Making Daddy proud

I'm rooting for Angelica Puente for so many reasons. For starters, she's just 17 and it seems like she's known a lot of pain for a girl her age. She lives with her grandmother - she had a falling out with her dad and moved out. She says her dad was really strict, but doesn't go into much detail about what caused her to leave her family home. I like her because I can relate to her, and I think lots of other people will, too. She's stuck in a battle of wills with her dad - who hasn't been there? Her dad is strict, but it's only because he wants the very best for her - she's just too young to understand. But underneath it all, you can see that she's just a little girl, wishing for her father's approval, for his love. And it's her father who pays for her trip to audition. So, not only is she pursuing her own dream, but she's finally doing something she thinks her father can be proud of, so I hope she does well, even if only to give her that joy of making her dad happy.

She decides to sing Celine Dion, which is usually a kiss of death. It's a bit loud for my taste, but that could be nerves on her part, and she's not holding notes very long, which makes the song sound a bit choppy, but her voice is actually very good - nice vibrato, nice tone.

Randy says it sounds like she's copying Celine Dion and Paula says her voice is promising, but that there was no performance. Randy says yes, as does Paula. So, she's basically in, but Simon tells her that with a bit of effort, she could be really good. He tells her to stop listening to other artists and decide who she is, because it's not a sound-alike competition. That's nice, because he didn't have to say anything - she was already in.

And they show her calling her dad to tell him, which I was really excited about. It wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but he does say that she's always been his "American Idol."