American Idol Recap: Recovering Crystal Bowersox Steals The Show, Haeley Vaughn Can’t ‘Climb’ Any Higher

American Idol season 9's top 10 girls - Michael Becker / FOX

It was ladies’ night on American Idol season 9 last night, as the top 10 girls took the stage after a one day delay due to semifinalist Crystal Bowersox‘s being too sick to perform Tuesday.

Things still seemed touch and go on Wednesday when producers  and host Ryan Seacrest told the media they were unsure if Bowersox would be able to perform (or maybe they were just drumming up publicity).

Once the show went live, all 10 girls were ready to go, with a recovering Crystal kicking things off. “I’m a tough cookie,” she told Seacrest. Yep. And she’d prove tough to beat. The girl that many would excuse if she sounded a wreck was actually the night’s brightest spot. She set the bar incredibly high, and not many could reach it. Especially not 16-year-old Haeley Vaughn, who committed mass eardrum murder on America with her stomach-churning rendition of Miley Cyrus‘ “The Climb.”

Here’s a rundown of how the top 10 girls did:

Crystal Bowersox – Long As I Can See The Light: Crystal showed no signs of illness when she took the stage — first! — to perform with her trusty guitar in hand. Panned a an unoriginal subway singer by Simon Cowell last week, Bowersox stayed true to what she’s been doing from the very start, but this week it connected with all of the judges (sympathy maybe?). “You are the truth,” Randy Jackson told her. Ellen DeGeneres praised her “pure, raw, natural talent.” “Tonight you actually hit a new level,” Kara DioGuardi added. Simon elevated the praise, comparing the performance to Kelly Clarkson’s star-turning moment the first season of Idol, proclaiming, “We’ve got a serious artist with you.”

Haeley Vaughn – The Climb: If Crystal was the standard for how high the talent could go for the night, Haeley showed how low it could go. Her rendition of “The Climb” was so pitchy, so painful, she made Miley Cyrus sound like Carrie Underwood. Randy tried to spare her feelings a bit, but he got straight to the point. “It was excruciating,” he said. Ellen didn’t feel her connection to the song, while Kara thought Vaughn needed a year to strengthen her instrument. “It was a complete and utter mess,” Simon closed with. Haeley could be climbing her way home.

Lacey Brown – Kiss Me: What a surprise! Lacey chooses Sixpence None The Richer’s “Kiss Me” as her song of choice. Well, not really, since it’s the song Kara suggested last week. The real shame here is that it just didn’t work. It should have. Lacey’s tone is a perfect match for the song, but she didn’t pull it together. It was a wavy karaoke version at best. Randy felt the Karaoke Revolution feeling too, saying she “didn’t bring anything to it.” Ellen disagreed. She loved it, but warned that now that she’s back on track, she needs to step it up. Simon slammed it, saying she’s just taking part in the competition and not putting forward the type of artist she will be like Crystal.

Katie Stevens – Put Your Records On: Funny that Katie would follow Lacey singing “Kiss Me”; Katie knows how to say “give me a kiss” in six languages. *side eye* International Mono! Savory! I kid! She tried using the criticism from last week and young it up a bit this week by choosing “Put Your Records On.” Katie doesn’t get it. The song is young-er than last week, but it’s still too adult contemporary for a 17-year-old with as much spunk as she has. It also didn’t really feel like she was connected with the song. It was more like she was in a high-end karaoke competition — but then, that’s kinda what Idol is, right? The judges were all frustrated with Katie. They love her potential, but she’s not reaching it with her song choices. “That wasn’t a winning performance,” Simon said. Sad face! Justin Bieber is again brought up as a source to look to for inspiration from Seacrest. I hope he was joking…

Didi Benami – Lean On Me: Didi wanted to bring her star meter up this week after being told she didn’t have much star power last week. Oh, Didi! You don’t do that by picking a drowsy typically karaoke number like “Lean On Me.” She tried bringing a little something to it in the beginning, but by the middle, she had fallen apart completely. Runs were here. Ad-libs were there. Her voice was everywhere! The judges totally ripped her, saying it was “not good,” “generic,” and “a wasted opportunity.” Poor Didi tried her best to choke back the tears. We’re still Team Didi all the way, but worry is setting in.

Michelle Delamor – With Arms Wide Open: It’s horrible song week on Idol! Lee Dewyze gave us Hinder’s craptastic “Lips of an Angel,” and now Michelle is crooning some Creed. It was a nice surprise for Michelle since she went with a predictable Alicia Keys song last week, but even a more R&B take on the song came off a bit boring. The judges gave her credit for trying to step outside of her comfort zone. Kara said it was her favorite performance from Michelle. Simon agreed, saying, “I bought you on this one.” Everyone loved her outfit — that’s tres important!

Lilly Scott – A Change Is Gonna Come: This song is one of those you really shouldn’t touch. It’s such a classic, that if you’re going to sing it, you damn well better make it soar higher than ever before. Seems Lilly did just that for the judges, but not for me. I thought the vocals were shaky, and the arrangement could have been more cohesive. Clearly, I’m alone. The judges all but wet their pants over her performance, finally putting someone in Crystal’s category. “You just had your first moment,” Kara said. She noted that Lilly is a different kind of Idol contestant, but she’s the type that will change the show. “Thank God you tried out.” Simon wasn’t as enthusiastic, but still found it “great.”

Katelyn Epperly – The Scientist: Katelyn showed off her piano playing skills on this surprisingly stirring performance of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” I was previously convinced the curly-haired singer was skating by on her cuteness, but she showed real guts and emotion last night. It wasn’t perfect. There were a few pitch problems, but they could be blamed on Katelyn fully immersing herself in the song. It really seemed like she felt it. The reactions from the judges were mixed. Randy loved it. Ellen fell asleep. But Kara thought she was “seriously good.”

Paige Miles – Walk Away: Kelly Clarkson is proving to be another artist whose music is hard to tackle. Paige had some good moments in the rubble of trying-too-hard mess, but they were all too fleeting. Simon said of all the girls, she has the best voice, but we’ve yet to hear anything to make us believe that. Randy liked it. Ellen loved it. Kara didn’t think she connected with the song. And Simon gave it the kiss of Idol death: “Forgettable.” He’s right, but not just about the performance. I totally forgot Paige was in the competition.

Siobhan Magnus – Think: Blame the judges for this karaoke song choice. Siobhan showed her unique style and voice last week when she performed “Wicked Games,” but they seemed to miss the faux-soul stylings of her Stevie Wonder performance during Hollywood week. So, the best way to bring the soul back is to choose some Aretha Franklin! Siobhan is good and her range it out of this world (that note at the end? Niiiice!), but she isn’t the soul singer they want her to be. It feels more like a little girl everyone is impressed by when she gets up in front of her family and belts “Who’s Loving You” by the Jackson 5 at the annual cookout. It does not feel authentic or like the direction she should go in as a real recording artist. Still, it’s fun to watch… for now. It’ll probably continue, as the judges were all wowed. Simon noted that parts were “terrible” but others were “incredible.”

Predictions: Didi gave us a scare, but there are enough people rooting for her to keep her around to recover and blow us away again. Haeley is in real trouble and Paige is just too forgettable.

The results will be announced tonight along with a performance from Danny Gokey!