Soul sisters reigned supreme during last night’s American Idol. It was time for the 12 girl finalists to step up to the mike – and five women blew the rest of the girls – and all the guys –out of the water.

Judging from last night’s performances, here are our front runners for the competition. If they keep it up, one of these five women could be your next American Idol:

1. Jordin Sparks has spunk and poise for a 17-year-old. While her selection of Tracy Chapman’s “Gimme One Reason” didn’t take full advantage of her pipes, we think the kid has a lot of potential.
2. Sabrina Sloan tackled Aretha’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Love You).” She started off slowly, but some of those high notes she hit later made us sit up straight and really pay attention.
3. Stephanie Edwards kicked off the show with “How Come U Don’t Call me Anymore” by Alicia KeysPrince. Her sass and showmanship were awesome. Plus, she gets bonus points for starting off the show on a good note. Not like the fellas.
4. Melinda Doolittle has a great story, and we have a soft spot for it. She seems like a shy and humble background singer (yeah, can you believe that one?) who’s finally gotten her moment in the spotlight. She took on Aretha’s “Since You Been Gone” and wowed the judges and the audience.
5. Finally, LaKisha Jones ended the show with “And I am Telling You I'm Not Going” from Dream Girls. While we thought she might have oversung some spots just a teeny bit, her passion and conviction were undeniable. It was a show-stopping performance.

So if we were betting people, and we kind of are, our money right now would be on Melinda and LaKisha. But we’ll see what happens during country music or ABBA week. The rest of the girls just paled in comparison. We don’t care which two girls go tonight – as long as it’s not one of our top five.