Antonella Barba is not picture perfect on ‘Idol’

Jordin Sparks, 17, Glendale , Ariz.: The youngest woman in the competition, Sparks dedicated Christina Aguilera’s “Reflection” to her younger brother, and clearly the experience made her emotional. She broke down as she finished, and had to compose herself before taking on the less-than-hard-hitting feedback from the judges. Randy called her unbelievable for her age and Simon like it as well, but it wasn’t her best performance.
Grade: B
Stay or go? She doesn’t have the vocal talent of Paris Bennett, but she’s likable and the judges want her to stick around.

Stephanie Edwards, 19, Savannah , Ga.: The way Edwards tells it, her mom and dad practically had to drag her to the Memphis auditions in handcuffs, but her early success and the dedication of Beyoncé Knowles’ “Dangerously in Love” to them surely makes the effort worthwhile. Randy called it Beyoncé-Lite, which of course it was, but it was a second consecutive strong performance for someone who didn’t enter the semifinals with a lot of name recognition. Simon and Paula loved it, and Edwards’ star is shining as brightly as anyone’s so far.
Grade: A-
Stay or go? Edwards should be safe for another week.

Leslie Hunt, 24, Chicago , Ill.: Hunt had one of the more poignant dedications of the night, singing in honor of her grandfather who passed away three days ago. She sang “Feeling Good,” and if that sounded familiar it’s because AJ Tabaldo sung the same thing last night. The vocals were good, but it didn’t help that she sang at the end of a strong series of performances. As Simon said, “There were four raspberry ripples this week, and that was a vanilla.”
Grade: B+
Stay or go? Hunt’s probably safe for one more week, but will have a tough time clearing that last hurdle to the final 12.

Haley Scarnato, 24, San Antonio , Texas: Scarnato dedicated Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” to her fiancé, who apparently is not thrilled that she’s far away from him. That might not be the case for long. Scarnato was livelier than last week, but also skirted the line between “Idol” hopeful and wedding singer. It was only fair on a night when a lot of others were stronger.
Grade: B-
Stay or go? She’s right on the line between safe and sorry.

Sabrina Sloan, 27, Studio City , Calif.: Sloan was one of the stars of last week, and looked poised again as she dedicated Whitney Houston’s “All the Man I Need” to her grandmother. Maybe it was because of the level of effort from everyone else, but it didn’t seem as strong as last week’s song. But it was still really good, and easily enough to move on. Simon even tempered his criticisms by calling her a great singer — rare praise indeed.
Grade: B+
Stay or go? Sloan’s a good bet to be back.

Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.

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