Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Well, there’s no doubt in my mind who should advance to the Idol finals.

Scotty McCreery deserves to make it on sheer consistency. On a night when not all the performances were as spot on as the judges would lead us to think, he turned in three solid performances.

Haley Reinhart deserves to make it because … well, she’s more talented vocally and more sure of herself on stage than Lauren Alaina.

Two of the three judges awarded round three of last night’s show to Lauren Alaina. And “I Hope You Dance” was certainly the 16-year-old’s best vocal of the night.

Now take into account song difficulty, in the third round specifically, but also on the night as a whole.

“You Oughta Know,” which is just plain tough to sing, versus “I Hope You Dance,” which is smack dab in Lauren’s wheelhouse?

Let’s just say the judges didn’t know Haley any favors with that song selection.

The recap …

Best of the Night: How do you know you’re on a roll? When you take a tumble midway through your first song of the night, bounce right back up and keep right on ripping into Led Zeppelin’s “What Is and What Never Should Be.” Haley scores huge points on audacity alone. Criticized the last two weeks for picking songs not everyone knows, she nevertheless picked a Led Zeppelin tune that isn’t exactly standard fare on American Idol. She pulled it off. And won over the judges. For that type of bravery alone, she deserves a spot in the finals.

Runnerup: Honestly, Lauren Alaina stumbled on her first two songs. Neither was a strong vocal. At that point, the teen who has struggled with her confidence all year could have crumbled. Instead, she came back with one of her best recent performances on “I Hope You Dance.”  The judges did her a favor by giving her the best song of their three selections. But she still had to pull it off. And she did, perhaps salvaging her hopes of making the finals in the process.

Biggest disappointment of the night: Jimmy Iovine picked a wonderful song for Haley, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon.” It was a song that should have made her a clearcut winner of the second round. It was a song she should have slayed. But she never seemed quite comfortable with it. And considering her growl, her soul and her flair, she failed to deliver the flourish at the end that “Rhiannon” calls for. Considering her concern about remembering the words, I wonder how familiar she was with it.

Baffled by the judges: Lauren, quite frankly, got a pass from the judges on her first two performances. Neither were very good. She wisely tried to go young and fun with her song selection in round one, “Wild One.” She played it wild. The vocal wasn’t wild, at least not in a good way. Very, very mediocre. In round two, Jimmy asked her to sing “If I Die Young.” Done right, it could have delivered a moment. Instead, it paled, very badly, in comparison to the original. Again, the judges failed to point that out. As for her mid-song stumble, the judges chalked that up to the emotion in the song. Hmm.

How about Scotty?: He was rock solid in the country way Scotty is always rock solid. I don’t think he had “an Idol moment” at any point in Wednesday’s show. And I’d prefer he stop singing so many ballads. “She Believes in Me” is just a boring song.  Of course, the judges picked that one. But Scotty’s going nowhere but ahead to the finals. The only question is who he will be singing against next Tuesday night.

Prediction: It’s not so much a prediction as a hope — Haley and Scotty for the Idol crown. That way, at least there’s a little suspense next Tuesday, a possibility that Haley can pull off something so crazy good and unexpected that she can challenge Scotty, who looks like such a sure bet to win. Consider the alternative: Scotty versus Lauren Alaina in a country showdown. Lauren, quite frankly, doesn’t stand a chance.

The Song by song grades: (blog here)

Haley Reinhart: “What Is and What Never Should Be” — A-
Lauren Alaina: “I Hope You Dance” — B+
Scotty McCreery: “Kiss Me or Not” — B
Scotty McCreery: “She Believes in Me” — B
Scotty McCreery: “Amazed” — B
Haley Reinhart: “Rhiannon” — B-
Haley Reinhart: “You Oughta Know” — B-
Lauren Alaina: “If I Die Young” — C
Lauren Alaina: “Wild One: — C-