American Idol Recap: Top 12 Girls Perform; Didi Benami And Lilly Scott Shine, Haeley Vaughn Is “Terrible”

American Idol season 9's Top 12 girls - Patrick Ecclestein / FOX

Finally! The real competition on American Idol season 9 begins!

The top 12 girls performed last night in the season’s first live performance episode in front of a studio audience, America, and judges Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Simon Cowell, and Ellen DeGeneres, who warmed her judge seat in this fashion for the first time.

There was a bit of pressure on the girls after Cowell told the press he feels a girl could win it all this season. Didn’t exactly get that impression last night. Song choice proved tough, getting comfortable on the big stage even tougher. But there were a few shining moments like platinum-haired quirky pixie Lilly Scott, who took on The Beatles, and bohemian babe Didi Benami, who pulled the right song for her voice straight out of the box.

Others had a tougher time, like country singer wannabe Haeley Vaughn, who had a nice arrangement for her Beatles track, but screeched and cawed her way through it.

Here’s a run-down of how the top 12 girls did:

Paige Miles: Poor Paige was put in an extremely tough position. She got little camera time up to this point, and she kicked the show off. Talk about a set up to being forgettable! Her choppy performance of “All Right Now” didn’t do much to keep her in our memories. The judges aren’t very pleased, but they blame song choice. Apparently, Paige has “the best voice” of all the girls, says Simon. Wow! I’ll be excited to see it actually come out if she makes it through next week.

Ashley Rodriguez: Ashley is the girl the judges swooned over for her great commercial look and sound. Sadly, commercial these days means mediocre but marketable. Ashley has a real problem with picking big songs that point out the weakness in her voice — obviously she thinks she’s better than she is. Doesn’t help that the judges encourage this thinking by letting her slide by on her glossy brunette hair and wide smile. Thankfully, they took her down a few notches in their critique of her performance of Leona Lewis’ “Happy” last night. Instead of improving, Simon noted Ashley was “going backwards.” Ashley took the news with a few tears.

Janell Wheeler: Oh, Janell. Bad move. You never sing Heart — well, unless you’re Carrie Underwood and you can do the song justice. Janell, who had one bright moment during Hollywood week with Estelle’s “American Boy,” was completely swallowed up by “What About Love” and didn’t have the vocal chops to match Ann Wilson — but who does? Oh, yes. Carrie Underwood. The judges agreed that the song was just too big for Janell, but feel she’ll sing again another week.

Lilly Scott: After the first three bummers, Lilly Scott finally brought something to write home about with her performance of The Beatles “Fixing A Hole.” Without trying to serve up commercial appeal, Lilly did what came naturally to her and was comfortable on the stage with her guitar by her side. The judges took note and applauded her as the best so far.

Katelyn Epperly: More Beatles! Katelyn chooses “Oh Darling” to perform. Decked out in a black leather dress, novelty stockings, and bright red lipstick, Katelyn oozed faux soul all over the performance. Her affected body shakes and limp wannabe soul singer hand threw the performance off, but the judges didn’t seem to notice too much. Kara was in complete love, telling Katelyn she knows exactly who she is and what her voice can do.  She wasn’t terrible, but she’s a bit too phony for me.

Haeley Vaughn: Oh, surprise! Another Beatles song! Haeley opts for “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” Haeley has been at the bottom of my list since her audition. I’m still bitter about her finding a spot in the top 24 over Angela Martin, who I think is much more deserving in terms of talent and wanting it. Haeley proved me so right with her painful performance last night. It was loud, off-key, and screechy. Randy, Kara, and Ellen try to go easy on her, but Simon finally jumps on my page, telling Haeley it was “verging on terrible.”

Lacey Brown: Lacey is getting her big chance to prove why the judges were wrong last year for cutting her. She failed that mission last night. Her rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” was so above and beyond pitchy, it made Taylor Swift’s Grammy performance sound nice. She tried making the song her own, but in the process made herself sound off-key. The judges slammed her song choice, but it was a great song choice — for someone with the chops to pull it off. Maybe Carrie Underwood?

Michelle Delamor: Michelle is another one we haven’t seen much from until now. Not too disappointing, since it seems we weren’t missing much. Michelle chose Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’,” and while it wasn’t bad at all — actually quite enjoyable in parts — it was a bit karaoke and predictable. Ellen agrees, saying the performance was so effortless because it was safe and she’d like to see Michelle challenge herself in future performances.

Didi Benami: We’re Team Didi here and proud of it! She didn’t let us down with her rendition of Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am.” It was the perfect song for her sultry, simmering voice. And, boy! Did the camera love her. Sadly, just like at her audition, Didi was met with some unnecessarily harsh criticism from the judges. Ellen thought that her performance was too “low-key” for the first night, and Simon said there were far too many people trying to compete with the Adeles and Duffys of the world. Pah!

Siobhan Magnus: Siobhan was the night’s big surprise. She apparently likes tackling songs by dudes. She won everyone over during Hollywood week with a little Stevie Wonder, and now she was offering up some “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak. It was pitchy in parts, but wickedly awesome in others. She started deep and rich, then got high and controlled on the chorus. The judges loved it, though they weren’t quite as impressed as they were with her Hollywood week number. “You really are a funny little thing,” Simon says. Siobhan may just be the dark horse who’ll shock everyone.

Crystal Bowersox: Crystal said something in her pre-performance package that really stuck with me. She said she was doing the show solely for her son and being able to get a “bigger check” to provide for him. This might sound sweet to others, but it truly put me off. Not that I was ever really a fan. Crystal offers something somewhat new to Idol, but definitely not new all around. Her harmonica/guitar rendition of Alanis Morrissette’s “Hand In My Pocket” was nice, but nothing to WOW about. Simon shreds her for being unoriginal, basically diluting her to a “subway singer” he wouldn’t stop for.

Katie Stevens: The final spot isn’t a cushy as it sounds. Sure, you get to see how everyone else tanked so you can improve upon it, but it also means someone, somewhere is placing a lot of faith in your ability to close the show out right. Katie’s been a favorite from the start, so it wasn’t surprising to see her in this position. The 17-year-old I call the female David Archuleta went all bluesy with “Feeling Good,” the Michael Buble version. Gasp! Shock! Katie does not rock it! She falls out of some of the notes too early, makes a few pitch mistakes, and dances horribly out of rhythm throughout the performance. The judges go a bit easy on her, harping on her age and how she needs to act it. Because I know the producers are counting on Katie, she’ll be just fine. And she promises to young it up in the future.

Predictions: Paige could be in real trouble for Thursday’s double elimination. She went first and didn’t get a lot of camera time. If the Idol gods are kind, they’ll take Haeley, too.

Tonight we see the top 12 guys duke it out. Follow us on Twitter for our live blogging before the recap @NeonLimelight.