Air Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 [8-10pm]
Theme: Elton John
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| Source: mjsbigblog.com |
Ryan introduces the songwriting contest with Taio Cruz. Taio will perform the winning song at the finale on May 25.
Click on each of the below links to open up those studio performances on iTunes. You will not be charged for clicking on these links, unless you click 'buy' in the iTunes Store.
I have really been enjoying Jimmy Iovine's comments as the in-house mentor. He is very blunt and honest, not even holding back when talking to the singers. I really think he should become a judge next season. You would obviously have to get rid of one of the current judges (I vote for Randy, even though he's stepped up this year). Since Simon is no longer on the show, Jimmy is in a way his replacement, providing those honest comments.
1. Scotty McCreery - "Country Comfort"
There was nothing really wrong with his voice. The same consistency as usual. But that's also a detractor as well. Every song he does sounds the same; I can't tell any of them apart. I found this to be a little boring.
2. Naima Adedapo - "I'm Still Standing"
There were moments where her pitch improved over previous weeks, and other times that were flat. She took a risk by putting a reggae twist on the song. And there's actually a part of me that enjoyed it, but I don't know if voters will appreciate this. She may be nearing the end of her run.
3. Paul McDonald - "Rocket Man"
He's only had one good performance so far (Top 24). Here, he improved a tad over recent ones, but he can't stretch his voice that far. I couldn't recognize the song at first, but I liked it at times. If he can continues this improvement, then maybe he can get his groove back and continue to get better.
4. Pia Toscano - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
Another day, another ballad from Pia. I wanted to yell at the TV when I heard she was doing this song, because it's been done to death on American Idol. I don't think hers matched up to someone like Clay Aiken's, but my favorite part was the last half, where she really belted it out.
5. Stefano Langone - "Tiny Dancer"
His voice stayed consistently good from last week. But the biggest improvement was obviously his stage presence - eyes open most of the time and connecting to the audience. When he made his way over to the judges, I was rooting for him.
6. Lauren Alaina - "Candle in the Wind"
This song suits her vocals very well. That's gutsy of her to take on this song. But she held her own - beautiful voice. My only criticism is that at times her face showed no expression or emotion of any kind.
7. James Durbin - "Saturday Night's Alright"
This is James at his best - working the crowd (even the ones above/behind the stage), throwing the mike stand away, standing on the piano. And the fire coming from the piano really added to the mood. A few notes at the start and end were off, but overall - he knows how to work it.
8. Thia Megia - "Daniel"
I'm a little surprised with her song choice; because of her age and musical inexperience, I would have thought she'd go for something like "The Circle of Life." At times I enjoyed it, but it was a little boring. And during the last few lines, it looked like she was trying to make herself cry. Jimmy Iovine said to forget what you learned growing up and in plays and such, and listen to the words of the song. He really gives great advice, because he knows (and we do too) that Thia has never used those words of wisdom.
9. Casey Abrams - "Your Song"
When the song started off, I wasn't sure because the voice was off and he didn't seem all there. But that quickly subsided, and Casey gave us a very tender performance. He lost his mojo these past couple of weeks, but here he came back softly, but no less powerful.
10. Jacob Lusk - "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
I've been getting tired of him, but after his best performance last week, he's getting his footing a little better now. He seemed to get better and better as the song progressed. But like Thia, it just looked like he was trying to force the tears to come.
11. Haley Reinhart - "Bennie and the Jets"
This one of her best, if not her best. She really got into it, with the grows and rasp that only made it better. Her confidence and level of comfort on stage were great. Before tonight, I would have said she's a goner this week, but after this, who knows.
Compilation Album - Top 11 Redux Season 10: Click on this link to see the compilation album in iTunes of all of the above songs.
Favorite Performances: James Durbin / Casey Abrams / Haley Reinhart
My Votes: James Durbin - 45 votes
When I first started voting, there were a lot of busy signals. And a few times the start of the recorded messages got cut off. And once, the recording referred to contestant 5, but I was voting for contestant 7. I don't know what the deal was with the voting last night. I don't know if others had any of the same problems.
Bottom 3 Prediction: Naima Adedapo / Stefano Langone / Thia Megia
Since two are leaving this week, I'm not sure if there will be a Bottom 3 or not. These are my predictions in case there will be one.
Elimination Predictions: Naima Adedapo / Thia Megia
Below is the latest Idol social media stats (the combination of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace). These stats were compiled on 3/29/11 at 10:55pm.
1. Scotty McCreery - 90,145
2. Casey Abrams - 62,175
3. Paul McDonald - 53,603
4. James Durbin - 52,274
5. Pia Toscano - 45,465
6. Lauren Alaina - 44,520
7. Thia Megia - 42,082
8. Stefano Langone - 39,081
9. Jacob Lusk - 27,790
10. Haley Reinhart - 23,098
11. Naima Adedapo - 20,979
The names in blue haven't changed their positions from last week to this week. The only major change is that Pia and Lauren have switched places, with Pia going up and Lauren going down. I believe that last week, Pia moved past Thia. And now she's moved past Lauren. I still don't get it with her. Since James is my favorite, I will mention that James is continuing to close the gap with Paul; I expect him to move into third pretty soon.
As I mentioned above, since two will be eliminated, I don't know if there will be a Bottom 3. If so, the most obvious choices are Naima, Stefano and Thia. In terms of who's going home, I think it's safe to assume a combination of two from this group. Naima performed near the start of the night and took a risk by really changing up the style of the song, so she has a good chance of going home. As for that last spot, like I said, either Stefano or Thia. Stefano performed in the middle; did voters remember him by the end of the night? But he really improved in his stage presence and may be rewarded for that. Thia, on the other hand, was a little boring, even though she performed near the end. Both of them have things going for them and against them at this point. I ultimately went with Thia, because I think Stefano's improvements may have done enough to save him. But again, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes, though.
Since no one went home last week, there will be two eliminations tonight (8-9pm). Fantasia will return to the Idol stage to perform her new single, "Collard Greens And Cornbread." And will.i.am and Jamie Foxx will perform a song from the upcoming animated film, Rio. See ya then...
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