Top 12 Performances: Not Feeling Nirvana

In 1978 the Earth was blessed with the birth of me and the #1 song on the charts was "How Deep Is Your Love" by the BeeGees. Ah the good ole days...but I digress. This week the Idols pick songs from the year THEY were born...the 70's were not represented unfortunately. This was an odd week and some of the "Top Tier" contestants faltered. Let's see what kind of performances the contestants birthed this week. (P.S. I am trying to switch things up with the blog layout so, enjoy!) 

Naima Adedapo (♪♪♪) - Naima is the one contestant I did not think I would care for this season, yet she has continued to surprise me. In her Semi Final performance she did a jazzy, yet old fashioned version of "Summertime" and I thought she would not be a good fit for this season. However, the last 2 weeks, Naima has come out and given us entertaining and surprisingly modernized performances. Is her vocals lacking because of it? Yes, obviously. She has to learn how balance "performance" and vocals. I don't know how much longer the performance aspect can hold up her lack of solid vocals though. We shall see.

Paul McDonald (♪♪) - Funniest thing...when doing this week's blog I totally left off Paul and did not realize it until I was adding the pics. What does that tell you about how I felt about his performance this week? One word: odd.

Thia Megia (♪♪♪) - Another solid vocal performance from Thia. She is technically the best vocalist in the competition...AND probably the most boring. At the rate Thia is going, she will not last much longer in this competition. I don't know that there is anything more to say about her this week.

 James Durbin (♪♪♪) - James does not do anything for me. He gave a decent performance of one of Bon Jovi's more lackluster songs. Eh. Other than working hard at cheesing for the camera, I think he is just sort of "living on a prayer" (pun intended) of being the only "rocker" this season.This is evidenced even more by his presumptuous comment about not doing an Aerosmith song "until the finale". Confidence is one thing...cockiness is another and America is putoff by cockiness. Tread lightly Mr. Durbin. However, I don't think he will hang on past 5th or 6th place if he is lucky.

Haley Reinhart (♪) - Again I ask...WHY is Haley in this competition?? Every time I see her I think how much BETTER this competition would be with Kendra Chantelle in it. Ugh. AND...she is gonna try to do Whitney?? The only thing that stood out about this performance was her bright red lips (and the continued cheesy dramatics). America...please stop voting for her!

Stefano Langone (♪♪♪♪ 1/2) - Stefano has grown to be my favorite male contestant. I love how his voice is a blend of old soul/gospel and contemporary R&B/Pop. He nailed this song to the floor and sang his lungs off! This kid is working for his spot and he is earning it! One of the best of the night!

Pia Toscano (♪♪♪♪ 1/2) - How fitting that Pia follow Stefano because I have decided I would like to see a Pia/Stefano finale. Yep, I have already made up my mind! I think these are the 2 best contenders and most likely to be successful in the Top 40 music scene right now. I think at this point, Pia is poised (lots of P words right there) to take the whole thing. She was Idol's best kept secret (maybe even unbeknownst to them) until the moment she belted out "I'll Stand By You" in the Semi Finals. She has the look AND the pipes to back it up. I believe she could be the redemption for Katharine McPhee's unjustified loss to Taylor Hicks in season 5. The key for Pia is to keep doing more contemporary/upbeat music that will showcases her relevance in today's music along with her amazing vocal skills.

Scotty McCreery (♪♪♪♪) - Does Scotty seem like a 1 trick pony? Maybe. However, the buzz word for this season seems to be "in your lane" and Scotty is doing that. There is no hiding the fact he is a country singer so why should he stray from that. There is no doubt his signature sound is his deep baritone voice...it has worked well for Josh Turner and Trace Adkins, so why not Scotty too? Yes, he could challenge himself by picking some songs that show off some more of his range, because I believe he does have a larger range than he is showing. but Scotty should not feel like he needs to pull out a Justin Timberlake or Usher song to show range. Right now, he is in the fast "lane" to a great country music career, win or lose this show.

Karen Rodriguez (♪♪ 1/2) - For those who do not know, Karen is a Latina female. I know, it is a shock because she is trying very hard not to pigeon hole herself into that, but it's true. Sarcasm aside...Karen is not bringing anything other than being Latina. First off...was she trying to be a 70's Space chick with her outfit this week? That aside, her vocals seemed stronger this week....until she switched to singing in spanish. What the heck happened to her vocals there?? Regardless, this week's performance is not going to do much to help her out of the Bottom 3 spot again this week.

Casey Abrams (♪) - Seriously...the jig is up. I no longer am entertained or humored by Casey. I was nervous when I heard he would be doing (for the first time ever on AI) a song by Nirvana...I honestly did not think he was the guy to trail blaze this new path in the AI music library. Turns out I was right. Not only did Casey scream and crazy-eye his way through the song, but it almost came off like a joke to me. Part of me wonders if his friends back home are gathered around their TV's laughing their butts off at American Idol and America for advancing Casey so far. Are we being punked?? I'm sorry, I just don't see how the Casey we have come to know these last couple weeks will ever be successful in the music biz. Bring back the Casey from the Hollywood week and Semi Finals and maybe we can talk.

Lauren Alaina (♪♪♪) - This was Lauren's weakest performance for me. I am not sure why she was not pursuaded away from trying to do this song, but she should have been. I think she is still rattled from last week's performance/reviews (which were not that bad to be honest) and she seemed unsure and insecure. This supports my thought that she does not have thick enough skin for this biz right now. I still believe she is one of the better singers out of the bunch and despite it all I think she has a strong fan base and given she avoids any huge missteps, she should last a long time in the contest. We need cute and adorable Lauren back though!

Jacob Lusk (♪♪ 1/2) - First let me say...Carrie Underwood's performance of this song in her season should have retired this song because nobody will do it like her (in my opinion). Secondly...why in the world did Jacob get the "pimp spot" this week?? Definitely not a worthy choice (no offense, Jacob). That being said, Jacob butchered this song. All I can say to Jacob is ease up! It is one thing to work for your spot like Stefano...it is another to overwork and Jacob is overworking right now and on top of that he is fumbling his performances. I want to see Jacob do better because I like him and think he is a crazy gifted singer...the first step in success is song choice and THAT is what he needs to learn. Once he has the right song he will not have to work so hard to "sell it"...it will just happen. You can do it Jacob!

So...based on my rankings Haley, Casey and Karen/Jacob should be in the bottom 3. However, I doubt that is how America will vote entirely. Surprisingly, the fanbase that got Karen in the Finals  past Ashthon and Kendra have not been so supportive and I don't think she will be safe even though she was in the bottom last week, so I think we will see her return. Haley and Casey obviously have a fanbase that got them in and have kept them safe but perhaps Casey's butchering of Nirvana could turn people against him. There is also Paul who's "quirkiness"(?) may become tiring to America (I had forgotten about him in while writting this blog)...will his pearly whites save him again?? Honestly, I think Thia's lack of charisma may earn her a spot in the bottom 3 from America along with Karen and....Casey? (Could this be the first "shocker" of the season? It wouldn't be for me...obviously) I guess we will find out soon enough!

Until next time, Idolators!