'American Idol:' Top 12 ladies review

Here we go -- another two second capsule review that will take you exactly two seconds to read. First, my quick overview of last night -- the women are definitely better than the men, overall, but many seemed a bit too anxious to channel their inner-Alicia Keys (or Celine Dion), giving the whole affair a  sense of sameness, which equals dullness.

Here goes . . .

- Ta-Tynisa Wilson: Trying to channel Rihanna. A pitchy mess. Not gonna happen.

- Naima Adedapo: Nice vocals, but the whole lounge act was over the top and distracting.

- Kendra Chantelle: Top notes thinned out, and were drained of power or impact. Not a memorable performer.

- Rachel Zevita: A slinky Fiona Apple rendition. Not good.

- Karen Rodriguez: Best of the night. Terrific vocals, very clean phrasing (and in Spanish) along with crystal-clear tones. Only setback is that her stage presence is unremarkable.

- Ashthon Jones: Speaking of stage presence, she's got it, plus solid professional pipes. Wonder if voters will like her as much as I did though? Doubtful . . .

- Julie Zorilla: Head-on collision with pitch problems. A "Breakaway" mess.

- Haley Reinhart: Fallin' . . . fallin' . . . out of the competition.

- Lauren Turner: Belts out some Etta James with real force and conviction. Another favorite.

- Thia Megia: Everyone loved this . . . but me. Boring song and presentation (from "Fame."). Great vocals of course, and she's one of those budding stars -- 15! -- that will connect with the audience. Should be interesting to see what she does next. She'll go far -- this season's David Archuleta, and could win the whole thing.

- Lauren Alaina: Country rocker and a very competent one ("Turn on the Radio.") She gave a real lift to the night; my second favorite to go far.

- Pia Toscano: Just didn't get it; huge vocal close was gale- force. But I'm way in the minority on this one.