Final 3

What a night! First off let me say that in the beginning I was tough on Haley and in fact could not understand how she was continuing to stay while the likes of Ashthon, Pia and Stefano were going home. However, in the last few weeks, Haley has slowly turned me into a fan. She has made vast improvements in her stage presence when performing and started choosing songs that fit her and that she sung INCREDIBLY well. At first I just thought she was looking better because better singers were gone, but then I realized Haley was evolving into the artist that she has been and should be. I think while we have seen Lauren Alaina stumble and diminish, Haley has continued to rise up and fight and get better and better each week. She is def the underdog story of this season and I have high hopes for her!

Moving on...

It is nice to have a record exec have a choice in song picks for the final 3 this season. Honestly, his picks were the best ones of the night (as I would expect from someone with his experience and knowledge). That being said, let's see how the Final 3 handled 3 performances. Here is how I think they placed in each round.

Round 1:

1st - Haley Reinhart
2nd - Scotty McCreery
3rd - Lauren Alaina

Round 2:

1st - Scotty McCreery
2nd - Haley Reinhart
3rd - Lauren Alaina (this could have been a moment for her but she slipped up and lost her way at the end)

Round 3:

1st - Haley Reinhart
2nd - Scotty McCreery
3rd - Lauren Alaina

Obviously, in my opinion, Scotty and Haley owned the night and are most deserving to be the Final 2 standing. Do I think it really matters at this point who goes against Scotty? No. However, it would be a much more interesting Finale if Haley was fighting for the crown next to him. We'll find out!

The Final 4

Ok, I am going to keep this short and sweet since, as of late, I have become somewhat disenchanted with a show that SEEMED to be making a comeback in the beginning of the season. At any rate, here are my points of interest about this week's performance show...

1. The show producers and judges (mainly JLo and Randy) are showing so much bias to James Durbin it has become obsurd. On the opposite end of the spectrum their excessivly harsh and Randy's outright rude criticisms of Haley (under the guise of "pushing her because she is so good") are disgusting. Meanwhile Lauren, gets the kid gloves when her performances deserve more critique and less gushing.

2. James Durbin, seriously "set the bar" with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"?? A bar that Haley did not live up to with her emotionally powerhouse "Earth Song" performance?? Whatever! I will give him props on song #2 though. He performed without overdoing it for once. Not bad!

3. I love Scotty too, JLo...that kid is set for stardom! Unfortunately for all the Country Music labels out there who are chomping at the bit for his Idol run to end, I have NO doubt Idol will keep him under contract and cash in on him.

4. Lauren Alaina....she has a good voice but she is TOTALLY disconnected in her performances. Song #2 was better, but she still comes off awkward on stage most of the time to me. I wish the judges would actually give her some constructive critiques.

5. Althought "backtalk" from a contestant to the judges is usually frowned upon by the voting audience, I believe Haley's was justified. I was actually glad to see her stand up for herself! Then Randy wants to dump on her again by basically saying all of them were good except her. The girl was fighting SO HARD to keep back the tears. Dude, yo, dawg...isn't it time for you to retire your judging spot yet?? You are sounding kinda....pitchy... On the flip side, Haley came back and SLAYED (new Randyism) "I Who Have Nothing"!! I loved this song when Jordin Sparks did it in Season 6 and now Haley has made me love it in a whole new way!! Nice job!!

6. GaGa as a mentor? I have to say...she did great. I liked how she found areas they needed to work on and pointed it out and gave them advice on how/what to do. Hmmmm, the Judging Panel should REALLY take notes!!!

Results....As I have said in the past, I am almost certain that we will have a James/Scotty finale. However, I would be pleasantly surprised by a Haley/Scotty finale. Will Randy's rudness work in Haley's favor or will her "backtalk" be to her demise? At any rate, I think Lauren's time is up and should be sent on her way. We will see tonight!

Final 5: Now & Then

My apologies for not having a blog last week...I think I have run out of steam for this season of Idol. I am just not uber passionate about anyone left on the show. That, along with having a busy schedule kept me from doing my post. However,  That being said, this week brought some pretty awesome moments and one not so awesome, so let's see how everyone ranked.

James Durbin

Song 1 (♪♪ 1/2) - This was a weak start for the show this week. James was all over the place vocally, hitting wrong notes left and right and was back to worrying more about high-five's and running around in the crowd than he was on actually singing. Oh yea...then some screaming. Eh.

Song 2 (♪♪♪) - I give James a 1/2 a note more for this performance only as consideration for the emotions he seemed unable to control. Otherwise, his voice was off through most of the song and that mid-song scream/yell didn't do anything to help. Maybe I am being cynical, but part of me wonders how much of the on stage tears were...well...part of the performance.

 

Jacob Lusk

Song 1 (♪) - Jacob went from being one of the best vocalists in this competition, to being the absolute worst this week and it ALL has to do with song choice. I 100% agree with Randy...he needs to stick with Vandross R&B and NOT Chris Brown R&B (yes, JLo, these is a BIG difference). I really hope this is not the kind of song he wants to put out cause he will be able as successful as George Huff (but without the JHud background singer gig).

Song 2 (♪♪♪) Definitely a better song choice, but not Jacob at his best by any means. He had some moments of struggle and seemed to begin overcompensating for his litle vocal break mid note. Eh.

  

Lauren Alaina

Song 1 (♪♪♪) - I LOVE me some Carrie Underwood, especially this song. Lauren did not ok version of it. If nothing else, this is the best Lauren has looked ever on this show! She tried to perform a little more than normal but you can still see that she is "in her own head". Come on Lauren...where is that voice we heard at your initial audition!?

Song 2 (♪ 1/2) - Wow...there was so much Lauren could have done with this song...but didn't. She did not change it up or make it different or even sing it correctly (not vocal flub at the point where she was SUPPOSED to hit money note). Once she flubbed she literally went into a different key for a few bars and just got back on track long enough to do a little growly note (poorly placed) and end this snoozefest! Yikes! I know the comparisons have already been made, but after this week it is for certain in my mind that Lauren is this seasons Kelly Pickler. I think she will have a country record and do moderately well (in part because of her looks), but she will never be the next Kelly, Carrie or even Pia! Maybe it is her age and lack of experience, or just her inability to get out of her own head and let loose, but SOMETHING is holding her back from being great!

Scotty McCreery

Song 1 (♪♪♪♪♪) - I loved EVERYTHING about this performance. He stretched himself vocally, he was all over the stage (without being all over the place vocally...take note James) and he had confidence beyond measure. This was a FANTASTIC performance and showed Scotty is gonna be a star in country music!

Song 2 (♪♪♪♪) - Scotty brought it back down with this song and showed us his range as an artist and how you don't always have to belt out a song to make an impact. Solid vocals and the best part is Scotty emotes! You can watch him and see the song, not just hear it.

Haley Reinhart

Song 1 (♪♪♪♪ 1/2) - Haley, Haley, Haley. I remember a few weeks back when I was asking America why you were even on this show....these last few weeks you have shown me why! THIS, dear Idol readers, is a prime example of how song choice makes ALL the difference. Haley has been choicing the perfect songs for her voice and style of singing and it has taken her, especially this week, from a 0 to a hero in my book. The judges are completely wrong on their critics and I say kudos should be given to Haley #1 because she got approval on an unreleased GaGa song FROM GaGa!!!!! #2...she learned an unknown song within the the hectic schedule she has in 1 week AND sang the crap out of it!! We know, Judging Panel, you want James to win the show, but don't cheat another contestant out of the praise they deserve!!

Song 2 (♪♪♪♪♪★) - Yes, that is 5 notes AND a star!! This was the best performance of the season...maybe best in a couple seasons! Sheryl Crow brilliantly suggested Haley start out accepella and that was the icing on the cake! Haley gave a flawless performance, no doubt! This is the type of music Haley needs to do...that Adele/Joss Stone/Soul/Jazz/Bluesy type stuff that shows off her unique tone. She was pitch perfect on this tune and had total control. James Durbin could take some lessons from Haley on how to properly use and control the vocal growl/note belting. I just hope this incredible performance (which got a standing O from the judges...too little too late guys) does not make her growing fan base get lazy...I hope they continued to vote like crazy for Haley and keep her another week! She seserves it!!

So....in my opinion...the only people who SHOULD be safe this week are Haley and Scotty. Lauren and Scotty are splitting votes with the young/country crowd so that is going to play out here soon and hopefully in Scotty's favor.  James was the worst of the night, but we all know he is not going anywhere. So, I guess I would say the bottom 2 (if they announce it, because last week they NEVER stated the last group of guys was the bottom 3 or bottom 2....slick production, Ryan!) will be Jacob and Lauren. I thought Jacob was homeward bound last week and I think he is again this week. We shall see!