Funny how things work out.
Nine weeks ago, Casey Abrams was a favorite to win American Idol.
Haley Reinhart, his special musical friend, was an afterthought, a longshot, sure cannon fodder on a show that preferred guys with guitars.
Flash forward to mid-May. Casey is gone, finishing sixth.
Haley? She’ll be performing with the top four Wednesday night.
And she just might be the best thing to happen to American Idol all season.
Especially if she wins.
Hey, consider the alternatives.
There’s Lauren Alaina, proclaimed a potential Idol when she auditioned. We’re still waiting for her to recapture the spark she showed in early-season episodes.
With three weeks to go, does that sound like a potential Idol?
Then there’s James Durbin, who’s tons of fun to watch, a feel-good story if ever idol had one. But he’s a rocker on a show whose past includes Adam Lambert, David Cook and Chris Daughtry.
Sorry, but James can’t match any one of those three vocally. Does that sound like an American Idol?
And there’s Scotty McCreery, Scotty “The Body” as Ryan has taken to calling him. With his adoring teens. With his distinctive voice. With one pitch-perfect performance after another.
But we were all thrilled this week when he sang “Gone” because he was finally entertaining.
Does that sound like an American Idol?
Which brings us to Haley, the gal who seemed like a permanent fixture in the bottom three early in season 10, who almost seemed to think one of those silver stools had her name on it each week.
Tell me, when was the last time an Idol contestant improved as much as she has en route to the top four?
It wasn’t last year. Crystal Bowersox arrived finished product. Lee DeWyze might have improved marginally, but not enough to outsing her in the finale.
It wasn’t season nine. Adam Lambert was brilliant the first time he hit the Idol stage. All the other top finishers were largely predictable.
And it wasn’t season seven. Anyone who could hear knew the Davids (Cook and Archuleta) were stars in the making in the semifinals. Jason Castro never did solve his problem with inconsistency. Syesha was the model of consistency.
Which brings us back to Haley. When the finals started, BetUS had her as the second least likely finalist to win, with a $100 bet fetching a cool $2,500. The only contestant facing bigger odds: Ashthon Jones, the first finalist ousted.
Now Kelly Clarkson is tweeting that Haley or Lauren Alaina should win. Adam Lambert thinks it should be Haley. Melinda Doolittle, arguably the best vocalist in season six, postponed her weekly post- show analysis of Wednesday’s performances; she tweeted that she was too busy voting for Haley.
As for tough-to-please Jimmy Iovine? He says Haley is a lock for the finals, if she keeps her confidence up.
Finals? I say let’s make her the Idol.
She’s got the swagger and the sass on stage, spiced with a dash of sexy and sultry.
She’s got a million-dollar smile to go with that growl. And sense of style that survived even the Gwen Stefani fashion disaster week. All of which adds up to marketable.
And let’s not forget, when she hits her sweet spot, something she’s doing on a regular basis lately, she’s a helluva singer.
I’ve been listening to her versions of “You and I” and “House of the Rising Sun” from last week. Repeatedly. Fabulous. Simply fabulous.
Haley: American Idol.
It has a nice ring.
And it’s about time for a pleasant surprise ending on this show.
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12 Comments
I’m so glad people are finally seeing Haley’s talent. Her vocal gymnastics are amazing. Go Haley!
Very nice article, btw.
FINALLY. We totally agree. Cheers! 🙂
You are all of a sudden my favorite read on my blog feed. Thank you for believing in Hayley. She’s incredible.
I’ve been a fan since “Blue”. She is just incredible!
I’ve been a fan since “Blue”. She is just incredible!
haley is amazing, unique and incredible vocal power. go girl, win it, you deserve to win.
Shes the best ive seen in American Idol.. ever!!!
I think Haley is a screamer and it would be a disgrace for her to be an American Idol!!! Vote, Vote, Vote, SCOTTY!!!!
wow, I enjoyed reading that!
I have to say the anyone with a single brain cell would see that Haley is the best Vocalist this year.
IT MUST HAPPEN!
Haley is amazing. I have been a fan since I first heard her sing. She has grown into a wonderful performer. Obviously she was born with her God given talent. I hope she wins it all. I will be rooting and voting for her. She is so different from all the other same- old- same- old decent singers. When you hear Haley you know it’s her and its wonderful.
Best article I’ve read in a while, am happy people have started noticing Hales uniqueness. Loved her from Hollywood week “God bless the child” i knew it then, she was something special, not just a growl but her interpretation of music is amazing. The things she can do with her voice, AMAZING, she’s got the chops to win. Go Haley, team Haley all the way….. Thank you for this article, appreciate it.
Sorry, I’m a die-hard McCreery fan, but Haley so deserved 2nd place….Judges were totally biased toward Lauren and I have no idea why…she shd have gone home at 4th or way before, IMO….Haley is total class act and I can see where many saw her as winner…I’m biased toward country and totally out of Haley’s genre, but even I could see she got a bad deal, but handled so well…Hope she and James has great success.