Time to go to the movies, American Idol fans! This week the contestants were performing songs from movies, which provided them with a lot of great options. After Pia’s surprising elimination last week, I was interested to see if anything would be different. Would the singers step it up? Would the judges toughen up and actually critique? Nope! As Jennifer Lopez said, everyone wants them to be tough…but they’re all just so good. Plus, criticizing doe-eyed wannabe singers is no way for the World’s Most Beautiful person to behave, right? Argh.
Paul McDonald – Old Time Rock and Roll
Whata good song choice for Paul! But I must ask, why was Will i.Am still kicking around? The man suggested throwing some beat-boxing in there. Come on. Hasn’t he hurt the music industry enough with his Superbowl performance? Anyway, Paul’s performance was chock full of quirky goodness, from the insanely loud suit to the hot saxophone chick. I think Paul, of all the Idols this season, is the most comfortable on stage. He treats every performance like it’s his own concert and has so much fun on stage. He might not be the best singer in the competition, but more than anyone I’d buy this guy’s album.
Lauren Alaina – The Climb
I actually think this is a good song for Lauren. There have been a couple weeks where she’s chosen songs that I think are too old for her (“You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” immediately comes to mind) and this is a huge song originally done by someone her age. I actually think Miley Cyrus can sing, particularly when she does a more acoustic style thing. So I wouldn’t say Lauren sung Miley under the table, but it was a good performance.
Stefano Langone – End of the Road
Am I the only person who wondered if maybe Stefano’s performance outfit got lost at the dry-cleaners? Why was he dressed like he was on his way to rehearsal, or the grocery store? Anyway, as always, I liked Stefano. But for whatever reason, he hasn’t connected with the viewers at home and I don’t think this performance was the one to change that. I think this kid can really sing, and I like him miles better than, say, Jacob Lusk. But I think “End of the Road” might have been too appropriate a title for him at this point. (Sidenote: I’m so glad Randy Jackson’s “I know famous people” name drops are back. I’d been missing them.)
Scotty McCreery – I Cross My Heart
Not only did Scotty pick a 100% country song, he picked a song from a freakin’ country music movie. Did you know they even had their own movies? I’m so over Scotty. He’s talented, he’ll have a career, yadda yadda yadda. I can’t stand this style of music and I’d prefer to just fast forward through Scotty’s performances until he gets eliminated…which I’m guessing won’t be until the final three or so.
Casey Abrams – Nature Boy
Is this the best Casey has ever looked? His beard was groomed, his hair was tamed. It was as though he was trying to impress someone. Perhaps…the Most Beautiful Person in the World? It was interesting to see Casey debate with Jimmy Iovine about his song choice. I kind of wish producers, etc. would just let contestants choose their own songs. Help should be offered on those songs, but when someone gets praised for choosing the right song I want to know that it was his or her own song choice. That sad, I think “Nature Boy” and “In The Air Tonight” were both interesting choices for Casey, though the latter might have resurrected unfortunate memories of Mike Tyson singing. Casey’s performance was kind of weird and loungey, but in a cool way. Casey himself is weird and different and that’s OK. I don’t know if it was his best performance, but it was by no means a mistake.
Haley Reinhart – Call Me
I’ll say this for the Idols this week – they chose great songs. As soon as Haley said she’d be doing “Call Me” I thought “Yes! Perfect!” Haley was able to play up her sexy stage presence and show off her fascinating vocals at the same time. When the Top 13 began I thought Haley was a weak link in the bunch because she couldn’t seem to find the right song. That all changed with “Benny and the Jets” and this was almost as good of a performance. It was fun, different, and oozed personality. The judges didn’t like it, but I guess I should be happy that they criticized something, even if I disagreed.
Jacob Lusk – Bridge Over Troubled Water
OK, really? “I’m doing ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ from The Pursuit of Happyness“? OK, maybe that song was IN that movie, but it’s not FROM that movie. Mmmkay? Much like I’m over Scotty, I’m over Jacob. I’ve never thought he is as good a vocalist as he clearly believes himself to be. I briefly found his dramatic facial expressions amusing, but they’ve gotten old. And frankly, his arrogance has worn on me. If hoping Jacob gets eliminated means I’m afraid of bridges or would prefer to drown in troubled water or whatever then throw me a dinghy, because I’m done with this guy.
James Durbin – Heavy Metal
Oh James, you lost me. It’s not that you did heavy metal, exactly. It’s that he’s a less talented, less interesting Adam Lambert. It’s that I’ll never consider screaming to be the same as singing. It’s that I don’t buy a rocker dude whippin’ his hair back and forth like Willow Smith on the American Idol stage. It’s that I think when you only have two minutes to show what you’ve got you shouldn’t waste it on a guitar solo when YOU’RE NOT THE ONE PLAYING THE GUITAR.
This episode went by fast. There are only eight contestants left and still no one is jumping out at me as the winner, or even the final two. Lauren vs. Scotty? James vs. Scotty? Casey vs. James? I’m not really sure. While the singers from this season are undeniably talented, and some of them have very large personalities, I’m still not convinced that I see a lot of stars. What do you think?
And, of course, the rankings:
- Paul McDonald (Last week #2)
- Haley Reinhart (Last week #7)
- Casey Abrams (Last week #4)
- Lauren Alaina (Last week #5)
- Stefano Langone (Last week #6)
- James Durbin (Last week #1)
- Scotty McCreery (Last week #9)
- Jacob Lusk (Last week #8…and in fairness, he and Scotty and pretty interchangeable here for me.)
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