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?
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