So I’m admittedly a little bit off of my American Idol game. I didn’t see last week’s show because of the tornado coverage / news, and it was only yesterday that I spent about fifteen minutes on the YouTube watching everyone’s Top 6 performances (my favorite, surprisingly, was Haley’s version of “Beautiful”). I went back and forth about whether I should just let the rest of the season pass by without posting about it – after all, with Casey gone, I’m not nearly as invested in who wins – but I decided a few minutes ago that, for better or worse, I was gonna jump back on the AI train.
All aboard.
James Durbin – “Closer to the Edge” – Sometimes I feel like James has that Adam Lambert-ish tendency to fade away in the parts of a song where he’s not screaming. That was definitely true this time around. The beginning was a little rough, and I thought even the loud parts were pretty shrill and pitch-y. Not my favorite.
“Without You” – Listen. I have liked James all the way through this competition; it’s nearly impossible not to root for him. But I didn’t think he sounded so great on this song – it was sort of all over the place pitch-wise. Granted, he was emotional, and that was moving, but I think it would’ve been way better if he had been more consistent with the notes. Just sayin’.
Jacob Lusk – “No Air” – For some reason this sounded like it was in the wrong key to me. It was so high that I winced a little bit while he was singing. He was super sharp, and my ears did not enjoy it. The end.
“Love Hurts” – I didn’t expect to like it at all. But I actually thought the arrangement was pretty great (even though I still don’t like all that super-high business – those super-high notes get Jacob into trouble). The beginning and the end were nice, but the middle got away from him. All in all, though, it was leaps and bounds better than his first song. Just don’t know if it’ll be enough to keep him around another week.
Lauren Alaina – “Flat on the Floor” – I think this was Lauren’s best performance yet. She picked a difficult song, and she sang the FIRE out of it. It was also the first time I’ve seen her really take command of the stage; she was animated, but she wasn’t silly or manic. Fantastic.
“Unchained Melody” – Parts of this were really pretty. Parts were sort of weird (all the runs and stuff seemed odd, almost like she was compensating for not being able to hold notes). I don’t think she put herself in any danger, though.
Scotty McCreery – “Gone” – Oh my word I loved it. It was fun just to hear him sing something more current, you know? I’m all for country classics – for George Jones and Glen Campbell and George Strait – but it’s great that Scotty can pull off a modern song that doesn’t start off with “BABYLOCKTHEMDOORS.” Well played.
“Always On My Mind” – It was fine. There’s nothing really negative I can say about it – but I was just a little bit bored.
Haley Reinhart – “You & I” – Haley has really started to grow on me in the last month or so (ever since that whole “Moanin'” duet with Casey). And while I thought she sounded great, I didn’t like this song at all. I just think that half the AI battle is picking a song that really engages the audience, and this one didn’t do that. Hopefully the second round will go better for her.
“The House of the Rising Sun” – I was totally surprised by how much I liked it. And I think it was probably her best solo performance so far. Definitely the best performance of the night. Very well done.
Best of the night – Lauren, Haley
Might need to be worried – Jacob
Biggest surprise of the night – Jennifer Lopez was dressed like someone who was going to the 1980 Golden Globe Awards in an offering from the Gunne Sax Collection. I think I actually had that same dress in light blue when I was in 4th grade. Bold choice, Mrs. JLo. Bold choice.
What did y’all think?
I haven’t watched even one episode this season… just too much else going on on Wednesday nights for me and we already have the DVR booked solid that night, so can’t record it. So I did some youtube searching and listened to tonight’s songs. I’d have to say Scotty was my favorite tonight. I like James’s version of “Without You,” though. Didn’t care for the screechfest on “Closer to the Edge.” Could not stand to listen to very much of Jacob Lusk at all, same with Haley. Don’t like her raspy growl. Ugh. Lauren… ehhh. Just didn’t appeal to me at all. I have a feeling that for me, the judges would be the best thing about this season.
Well, I agreed with most of what you said over on my post, except the part about Lauren. I wasn’t that impressed with her. Scotty has my vote and I think he does his thang every week. Jacob might enjoy one more hot minute before he is sent home, but really, he should have been the one to go before Pia, Stefano, and Casey, so who the heck knows.
I did not really see J.Lo until the end when she stood up for Haley’s amazing song. Poor J.Lo. Whoever put her in that should be fired. What in the world?
I agree with your take on it all even the part about Casey being gone. Since I was affected by the storms, I missed it too. I did not have the heart to even tell my husband that he had been kicked off until I started tonight’s show.
You know how they’re always saying “You could sing the phone book…” Well JLo could wear a potato sack and look good. That’s all I’m saying.
My boy told me tonight he didn’t want to watch anymore since Casey was gone. :(
In the first round Scotty won it for me. I even watched him this time!!! Second round was Haley all the way. I don’t even like “House of the Rising Sun”. It’s a creepy kind of song for me, but boy, did she ever sing the doozy out of it. Loved the acapella part especially. James was too all over the place on “Without You” and I was disappointed Lauren didn’t try to hit a higher note in “Unchained Melody”.
I’ve been saying this for weeks – please, please, please send Jacob home. My word. I tuned in a little late and had no idea what song he was singing. “No Air”? No idea. Thanks for telling me what it was.
You nailed it, sister-friend. Jacob proved his time is up. We can easily see the album that each of the others will release, but Jacob just hasn’t established himself. He is just trying to hang on by his fingernails. All the crotch-grabbing during the first song was alarming. What was he trying to do – channel Michael Jackson? Very strange.
Haley almost punched her ticket home with the first song. The song is unreleased for a reason – it was incredibly boring. But, oh, my, the second song! It was amazing. That’s the Haley that will win it.
When J-Lo made her first appearance, I turned to The Hubster and said, “I think I wore that outfit in 1984 for my senior recital.” Right down to the pink blush and pink lips. Hmmm… Only she can get away with that.
Welcome back, Boo!
I thought Lauren did the best last night. James wasn’t his best but I still like him. I think the top 3 should be Lauren, Scotty and James. I think it’s time for Jacob to go home.
Baby, that wasn’t JLo. That was Jenny from the Block, and I could hardly think about how much I didn’t like Jacob for being so distracted by that ensemble.
Interesting night for sure. Did AI make everyone do a fast song for their first selection and a ballad second? Or was it happenstance?
James – His squealing is officially on my nerves. He’s good with a great story and he’ll survive until the Top 3 at least.
Jacob – He’s done well but has yet to have his “moment”. He’ll probably be gone this week – and should be. Definitely the low-man of the remaining 5.
Lauren – When they said she was singing Carrie Underwood I said, “No, No, No. You don’t do Mariah, Whitney, or Carrie. Uh-oh. Here comes trouble with a capital T.” But, I was wrong. She did a remarkably good job and I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for her Unchained Melody. She was all over the place and seemed afraid to tackle the high notes deciding instead to replace them with some weird runs. It’s a shame she had to do two songs really.
Scotty – My love for Mr. McCreery does not need re-stating. He can do no wrong with me. Gone was incredible and I loved it – to no one’s surprise. I even took notice that he’s trying to change the way he holds the microphone. Most of the time he was holding it straight on, like everyone else. Admittedly, Always On My Mind could have been better. My only complaint – wish he would have sung the songs in reverse order.
Haley – She bugs me. Period. You and I was not a good song choice. Who knows if her performance was good or bad with nothing to compare it to? So, it needs to stand on its own. It didn’t. House of the Rising Sun is a great song and she did it justice. That one performance will keep her through another week.
Jacob can start packing.
there are two singers i’ll hang around for next week , and they are
scotty and lauren. (at least, i’ll watch if they’re still there)
the mere fact that haley is still there and pia is long gone ~
AI was starting to be dead to me. apparently, i need to check
out the voice!!
seriously, haley, every song doesn’t need to be growled.
I thought JLo’s outfit was lovely, angelic even. And it will be interesting to see what she wears tonight during her performance. With my luck it will be the EXACT OPPOSITE of last night, and my whole talk about how a girl can dress modestly AND look even more beautiful to my tween sons will immediately crash into itty bitty pieces “on the floor”.
Well, Casey is gone, so I’ve lost my will to live. I kinda half-watched last night’s show while I typed away in another room. That might have something to do with my low opinion of the Top Five performances.
Now last week, I was duly impressed with Scotty The Hottie (just reading the signs, reading the signs) when he sang “You’ve Got a Friend.” http://youtu.be/Q23TgyZzx-g His best performance, imho. But I too liked this week’s “Gone.”
Jennifer’s got to do some funky stuff to even compete with Steven Tyler right next to her!! I think Jacob’s going home but Hayley will be in the bottom too. She has a unique voice and I like it but she needs to eat a slice of humble pie, just sayin’.
Lauren’s GOT to have a “moment” as Simon used to say. She has to belt it out, feel it, hold it, hit it…command it…please! I LOVE her but my patience is wearing out. Scotty has already done all he needs to do in this competition. He will go on to make country records…the money’s practically in his pocket! I LOVE JAMES, he can do no wrong in my book. “Can’t Live” is one of my all-time fav songs and he didn’t sing it like I know he can BUT the kids is honest and feels it. That’s all.
Oh, and here’s something else. The in-ear monitor cords are DRIVING ME NUTS. Why isn’t someone taping those puppies to their heads?!?!? WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!
THAT’S IT!!!! GUNNE SAX!!!! For the life of me, I could not remember the name of those clothes. Which is surprising, since I owned THE ENTIRE COLLECTION. My dad dubbed it the Prairie Look. I was SMOKIN’.
Literally. I believe I have since burned all the pictures which offered evidence of my 80’s fashion fling…
And Lisa, I’m with you. THE DANGLING CORDS. Staple ’em to something, for crying out loud… :)
I watch American Idol every year. My money is on Haley, I believe she has the most talent out of this group. Seems like she has been in the bottom quite a few times but am staying with her as my choice.
I wore J Lo’s dress in my sister’s wedding! All the bridesmaids had a different pastel color! We thought it was so pretty!
Well, I’m off to the gym to watch AI top 4 elimination round tonight. Liked your post. I thought maybe Jacob would get the cut. Tonight, I think it will be Haley and as you say, she has grown on me too. Post soon soon. Probably like your posts and talking about the show as much as the show itself for some reason.