Apparently the theme for tonight’s show is “Songs of the 21st Century,” and I’m guessing that’s just a fancier way of saying “songs that are somewhat current.” For what it’s worth, I’ve had a feeling all day long that Scotty McCreery is going to sing a Dierks Bentley song (“What Was I Thinking,” maybe?), but I’m guessing this hunch is pretty much completely inaccurate considering that I’ve never been very skilled at, you know, PREDICTING THE FUTURE.

Anyway. Top 7. Here we go.

Scotty McCreery – “Swingin'” – Before LeAnn Rimes recorded it, this song was some straight-up early-80s John Anderson goodness, and I know that because I recorded from the radio to my sah-weet red Panasonic tape recorder so that I could listen to it over and over and over. As far as Scotty’s performance, I thought it was okay – but a little boring, maybe? I liked when he dropped down to a lower key, but as far as wowing the audience, that didn’t happen. It felt safe and predictable, but it wasn’t interesting.

(You know what would have been interesting?)

(A DIERKS BENTLEY SONG.)

(I’M JUST SAYIN’.)

James Durbin – “Uprising” – Much to my surprise, I sort of loved it. It was interesting. The touch-o-drum line was clever, and even though I didn’t really know what to make of the riding crop, I thought James did a great job (with the exception of a couple of really screechy parts – but I’ll forgive the screechy since he sounded so good on the other parts). Super creative.

Haley Reinhart – “Rolling in the Deep” – This was the PERFECT song choice for her (I had high hopes that this week would be better after watching her hit it out of the park during last week’s duet with Casey), and I think she did herself a whole bunch of favors by playing to her strengths tonight. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t think it had to be. I especially loved how she changed up parts of the song to make it her own, and if she makes it through to next week, I would just like to say: YES. MORE OF THIS, PLEASE.

Jacob Lusk – “Dance With My Father” – The first part of the song sounded a little strange to me – almost like he had a little bit of a frog in his throat (which is totally possible – it’s a super-emotional song). And while the rest of the song was better, I kept thinking that the problem with singing a Luther song is that you’re singing a Luther song. Big shoes to fill.

Casey Abrams – “Harder to Breathe” – I’m starting to think that Casey has the musical equivalent of my home decor problem: I like everything, so it makes it very difficult for me to stick to one “look.” Casey seems to like all sorts of music, and for that reason we can’t ever predict what he’s going to do when he hits the stage. On one hand that’s fun, but I wonder if America is going to be patient with him? Don’t get me wrong: I thought his performance tonight was great and fun and wonderful – I’m just curious to see how people are going to react to it.

Stefano Langone – “Closer” – Um, did Stefano attempt to break it down about mid-way through the song? Because I’m pretty sure that he tried to break out some moves. It was definitely the most animated he’s been in terms of interacting with the audience, so that’s good improvement, but he didn’t blow me away with the vocals. It wasn’t bad – it just wasn’t my thing.

Lauren Alaina – “Born To Fly” – I LOVED the arrangement, and I thought Lauren was darlin’. I feel like she’s sort of locked in the country wheelhouse – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but I’d love to see her step outside of her comfort zone and sing something unexpected. I feel like she needs A Moment – for her confidence as much as anything else. She has no idea how talented she is.

Best of the night: This is a tricky one, but I’d say Haley or Casey
Might have cause for worry: Scotty (sang first), Jacob, Stefano
Favorite moment: JLo’s make-up – it was spectacular

What did y’all think?