It's about time that I do another American Idol ranking. In my previous post, I mentioned my top five contestants after Hollywood week (I'm still bummed Tim didn't make it further), but since then we've seen three weeks of great performances and now I need to update... slightly. :) First off, here's a prediction I made on March 4th right after the Top 13 were chosen. I do this every year. I guess you could say it's like my Idol-bracket "March Madness."

Top 13 elimination prediction (pre-finals)

13th. Ashton Jones (eliminated March 10th) 12th. Haley Reinhart 11th: Karen Rodriguez 10th: Stefano Langone 9th: Naima Adedapo 8th: Jacob Lusk 7th: Paul McDonald 6th: Thia Megia 5th: James Durbin 4th: Casey Abrams 3rd: Pia Toscano RUNNER-UP: Scotty McCreery 2011 WINNER: Lauren Alaina

So far I'm 1/1, yay! But, I have a feeling that Haley won't be going home tonight. She's impressed me the past couple weeks, and she sang a lot better than I initially thought she would. But it's a tough competition this season and the jury is still out on whether she has a strong enough fan base to keep her in it.

Now, here is my Top 12 ranking based on performances from the past couple weeks. Feel free to let me know who you're rooting for and whether you agree or disagree in the comment section. :)

12) Karen Rodriguez

She seems like a sweetheart. But I can't get past her painfully, out of tune take on Selena's "I Could Fall In Love." She's not bad, just a bit forgettable. And sometimes that's worse.

11) Naima Adedapo

Even though I kinda did like Naima's funky, reggae take on "Umbrella" ... she sang the whole thing pretty flat. But I guess she's no different than the other pop artists out there today. Auto tune will be her best friend if she ends up with a record deal.

10) Jacob Lusk

Sadly, Jacob has gone downhill for me since Hollywood. Was I the only one who thought his performance of "I Believe I Can Fly" was one of the worst of the night? I mean, he completely missed the key change and hit a bunch of flat/sharp notes. I don't think he really found the key until the last 10 seconds. If I didn't still remember his incredible Hollywood performance, he'd be at the very bottom of my list (oh wait, he is).

9) Stefano Langone

I was not a Stefano fan until his Wildcard performance, "I Need You Now." My goodness, it was beautiful! But the past couple weeks just haven't lived up to that moment for me. I still have hope for him though, especially if he brings out the piano. He could definitely move up a few spots. :)

8) Haley Reinhart

Like I said earlier, Haley has impressed me. I wasn't so sure that she would even make it to the Top 10 and get to go on tour with the other Idol contestants. But now I feel like she adds a little diversity to the group, especially the girls, and deserves a spot. But again, does she have a fan base? Is she the type of artist you'd wanna go see in concert? Jury is still out.

7) James Durbin

Another one that's impressed me lately. I wasn't a fan of Adam Lambert's screaming/singing and I didn't expect to be a James Durbin fan either for the same reason. But, for some reason I can handle the Durbinator's high wailing. I kinda like it. For now, at least. :)

6) Thia Megia

Have you ever heard a 15 year old sing with so much soul? Thia's voice sounds so MATURE for her age! I am always blown away when she starts singing. I would love to see her do something more current, like Adele or Corinne Bailey Rae. Hopefully she'll get the chance to pull out her guitar and show us that side of her as well.

5) Paul McDonald

Paul is quirky. And I love it. His performance of "Maggie Mae" was the absolute perfect song for his voice. But the past couple weeks he's just been alright. I gotta say, I prefer him singing his own originals. He's an artist ready to go, with an album out on iTunes featuring his pre-Idol band that has already hit the charts. I'm ready to buy his next one.

4) Lauren Alaina

I really love Lauren. I think she was an early favorite to win, but has been overshadowed by some great performances by Pia. I still think Lauren could win it. Some may get annoyed by the baby faces she makes sometimes (when talking about her bad performances or being sick), but we gotta remember she kinda is a baby. But at least she doesn't perform like it. She had the flu and still sounded fantastic this week.

3) Scotty McCreery

These Top 4 are pretty interchangeable to me. But one I know won't be going anywhere for a long time is Scotty. I really think he has a great chance at winning. He's got the vocals, charm, look... he's only 17! The show has never had a more commercial male country artist. I've heard people say they never liked country music until hearing Scotty. That's a pretty good sign of a great artist.

2) Pia Toscano

It's pretty evident when I have trouble choosing ONE video to showcase Pia's vocals, that she is good. She's been stunning nearly every week! I still think she's just getting comfortable up there on the stage and we are in for a real treat as the season progresses. She's the throwback diva that Idol hasn't seen in a long time.

1) Casey Abrams

So last night I dreamed I met Casey Abrams. Is that weird? Yes, probably. Anyway, we were like old friends. He came over and hung out with Josh and I and... watched American Idol. I promise, that was my dream. Since I've had such a hard time deciding between Pia, Scotty, Lauren And Casey for the number one spot, the dream solidified it for me. Casey is my favorite. And this performance of "With a Little Help From My Friends" is my favorite too.

What about you? Which contestant is your favorite this year? Maybe your reason is better than mine. Vote in the poll below!

[polldaddy poll=4738009]

Lately I've been feeling pretty uninspired. Particularly when it comes to songwriting. I feel as though I've lost the drive to write, because I can't pinpoint my audience. Who am I writing to? What am I writing about? Who cares what I have to say? Growing up I loved to make my parents smile, so I would go write a song and play it for them as soon as I was finished. During my teenage years, my youth pastor would let me share songs I had written on Wednesday nights for my youth group. I loved writing to encourage my friends in their faith, and hoped they could relate to whatever I was going through. And of course, when I met my husband I had lots of things to say. Many songs of love came out of the beginning stages of our relationship and into marriage.

But now, I've got writers block.

I read a great post by one of my favorite female worship leaders, Vicky Beeching, on her blog the other day. She had some helpful tips to overcome the miserable case of songwriter's block. I think the biggest thing I am going to focus on the next couple weeks is tuning into my heart's story. There is a story worth telling, I just have to figure out where and how it is going to be revealed at the moment.

By the way, I made my first attempt at writing a worship song a few months ago (oh snap, just checked the date... it was almost a YEAR ago!) I've put music to a friend's lyrics and written a few lyrics of my own that still need to be put to music, but this is the last song I completed from start to finish. Hopefully I can change that soon. :)

I'm a little behind on The Civil Wars love. I finally downloaded their album on iTunes earlier this week. I've been putting it off for a couple reasons. One, I'm a huge Joy Williams fan. And selfishly, I just wanted to hear HER sing; not some Johnny Depp look-a-like that apparently made up the other half of the Civil Wars duo (his name is John Paul White, by the way). Secondly, I just never got around to it. So here I am now, a Barton Hollow album owner. What have I to say?

1) 20 years - This starts out with a guitar/mandolin picking out an Irish-sounding melody on the strings. As is the case for most of the songs on this album, the story is what gives the song it's personal feel. Apparently inspired by a 20 year old secret in Joy's family, the song leaves us with more questions than answers. "There's a note underneath your front door, that I wrote 20 years ago, yellow paper and a faded picture, and a secret in an envelope." In the entire three minutes of the song, we never find out what that secret is.

2) I've Got This Friend - We all have those single friends that we are wanting to set up with someone. We think we're being nonchalant by saying, "Hey, you know... I've got this friend." That's basically the premise of this song. It begins with vocals from John singing the first verse, "I've got this friend, I don't think you know him..." and then they join together in a beautiful harmonious chorus singing, "If the right one came, if the right one came along." To which Joy echoes in the second verse, "I've got this friend, I don't think you know her..." And here we have our first matchmaking love song. :)

3) C'est la mort - This is a hauntingly, beautiful song. The perfect combination of piano and guitar to the melody of two raw vocals. I love it. The meaning of C'est la mort, you are wondering? Such is death. My only complaint is that it ends too soon.

4) To Whom it May Concern - The beauty of this album is in it's raw, acoustic feel. This song is one of the few that also includes string accompaniment, yet it still manages to keep the feeling of an intimate setting. The lyrics are beautiful, "I'm slowly counting down the days, til I finally know your name... I missed you but I haven't met you, oh but I want to." I have a feeling this album is going to greatly appeal to those who are still waiting on the love of their lives to come along.

5) Poison and Wine - This is the first song I heard on the album. And I have to admit that while this is definitely a beautiful song, and probably my favorite, musically, on the album... the music video disturbs me. *Rabbit-trail warning* I just can't get past the fact that both Joy and John are married - to other people - and singing so passionately to each other. I mean, call me prude, but I don't know how you can sing love songs to another man and not begin to feel something. This song makes me feel something just listening to it. So, I don't know what else to say... but, maybe they're just good actors.

6) My Father's Father - It's been awhile sing I've heard good folk music. It's hard to review some of these songs, because there is so much more than just simple verses and choruses. And even the music is never quite the same throughout. I will comment on their harmonies here though, they are perfect. I love how they will sing in unison at times, and then add a harmony on the last word of the sentence. This is a soft, beautiful folk cry.

7) Barton Hollow - The title track definitely brings something different to the album thus far. Driven by several acoustic guitars and a kick drum. It reminds me of an African American spiritual.

8) The Violet Hour - The only instrumental track on the album. Piano, acoustic guitar and strings. A gorgeous melody throughout. One of the best attributes of The Civil Wars is their ability to write music outside of the predictable I-IV-V-vi chord progression.

9) Girl With the Red Balloon - "She's the one you let in out of the cold. The one whose always and never alone. Did she let him go, or did the four winds blow him away? Does she even know she's the girl with the red balloon?" I'm still attempting to interpret these lyrics. I'm gathering a parallel between letting love get away and a balloon, but why does it have to be red? Don't you just love music that makes you think? Ha. The great thing about this song, is you can enjoy the music without even knowing what the lyrics mean. :)

10) Falling - Joy's vocals are beautiful on this love song. I mean, non-love song, or whatever you'd call it. The lyrics are actually the opposite of your typical love song, "Please tell me you know, I've got to let you go. I can't help falling out of love with you." I believe them when their singing this. That's what scares me.

11) Forget Me Not - I can't help but think about Johnny Cash and June Carter when listening to this. Next please.

12) Birds of a Feather - This features an electric guitar in the background, which is quite different than most of the tracks on the album. One of the more rock/folk sounding tracks, if that is even a possible combination. The lyrics allude to two childrens riddles, "Humpty Dumpty" in "all the king's horses, and all of his men, couldn't tear us apart" and a hint at "Ring around the Rosey" with the inclusion of "ashes, ashes" at the end of the song.

Note: Bonus tracks not included in the review.

Family Friendly Rating: 3. For a slight mention of alcohol (“wine”), the devil and romantic elements.

(1 – very friendly; 10 – mature)