So, tonight, we are treated to an excessively overly dramatic replay of Casey’s save last night…and reminded by Ryan Seacrest that the drama will only increase from now on out. Ryan also has a new hairdo.
This evening’s theme is…Elton John songs! I freakin’ LOVE Elton John. I’m afraid of what will happen tonight. But, then, I generally seem to be afraid of the horror that this group of individuals will unleash upon the world. Sigh.
Scotty McCreery
Up first tonight is country boy, Scotty McCreery. Scotty chooses a song called “Country Comfort” – based solely on the fact that it has the word country in the title. This is one Elton John song that I’ve actually never heard before. That combined with the fact that Scotty is generally pretty good delays my fear for a brief time.
Scotty actually does a really good job. He pulls out his traditional country sound that he displays every week and once again makes me wonder how a 17 year old kid winds up with a voice that deep. Overall, I think it’s a good way to start the show and a respectable vocal.
What the Judges Said: Steven is first up, talks about high heeled cowboy boots and briefly flirts with Scotty’s grandma, who is in the audience. J. Lo rambles a bit, but informs Scotty that he was good. Randy lets us know that we have just spent the last few moments in Scotty’s Bar and Restaurant and that this song should be on his album.
Naima Adedapo
Naima picks “I’m Still Standing”…and decides to make it a reggae song. To be honest, this whole idea seems pretty disastarous to me. “I’m Still Standing” isn’t a really great performance song and to make it reggae…well, it seems like a…brave choice. At least it’s different.
Naima surprises me. I don’t hate it. At all. In fact, I think it’s one of her better performances on the show to date. She sounds good and she made the song her own…in a way that works for me. Surprisingly.
What the Judges Said: J. Lo begins by declaring her love for Naima….which is never a good start. She thinks that giving the song a reggae twist was not a good idea, but she still loves Naima. Randy calls the song corny, but reminds us that Naima isn’t corny at all. In fact, she has “mad flavor”. J. Lo then intercedes to remind us that, even though she didn’t like the song, that we must respect Naima’s choice as an artist. Steven says something vaguely reggae-like and commends Naima for picking a song that fits her.
Paul McDonald
Well, I think it’s quite appropriate that Paul picks “Rocket Man” as his song. A song that contains the lyric “I’m gonna be as high as a kite” is definitely right for our resident stoner.
Paul just seems to get weirder and weirder with each passing week. And not in a good way. This may be his worst performance to date. I think I’m quite ready for him to go home now.
What the Judges Said: Randy declares Paul’s performance pitchy (because he didn’t use that word enough last week) and thinks that perhaps Paul is holding back on us. Steven asks Paul if he’s been watering his flower suit and then praises Paul for not always hitting notes. J. Lo doesn’t really say much of anything and Steven ends the judges session by making angry gorilla noises.
Pia Toscano
Pia is beautiful. Pia can sing. However, Pia seems to have an addiction to slow ballads. Her song choice of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” only proves this. Sure, this song does have a slight more uptempo feel to it than song of her other selections. Still, it’s still very similar in character to everything else that she’s done. And her voice isn’t distinctive enough to do the same thing over and over again every week. That being said, I think she sounded great tonight.
What the Judges Said: Steven says that she sounded great and that she should continue singing ballads (that’s more or less what he said). J. Lo thinks she sounds great, but wants more movement out of Pia (I think that’s more or less it). Randy thinks she sounded unbelievable.
Stefano Langone
Stefano’s pick for this evening is “Tiny Dancer”. I am of the opinion that no one besides Elton John should sing this song. And maybe even only 70′s Elton, at that. Stefano once again fails to impress me. He’s not nearly as bad this week as he was last week, but that’s not saying a whole lot. Stefano should just drop out of the contest and pursue a career in gay porn. I think he’d be good at that.
What the Judges Said: J. Lo loves Stefano and says that he really connected with the audience this week. Randy agrees and praises Stefano for keeping his eyes open for once. And Steven thinks that Stefano was really good and connected with the audience.
Lauren Alaina
Lauren has grown on me as the show has progressed. For me, she’s the most interesting and consistently good female on the show this year. She picks “Candle in the Wind” and gives it a slight country twist. Her vocals sound good and even though it’s a slow song, I find her compelling to watch. I don’t know – the kid has just really grown on me. What can I say? I like her.
What the Judges Said: Randy thinks it is one of Lauren’s best performances ever, Steven calls her song perfect and unleashes his pervy old guy act on poor Lauren. And J. Lo calls her amazing.
James Durbin
James reminds me of a big kid. That has nothing to do with anything. I just wanted to let everyone know that.
His song choice for Elton John evening is “Saturday Night is Alright for Fighting”. With choosing this song, James is trying to prove to us that he can be a performer, as well as a singer. He dances all over the stage, he throws some pyrotechnic action in there and he still manages to sound good. I heart James.
What the Judges Said: They all love it and have nothing remotely bad to say about James. As it should be.
Thia Megia
Ugh. Can I just go to sleep now? I hate Thia. And I hate the song “Daniel”. They’re both extremely boring. I don’t even have anything else to say about Thia. I may want her to go home more than anyone else.
What the Judges Said: J. Lo loved it and can’t stop saying how beautiful Thia’s performance was, Randy thinks she sounded good but that it was a safe performance for her and Steven thinks she sang a great Elton John song well. Blah. Oh, and Thia may possibly be in love with her brother.
Casey Abrams
Casey’s choice is “Your Song”. This is a song that I’ve always enjoyed other people singing more than Elton. My favorite version is actually by Ewan McGregor.
Casey seems to be taking cues from Stefano’s performance from last week and keeps his eyes closed for almost the entire performance. He also comes dangerously close to a complete growl near the end of the song, but manages to rescue it just in time. All in all, it’s ok.
What the Judges Said: Randy reminds us all that they saved Casey and that it was a really good choice. Steven agrees that the judges were amazing when they picked Casey and J. Lo lets us know that she lost no sleep over saving Casey last week.
Jacob Lusk
Jacob sings “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”. I’m sorry that I have to hear Jacob sing this song. I’m even more sorry that I have to WATCH him sing it. I find his face to be extremely disturbing when he sings…he always looks like he’s either having a stroke or on the verge of eating everything in sight.
What the Judges Said: Steven has been slayed by Jacob, J. Lo talks a lot the producer of the song and loves the song. Randy talks a lot about finding the “one spot”…and then there is discussion of the “Jacob spot”. This creates all kinds of icky images in my mind.
Haley Reinhart
I don’t get the whole Haley thing. Everyone seems to absolutely love her. She annoys the crap out of me. I don’t think her singing is all that great and she consistently reminds me of a child in a beauty pageant. Her take on “Bennie and the Jets” does nothing to change my mind. She sounds particularly bad when singing the title of the song.
What the Judges Said: J. Lo acts like Haley is the best thing she’s ever heard. Randy declares that Haley has given the best performance of the night. And Steven, once again in pervy old guy mode, tells Haley that she sings sexy.
I’m so ready for this season to be over.
So, two people are going home this week. If I had my way, it would be Thia and Jacob. But, my guess is that Jacob is probably safe. I think likely candidates are: Naima, Stefano, Thia or possibly Casey. But, as Ryan likes to remind us, you never know what might happen on Idol!
