That loud vacuum-like sound you just heard was all the suspense being sucked out of Season 10 of American Idol.
The Girl with the Giggle beat the Girl with the Growl.
The powers that be at American Idol got their way. It will be Scotty McCreery vs. Lauren Alaina in a tween twanging showdown Tuesday night.
No need to take your heart medication to watch this one folks.
The most shocking thing you’ll see is a guy mysteriously nicknamed Scotty the Body shift his grip on a microphone so that he’s holding it like most grownups. Oh, and he might cast a corny look your way when he’s trying to flirt with the camera.
Or that Girl with a Giggle might pick a song about evil, then giggle at such a wicked notion.
Please, wake me when the boredom ends, when Scotty’s All-American boy journey to the Idol crown is complete and confetti is falling on his head.
I mean, this shouldn’t be close. It’s a mismatch of Fantasia vs. DeGarmo proportions.
Scotty’s got the more distinctive voice, he’s got more control of his voice, he seems far more at ease on stage. And, at just 17, he comes off as many years more mature than 16-year-old Lauren, even when she’s looking so pretty in her princess outfits.
He plays baseball. He vowed to kiss the ground when he returned home, then fulfilled that promise. He kissed his cross after meeting Gaga. He told the crowd back home his Christian faith has grown even stronger since being in L.A.
He comes across as confident without being cocky. He’s everything American Idol would want in an American Idol. And he’s tough to root against, even if you’re not a big fan of the type of music he sings.
Lauren?
She was supposed to be the second coming of Carrie Underwood. Or maybe a cross between Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson if you listen to Randy Jackson (silly you, if you do).
She never lived up to the billing. Somewhere between Las Vegas and Idol’s big stage, she lost her confidence. She’s been competent, seldom more. When I compile the list of top 10 performances from Season 10 this weekend, I doubt she’ll even be on it.
Oh, Nigel, your finale could have been so much more intriguing.
You could have had the wild one, Haley Reinhart, in your finale instead of the Girl with the Giggle, who tried in vain to sing “Wild One” Wednesday night.
Haley was the best story-line you had going in Season 10.
When she made the semifinals, many viewers said she stole the soulful singer spot that should have gone to Kendra Chantelle.
When she made the finals, she spent more time sitting in the show’s stools of potential doom than she did singing onstage.
And when she applied her own country twang to LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” in round one, you got the feeling all those Kendra Chantelle fans might have been right.
Then a funny thing happened as female singers kept getting shoved to the wayside on Idol.
The Girl with the Growl discovered the right combination of sultry, sass and sexy to go with the soulful tone in her voice.
And when she turned in the better vocal during an amazing results show duet of “Moaning” with Casey Abrams, Idol fans began to take notice.
Haley was at her best during her first performance on Wednesday’s show. Chastised for obscure song choices, she decided she didn’t give a crap, choosing to sing Led Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Never Should Be.”
She rocked it, with her dad playing guitar by her side.
And when she took a mid-song tumble, she laughed it off and kept right on rocking.
Every critic I read agreed: It was the performance of the night.
I’ll always remember it as one of the most audacious performances we’ve seen on Idol.
And I’ll always wonder if she could have pulled off something so wild, so crazy good Tuesday night, that she could have provided a surprise ending to Idol season 10.
But “you oughta know” better than mess with the Idol script, Haley Reinhart.
This is the year of the teen on Idol. The younger the better. That was clear when the season 10 auditions began.
So, you’ve gotten your wish, Nigel.
Teen against Teen.
Twang against Twang.
Shame it’s such a mismatch.
Coming tomorrow: An exit interview with Haley.
Coming this weekend: Idol Chatter looks back at the highlights and lowlights of Season 10.
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12 Comments
As JLo said weeks ago consistency wins the competition, and Haley was far from consistent. Although she really found her way in the competition and is very talented, its not the storyline that matters. In the words of former Idol judge Katy Perry, “this isn’t a lifetime movie.” Go Lauren!
Cmon, who really gives a crap what JLo said? I finally watched AI for the first time in years & they’ve turned me off again. A really talented performer has been pushed around by the producers so that two mildly talented country teen singers get to sing it off, because they think it makes a nice story. But hey, in the meantime they got their ratings. Well I won’t be sucked in again. I’ll follow Haley’s career (but not at the AI tour) & look for another reality show to watch. Only other bright spot this year: Steven Tyler.
As in Internet speak, “O rly?!”
To be fair, she was consistently growing as a singer and performer. She’s produced more Idol moments than the Country Duo.
On the other hand, the Country Duo have not been bringing anything different to the table. They’ve remained stale for the length of their Idol run.
For what it’s worth, Haley showed what you need to have in the music business: a fighting spirit, a propensity for risk and an ability to handle every setback with humor. For that, I applaud you Haley. From here, you’ve got nowhere to go but forward.
The two finalists were definitely consistent: consistently boring! Haley was consistent– consistently exciting and fresh! Should be interesting to see whose post-Idol career will be stronger.
I agree with Fifi and cup of Joe. The exciting entertainer was eliminated tonight. Next week you will see 2 cute kids face off. We all know who is going to win.I wish them well. Scotty will become a Nashville singer and Lauren A needs to mature a little and follow her heart when she is a little older and more confident. Haley is ready to go. She is a real showman and has what it takes to be a singing star. I can’t wait to buy her albums, I already bought her tunes. Next week (yawn) holds no real interest for me now. But I might take a look out of idol curiosity. (Sorry I could not resist).
Talent loses out again!
Well, well, well. JLo said she got goosypimples when Lauren sang “Dance”. Yawn! sorry that’s what i was doing during that song. Boring and safe. Haley the performer, with the range and showmanship to carry on after a fall.
Apparently if you have talant on this show, you go home!!
See ya Haley, James, Casey. Your careers will rise and you will shine on!
Haley was the only interesting singer left in the competition. I doubt that I will watch the final, because Scotty will win it going away. I do criticize the judges for their final song choice for Haley, as I don’t think it showcased her voice. The same with the second song, neither was going to be memorable for this stage of the show.
Oh, America! How dare you reject the Critic’s Script! While, as a group, at the same time they were leading the charge that the judges were “pimping Lauren”, they pimped Haley shamelessly, openly, blatantly! Then they raled and whined and spread their cynical judgment of all things young, wholesome, or country. Ninety-five (plus) million people vs a handful of cynical, jaded writers. Now we are supposed to believe we got it wrong. That would, of course, be because they have superior knowledge and taste. According to these intellectual giants, we are pathetic, little lemmings following the manipulation of “the powers that be on Idol”. We are just too gullible and ill-informed — incapable of making a decision based on our own likes and dislikes. The real rub is that we were too smart to fall for their manipulation and let them choose for us. Great finale coming up! You got it right, America. The program is set up so that it reflects your choice. You don’t have to surrender that choice to anybody — certainly not to a bunch of mean-spirited critics who get paid to write unspeakable insults about a group of young people simply trying to chart a course in the music industry. If the critics are so determined to influence the outcome, let them sit down with their phone and vote like you did.
One of the worst finales ever. The blog writer forgot to mention Scotty’s inability to sing. I don’t know if everybody has become tone deaf, or if the judges have lied so much that it has caught on, but people need to realize all he has are 3 notes and a deep voice. There are very few country singers I like, but he will not be one of them. I still remember him mangling “I hope you dance.” and still he got put through. And Lauren has no fun or depth to her music. It feels like a barbie doll with no confidence, programmed to giggle at the end of every performance.
I blame this finale squarely on Jennifer lopez and Randy. Randy needs to go. He is unable to speak without first giving himself praise for recording every song in the idol catalogue, and second for not judging correctly. Lopez is even worse by giving praise where none is due. Think I’m wrong? When was scotty criticized in all his top 12 performances? He was never criticized. Meanwhile the entirety of his performances were mediocre. Of the few notes he can sing, he never held one more than 4 seconds.
Look back at the top 24 and see how many more talented people the judges helped to kick out by not providing criticism. Had they been truthful all along, Pia, Haley or James would be in this finale. I’m skipping tuesday’s performances basically because I’ve been skipping lauren and scotty’s performances all along, and watching scotty’s coronation on wednesday just for the delight of seeing the others again. After only having watched season 7 and now this season, I’m thinking of skipping the next 5 years. They need truthful judges.
Randy was extremely hard on Haley the last few weeks, obviously trying to sway the vote! BTW, I think she was, deliberately, sabotaged with the judges choice of that second song. For starters, it was in the wrong key for her voice (the sound got lost in her lower register). She ought to have refused to go with that, but didn’t want to come across as a “diva”. What an awful tune and it in no way showcased her talent.
I agree, Haley won me over with that duet with Casey on “Moanin’.” As a professional singer, I know you have to have real talent to pull that one off!!
I like Scotty and Lauren and most likely, they would have had big country music careers, (especially being so young and all) even if they weren’t in the final. This will probably be the most boring and uneventful finals in the show’s history!
Obviously what you consider boring everyone else loves that voted. I have already bought 6 or 7 songs and Laurens songs are great. I don’t know how your opinion got so important over the thousands that are voting and will buy the country singers music. It seems to me most the writers on the websites are just wrong and most seemed to love Haley who couldn’t get over herself.
get over herself?! Seriously! humble was word I would describe Haley.
However, Lauren’s smug smile became unbearable at times!
Get over herself? At least she had some talent!
Lauren should have come back in a few yrs when she grew up! all her songs were safe songs whereas Haley’s were vocally challenging!
Talent chick, that’s what she has. Get overyourself