American Idol – Top 11 Take 2
We rehash the ending moments of last week’s show starting with the end and then flashing back to one hour before and through the whole mess with the final warning – NO MORE SECOND CHANCES. Here come the judges, Ryan and the contestants. There’s an Elton John package and Jimmy Iovine gets to run his mouth again. There’s an EW photo shoot where the kids obviously had a great time. Scotty is up first during Elton John week.
Scotty McCreery – Country Comfort – This is so perfect for Scotty, I love him even though I’m not a huge country fan. I swear I would buy all his albums. I just love the way he sings and who he is on stage. 1-866-idols-01
Naima Adedapo – I’m Still Standing – For me this performance was a little overdone, and she couldn’t quite hold it together through the whole thing. The thing I like best about Naima is how authentic her performances usually feel and this lost a little of that. 1-866-idols-02
Paul McDonald – Rocket Man – He’s still the subtlest thing on the show and I like him. I do wish occasionally we’d get a little more umph from him vocally; but that may not be in him. 1-866-idols-03
Pia Toscano – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – Another perfect ballad from Idol’s most beautiful lump. I’m sure she’s got a real career ahead of her and I’ll listen to a song here and there on the radio; but I’m never buying an album. 1-866-idols-04
Stefano Langone – Tiny Dancer – It fell short for me, Grandma said it was too thin, and I think she’s right. He can sound so soulful but none of it came through tonight. At least he didn’t squint through the whole thing.
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Lauren Alaina – Candle In The Wind – I know there will be some who hate this, but for me Lauren really nailed this. Her voice carried real emotion and the whole performance was just really pretty. 1-866-idols-06
James Durbin – Saturday Night’s Alright – I love James and his whole rock swagger, it’s just that so much was going on in this performance that I felt like we were chasing him the whole performance. 1-866-idols-07
Thia Megia – Daniel – She still suffers from a wicked case of pageant arms and a few moments of inappropriate smiling but overall that was the most emotional performance I’ve seen from Thia. It was pretty to listen to and there was a moment of almost pure perfection at the end where I thought she was actually going to cry. 1-866-idols-08
Casey Abrams – Your Song – Casey is back and in such a good way. He trimmed his hair and beard and it opens up his face. He has such a way with songs it doesn’t matter if the vocals are “perfect”, they are real, emotional, and connected. I’m really glad they saved him and he’s come back strong. 1-866-idols-09
Jacob Lusk – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word – This was a more restrained vocal from Jacob and he needs to not listen to Randy who will lead him back down the path of heinously overdone. My issue is that he seems to have taken the ugly face baton from Casey. This is not the spirit stick folks, drop the ugly faces. 1-866-idols-10
Haley Reinhart – Bennie And The Jets – It’s definitely the best Haley performance so far. She’s a bit distracting when she gets off the piano, perhaps she should have stayed there. I have to say this one was probably enough to save her for another week. 1-866-idols-11
My Top 3: Casey, Scotty, Lauren
My Bottom 3: Pia, Naima, Stefano
As always this is just how I felt about tonight’s performances, I’m sure most would jump all over me for Pia’s placement, but she just bores me to pieces. If I had to replace her with another contestant for the actual bottom 3 I would guess Paul or Thia as good candidates. Seems a little strange not to have James in my top 3 but that’s just the way it is. Tomorrow’s double elimination should come pack with an extra dose of fake Idol drama so I’ll be aiming to keep it totally drama free until then.
