Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, who’s likely to wind up in the bottom three tonight?

It’s hard to imagine that fate befalling Scotty McCreery, even though he performed first and drew some of the harshest criticism from the judges last night. Or James Durbin, despite the fact that many Muse fans weren’t enamored with his version of “Uprising.” Or Lauren Alaina, though she finished the show with more of a whimper than a bang.

Casey Abrams? He might have needed the save four weeks ago, but his take on Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe” was probably Wednesday’s most widely acclaimed performance.

That leaves Haley Reinhart, Stefano Langone and Jacob Lusk as the most likely candidates for the stools. It’s a spot Haley and Stefano are well familiar with by now.

Stefano would be my choice to head home. But, as I wrote last night, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Haley fall victim to Idol’s gender problem.

Of course, before we learn the fate of Haley, Stefano or anyone else, we should be treated to at least two stellar performances.

Katy Perry will perform, “E.T.,” one of the string of number ones from her “Teenage Dream” album.

More highly anticipated for Idol fans will be David Cook’s return to sing his fine new single, “The Last Goodbye.”  If you haven’t heard the song yet, head over to David’s website, where it’s been streaming since Monday.

Pre-orders for David’s second album, “This Loud Morning,” are also being taken there. Pre-order the album, and you get the single as an instant download, plus the Idol farewell song, “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” The album is due out June 28.

Good, we start off tonight’s show with more performances from the Idols — Stefano, Jacob, Lauren and Haley singing Train’s “Soul Sister.” The girls sound better than the guys. And Haley always seems to be at her best during these group numbers.

So I’m rooting along with Jennifer. Let’s keep the girls and lose another guy.

Take note, Haley and Lauren. You might want to consider giving Steven a peck on the cheek next week considering all the mileage Casey is getting  because of his smooch with Jennifer.

Next, Casey, Scotty and James takes on Cold Play’s “Vida La Vida.” Oh, my. This is terrible.

Quite appropriate that they seemed to nod off at the end of that performance. That will rank as one of the worst group performances of all time on Idol.

First to learn their fate tonight — Casey and Jacob. Casey is safe. No surprise. Jacob heads to the stools. No surprise there either.

David Cook time. Gotta say, I’ve been watching this show since Season One. And I think the best cast ever was Season Seven.

Lots of diversity that year, too, between Brooke White, Michael Johns, Syesha Mercado, Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Kristy Lee Cook and, of course, the Davids, Archuleta and Cook.

They’ve released some great music since that season too. Even one of the first contestants to leave that season — Amanda Overmyer — followed up her Idol stint with an excellent debut album.

From the sounds of this single, David’s well on his way to beating the sophomore slump that so often strikes artists after a highly successful first album.

Nice of David to use his Idol appearance to plug the Race for Hope. You can find out more about that here.

Lauren, James and Stefano head center stage. And a second stool is filled by Stefano. Again, no surprise. Lauren and James are safe.

Scotty and Haley take the center of the stage. Scotty is safe; Haley heads to the stools.

So, the bottom three goes exactly as expected.

But, here’s a surprise — Haley Reinhart is headed back to the safety of the couches after the briefest time on her stool.

Glad to see it. Of all the contestants, I think Haley has shown the most improvement over the course of the season.

And the contestant going home tonight — Stefano.

Jacob survives to sing another day.