Singer: Katie Stevens
Song: "Breakaway"
Monkeys As Critics' Take: We're on a short leash this week, so we aren't learning anything new about the contestants. Katie's aiming both young and "Idol"-friendly this week, or at least that's what's been programmed into her database. Sometimes you lose things in the wiring. The beginning of the song is both too low and somnambulistic. Yes, she sounds better when she gets to the chorus, but the verse was almost amelodic. This is a problem with the arrangement, if you ask me. It may be essentially a karaoke version of the Kelly Clarkson original, but this was one that needed tinkering for Katie in this short a performance window. Katie was an early favorite who has turned in three mediocre performances since the Top 24 began. She needs to figure out if she has that next gear.
Randy, Ellen, Karen and Simon Say: Randy says "Breakaway" was one of the greatest songs of this modern age and that it was too big for her. Ellen's pleased that Katie took their notes and sang a young song, but Ellen didn't think Katie felt the song, didn't think she showed any personality. Kara, lookin' pretty good tonight, warns Katie that she doesn't know who she is as an artist. "I think this has been very confusing for you," Simon says, complimenting Katie on trying to learn from them. Then he repeats Kara's complaint. "You kinda sucked... the energy out of it," Simon says, before giving Katie "10 out of 10" for effort. Katie insists that she actually did feel the meaning of the song and it really is the artist she wants to be. That's not a good argument, Katie, because if you *did* feel the song and it *is* the kind of song you think you should be singing... Well, you didn't and it isn't.