American Idol' Names Top 12, Ousts Epperly, Hall, Lambert, Scott

American Idol eliminated its final four semifinal contestants last night, removing any chances of another Idol hero named Lambert breaking out this season — or of original songstress Lilly Scott getting a chance to bring her quirky style to the Top 12 stage. Scott, the blond-haired multi-instrumentalist who shouted out her Moog synth and performed an interesting take on the Beatles' "Fixing a Hole" during the Top 24 rounds, was voted off along with Alex Lambert (who didn't take the news well, to put it mildly), dramatic crooner Todrick Hall and earnest 19-year-old Katelyn Epperly. Watch Scott's "A Change is Gonna Come" above. Photo: Becker/FOX
tackling songs by the Rolling Stones — include Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Crystal Bowersox, Didi Benami, Katie Stevens, Lacey Brown, Lee Dewyze, Michael Lynche, Paige Miles, Siobhan Magnus and Tim Urban.

The Rock Daily favorites: Siobhan Magnus, who turned out three fascinating and powerhouse performances during the semifinals (of Aretha Franklin's "Think," Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun"), and Crystal Bowersox, whose gritty blues vibe finally gelled on her cover of Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason."

Bowersox:

Magnus:

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Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

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