Top 10 women are hit and miss, with Lilly Scott and Katelyn Epperly also scoring praise from the judges. By Gil Kaufman Crystal Bowersox on American Idol Wednesday Photo: Fox “American Idol” needed a shakeup, and on Wednesday night (March 3), Crystal Bowersox provided just the kick season nine has been missing. The Ohio native spent Tuesday night in the hospital , forcing a last-minute switch that had the guys performing a night early. Though we didn’t find out what led to Bowersox’s hospitalization, host Ryan Seacrest addressed the issue right off the bat on Wednesday’s show, asking the dreadlocked singer how she was feeling just hours after it was revealed on his radio show that she would be sent home if she couldn’t perform. “I feel good,” she said, looking more glammed up in a purple top draped with a fishnet peekaboo sweater and big silver earrings. “I’m a tough cookie. … Let’s do this.” Luckily for her, she was first up, revealing to America that she has a kind of “square” twin brother, Carl, and that she carries around a butterfly-bedecked trinket bag. After some harsh comments for her Alanis Morissette cover last week, Bowersox went with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Long as I Can See the Light,” slapping a gospel spin on the classic-rock tune. Showing no signs of illness, she took it to church, coming off like an indie-rock Janis Joplin over a Hammond organ and her gently strummed acoustic guitar. Whatever was ailing her didn’t show onstage, as Bowersox powerfully nailed the vocals, looking confident and strong. Simon praised her for not playing the sympathy card, admitting in a George Bush-ian way that he “misunderestimated” her talents based on last week, calling her vocal “incredible” and comparing the performance to the first time the panel realized they had a star on their hands with Kelly Clarkson. “You are the truth. You do what you do,” Randy Jackson told her, praising Bowersox for keeping it real. Ellen DeGeneres called her gift “pure, raw, natural talent” and Kara DioGuardi said the Americana rock vibe was the right one for her and it took her to new heights on the show. Country wannabe Haeley Vaughn had some ground to make up after last week’s Beatles stumble, and the 16-year-old headband artist tried to do it with Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb,” slipping into a more comfortable groove with the country ballad. The vocals were still a bit shaky at points and her lisp was sometimes distracting, prompting Randy to deem it a pitchy disaster and say that he felt she had no connection to the song by a fellow teen. Kara added that the 16-year-old could use another year of working on her voice, and Simon said it was just a “complete and utter mess. … There’s a certain irony about you singing a song about climbing when you actually fell off.” Antique refurbisher Lacey Brown, 24, got buried by Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” last week, so she went with Kara’s advice and sang Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me.” Unfortunately for her, while the song was more in her wheelhouse, the vocals were mostly uneven, and Randy said it was the right song choice but sounded like a karaoke performance with nothing added to it. Cowell called it “marginally better” than last week, faulting her for not being memorable enough. Another singer who needed some redemption was Katie Stevens, 17, who revealed she can say “give me a kiss” in six languages but who got the kiss-off last week with a musty Michael Bubl
