Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Well, we’re down to six on American Idol.

But 11 will be going on tour, and Idol this afternoon announced where they’ll be stopping on the Season 10 summer jaunt.

Of local interest are the following:

* Aug. 10 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh;

* Aug. 11 at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore;

* Aug. 17 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly;

* Aug. 19 at the Verizon Center in D.C.; and

* Aug. 21 at the Moheghan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre.

Circle May 13 on your calendar. That’s the day tickets go on sale.

For all the Idol tour stops, you can check out the map here.

Now, on to tonight’s show, on which the Idols will be singing the tunes of Carole King.

My guess is that shouldn’t pose a problem for our country duo of Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery. Or Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart.

Jacob Lusk and James Durbin? That might be a different story.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard, Lauren Alaina is expected to get a little extra mentoring help tonight.

So, on the season without mentors, we have another mentor — Babyface.

Hmm, and it appears we’re going to get duets as well as solo performances tonight. Interesting.

Here we go …

Jacob Lusk: He’s selected, “Oh No Not My Baby.” Between his outfit and the fact that he’s singing first, I’d agree with Jimmy Iovine. Jacob might be in jeopardy tonight. Really, am I supposed to take this seriously. Between the outfit and the faces, I’m not sure whether I’m watching an Idol or a comedian. That was another of those performances from Jacob where you see glimmers of greatest in his voice. And the sum total isn’t enjoyable at all. But, of course, Steven thinks it was beautiful. Grade: C-

Lauren Alaina: Her song choice: “Where You Lead.” Told you Lauren Alaina would cover her mouth and giggle when she met Miley. Hey, Lauren tried to inject more fun into that performance. Shame it seemed so staged. The vocal got a little shouty in spots. All in all, a pretty decent performance.  It certainly wasn’t a performance that moved me to tears, like it apparently did for Jennifer. Grade: B-.

Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams: They will sing “I Feel the Earth Move.” You just knew someone would. In that entrance, we saw the difference between Haley and Lauren. Lauren looks like a teen still feeling her way around the Idol stage. Haley might not be as vocally smooth on a regular basis, but she moves like she owns the Idol stage. And it’s fun to watch these two let loose together. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be a great plot line if they wound up competing in the Idol finals? Very nice vocal, Haley. Way to keep on cutting loose, Casey. You’ve rediscovered your groove and your growl just in time. Grade: A-

Scotty McCreery: The country guy will sing “You’ve Got a Friend.” Well, I’m not certain what the mentors were trying to get Scotty to do. But the end result was my least favorite performance by Scotty in a long time. I’m not sure I liked the arrangement or the countrified version of that song. And in the end, it was all quite boring. Of course, I’m sure these worthless Idol judges will love it. And, of course, they did. I’ve lost count of how many straight performances Steven Tyler has loved. Grade: B-

James Durbin: The rocker will sing a love song, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” Gotta say, I love this guy’s attitude. Time to show you can sing, James. OK, love this a cappella opening. Love the tone of his voice on it. No as crazy with the vocal now the tempo has picked up, but this is going to dash the hope of the James-haters who thought Carole King might do him in. A soft a cappella opening and a few Durbin shrieks in a single performance. What more can one ask for? Jennifer just gave James a huge boost, praising his consistency. Then Randy had to go overboard with the superlatives. Randy, sit down. Really. Grade: B+

Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery: Scotty assures us that he and Lauren are like brother and sister. They will do their third duet together, this time singing “Up on the Roof.” Not fair in that Haley and Casey got the much better song to sing. I liked Scotty’s vocal there much better than on his solo performance. Lauren sounded pretty good, too. Grade: B

Casey Abrams: Idol’s wild man will sing “Hi-De-Ho.” No doubt about it, Casey has rediscovered the edge he seemed to lose for about three weeks after the save. That said, there was a little too much growling and a little too little singing for me on that performance. That said, I don’t think Casey has to worry about going home this week. Grade: C+

Haley Reinhart: She’s going to sing “Beautiful.” Somehow appropriate given that smile of hers. Haley absolutely sparkles on stage. Loved the parts where the song slowed down. Loved the growl near the end. Bottom line: Keep Haley, folks. Grade: B.

James Durbin and Jacob  Lusk: An odd pairing, if ever there was one, performing “I’m Into Something Good.” The gospel singer with the rocker. Once again, I love James’ personality. I am not at all fond of Jacob’s over-the-top vocals. James absolutely took over the end of that song. That said, that was all a little silly. Perhaps on purpose. Grade: B-.