the good, bad, and the ugly." She chose to sing Bonnie Raitt's, "I Can't Make You LoveMe."

The song was shaky and pitchy right from the get-go, although she was able to put a little more power into the words towards the middle. But, the run she used at the end took her back from the power.

Randy said: "Very very too safe for me."

Paula said: "I'm going to have to agree with Randy."

Simon said: "When you sing you have the personality of a candle. ... There's nothing to remember."

Leslie Hunt

24 - Chicago, IL

A dog walker from Chicago, Leslie says she is "just really pleaser with [her]self that [she's] come this far." To start off her performing career for the public, she chose "Natural Woman."

The performance wasn't too bad, but her voice got lost in the background during the chorus lines. She was able to bring a new flavor to the song and ended on a good note.

Randy said: "That song actually I felt was a little too big for you."