With only six singers remaining and an hour and a half to kill, American Idol decided to treat us to nine performances tonight.
Of course, that meant the return of duets, which always leave me with mixed feelings on performance shows.
I mean, magic often happens.
Like when Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta sang “Slow Ride.”
Like when Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze sang “Falling Slowly.”
And like when Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart performed tonight.
But for every perfect pairing, there’s often an illogical one — like having gospel singer Jacob Lusk and rocker James Durbin paired up tonight.
Somehow, it all seems a little unfair.
On with the recap:
Best of the Night: Hands down, the pairing of Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart for the second time this season. Haley sounded great. Casey got to throw in a wonderful little scat at the end. They had fun. They looked like they were born to perform together. Of course, they’re rumored to be a couple, which might give them an edge in chemistry. And they did get to perform “I Feel the Earth Move,” probably the best Carole King song. Wouldn’t it be a great story line if they wound up opposite one another in the Idol finale?
Runner-up: Speaking of magic — a term I used far less freely than the Idol judges — that was an apt description of that a cappella opening James Durbin pulled off on “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” That said, the rocker portion of the song, complete with a couple of those Durbin shrieks, was just OK, leaving us with a performance hardly worthy of Randy Jackson storming the stage to deliver congratulations. That said, Jennifer Lopez made a wonderful point. James has been consistently entertaining since the finals began.
Deserves to go home: OK, it’s time for Jacob Lusk to exit the Idol stage. Heck, it almost felt like the Idol producers were giving him a helpful nudge in that direction tonight. They forced him to sing first. And someone let him go on stage in that ridiculous outfit. Then they paired him with rocker in a show-ending performance that came off as a little silly. For his solo, James delivered yet another of those performances that demonstrates vocal talent, yet somehow manages to be just a little too jarring.
Please keep her: Given Idol voters’ preference for male contestants, Haley Reinhart might own this spot until she’s eliminated. She shouldn’t even be in the bottom three Thursday night. She demonstrated once again that she’s the most improved Idol contestant this season. And her confidence seems to be growing by the week. But even after two solid performances, I bet she winds up in one of the stools.
Baffled by the judges: Frustrated might be a better word. I do not understand how three so-called judges can love every performance every week and still call themselves judges. Jennifer and Randy did single out James Durbin for particularly high praise. But, judging from the judges’ comments, nearly every performance was flawless. Believe me, they weren’t.
Advice for Scotty McCreery: Do your thing. Don’t listen to the mentors. They convinced him to change his singing style for the start of “You’ve Got a Friend.” Between that and the countrified arrangement, it was my least favorite Scotty Mcreery performance all season.
Prediction for Thursday: Jacob Lusk had better go home. As I said earlier, Haley is likely to wind up in a stool alongside him. The third member of the bottom three … hmm, that should be very interesting. If I were going on Wednesday’s performances alone, I’d put Lauren Alaina there.
Haley Reinhart & Casey Abrams: I Feel the Earth Move, A-
James Durbin: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, B+
Lauren Alaina & Scotty McCreery: Up on the Roof, B
Haley Reinhart: Beautiful, B
Scotty McCreery: You’ve Got a Friend, B-
Lauren Alaina: Where You Lead, B-
Jacob Lusk &James Durbin, B-
Casey Abrams: Hi-De-Ho, C+
Jacob Lusk: Oh, No, Not My Baby, C-
American Idol Casey Abrams finals Haley Reinhart Jacob Lusk James Durbin Lauren Alaina Scotty McCreery
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6 Comments
Sorry Mark but you are even worse than the three judges. I just find it absurd that you rate and rank the duet above all. Is it because Haley’s solo performance is in danger that you have to give her a boost one way or the other?
Come on James durbin gave the performance of the season. Casey should rank higher. It should be a James and Casey final 2 — and casey should win — the two most creative and exciting performers left on the show. Scotty is so one trick pony, at least this week it was better, but yet he gets all the votes. I honestly don’t get it.
I’m sure it would be easy to have a fan club…you all most lkeily go to the same middle school.If Haley did or does win it…in a year or two she will join the ranks of…Taylor ‘Who???’ and Chris ‘What’s His Name.’
With Pia gone — Casey Abrams absolutely without question should be the next american idol — first of all can you imagine the look on his face when he wins — but more importantly, there is no other performer who brings something new to the table every week and can sing every genre. I’m just gonna be pretty bummed if this is a scotty/lauren finale. Casey is awesome.
I just knew Haley is gonna be a blackhorse who’s gonna win this thing.
KELLI HORAN WANTS SCOTTY MCCREERY IS GOING TOO WIN ON AMERICAN IDOL BECAUSE HE HAS SEXY COUNTRY DEEP VOICE HE WILL WIN ALL THE WAY FOR THE FINALE 2 IT WILL BE JAMES DURBIN AND SCOTTY MCCREERY IF SCOTTY WINS AND TOO BE THE NEW AMERICAN IDOL WINNER FOR 2011. KELLI IS 100 PRECENT FOR SCOTTY MCCREERY TOO WIN WIN WIN FOR PA ALL THE WAY AND SCOTTY MCCREERY IS KELLI’S NEW BOYFRIEND MY ONLY BOYFRIEND HE IS SO CUTE AND HANDSOME.