Let me just say, this competition is definitely on! From here on out, no matter what I or anyone else thinks about each contestant, it is going to be tough to make cuts. Every single contestant in this Top 9 are talented in their own right and it will all come down to the strength of their individual fan bases. This is nothing new, but with contestants who are not leaving any room for error and putting on great performances each week, it becomes less about who is good enough, and more about who is popular enough. There is no slack for slip ups or missteps right now, so EVERYONE has to be on their "A" game because the safety net of a Judge's Save is LONG GONE (still...I feel mistakenly). So, let's look at how everyone ranked in my eyes this week.
Jacob Lusk (♪♪♪ 1/2) - I am nervous for Jacob this week; although he gave a solid performance it was nothing super standout and combine that with going first on a night that, in my opinion, was as strong of a night of performances as Motown week, he may be forgotten. Again, I really like Jacob, he is uber talented vocally and he is in my Top 3 without a doubt and I think he did great, but like I said...it's now about the strength of the voting fan base and doing things to cause new voters to want to vote for you.
Haley Reinhart (♪♪♪) - Do I think this was Haley's best vocals in the finals? Yes. However, it was very copycat and she did not do anything new with the song. I think she misunderstood the judges comments about her having a Janis Joplin sound and thought they wanted her to copy Janis...that was an incorrect assumption. Again, I think she did ok, but she still has yet to show me who SHE is. However, she seems to have developed a fan base as she has not even visited the bottom 3 in a few weeks. We will see how her fans do for her this week. In my opinion she is the weakest of the bunch.
Casey Abrams (♪♪♪♪) - Ok, do I think the judges made a mistake using the Save on Casey with 11 people left? YES (as you all know well by now) but I will also say that his near-elimination experience has jolted him back to actually SINGING and for THAT I am happy. 2 weeks in a row now we have finally heard the voice that got Casey to where he is. He minimized the creepy glares and tones down the screamy growls and we were left with a solid vocal performance. Bringing back the standup bass definitely helped his case too! Good job, Casey!
Lauren Alaina (♪♪♪) - Lauren didn't do anything for me this week. I don't know what has happened to her during this competion, but she went from being a strong (and strongly pimped) competitor to a see-saw of good and not-so-good performances. Whatever it is, she has GOT to snap out of it if she wants to continue on. Granted, my opinion this week might be effected by the fact that Kelly Clarkson OWNED this song in the 1st season of the show and since I have never heard anyone do it anywhere close to her level, so I think Lauren's performance this week will be eclipsed by that. Part of me wonders if the Producers pushed her into that song in hopes of having the Kelly comparison, however, I think the WRONG comparison will be made from this performance.
James Durbin (♪♪♪♪) - Yes, you are seeing correctly, I gave James 4 ♪'s. This is exactly what James needed to do...stop jumping around, screaming and being a faux rocker and just sing. On the flip side, this moment seemed almost too much like the "Mad World" moment Adam Lambert had on his season, but regardless James showed he can actually sing. Now if he would just quit focusing SO MUCH on getting right in the camera lense and just perform. I will give kudos where kudos are due and say James did a great job vocally this week.
Scotty McCreery (♪♪♪♪) - All I can say is that this kid is destined for country stardom no matter how long he lasts on Idol. He's genuine, likeable, entertaining and has a unique style/sound. I love that he (and the music producers) are able to give each song it's own country twist without making it cheesy. Kudos!
Pia Toscano (♪♪♪♪ 1/2) - THANK YOU PIA for finally showing the world you CAN do uptempo and still kill it! I absolutely love this girl and I cannot wait to buy her album when it comes out. She is the most deserving to win this whole deal and I hope she does. I would have given her 5 stars but I still think (like JLo was saying) that she can do even more in the performance aspect. But still...LOVE!!
Stefano Langone (♪♪♪) - Interesting how these 2 seem to end up performing next to each other in the line up...anywho...Stefano started out a little rough with the falsetto but once he was able to get into full voice he was back on track. Although I think Stefano has great potential for the current music scene and I think he has a great voice and awesome range and technique, I am worried about him this week. We have already seen he does not have the strongest fan base and, if I am being honest, he did not pull out all the stops this week. I want to see him succeed, but we need to see more from him. He needs to break out of his shell more.
Paul McDonald (♪♪♪ 1/2) - I think this is the most enjoyable I have found Paul to be vocally, but I just can't get myself to be enthusiastic about his performances. I think he has the total package of an artist and the unique voice but I just don't see him as somone who's album would get much Top 40 airplay and I don't see myself running out to buy a CD of his if it was in stores. That's just me though. Paul seems to have a solid fan base and his apearance in the Bottom 3 last week will definitely put them in rally mode which will probably keep him out of danger this week.
Like I said at the start of the blog, from here on out it is going to be tough to see any of these contestants go, but we can only have 1 winner (unless Idol throws another curveball at us this season! lol) I think everyone did great but based on things other than singing talent I am going to say we will see Stefano, Jacob and Lauren in the bottom 3 this week. I would also not be surprised to see Haley in the bottom 3 again; after a couple weeks of safety maybe her fan base will slack off some? As much as it hurts me to say it, I would not be surprised if Stefano's lack of fan base gets him sent home this week. I HOPE I am wrong though. Only time will tell.
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