Air Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 [8-9:30pm]
Theme: Songs from the 21st Century
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| Source: mjsbigblog.com |
After the song, the camera cuts to Mark Ballas (and his father Corky) from Dancing with the Stars, who is supposedly dating Pia. The two shows are on different networks, so it's obvious both are playing this up as much as they can: having Mark on Idol this week (Ryan even trying to get him to say something about it), and Pia will be on Dancing next week.
Click on each of the below links to open up those studio performances in iTunes. You will not be charged for clicking on these links, unless you click 'buy' in the iTunes Store.
1. Scotty McCreery - LeAnn Rimes' "Swingin'"
Another pretty solid vocal from Scotty. I actually really enjoyed it as it started. But he lost me at the chorus; that's when it started to feel pretty much the same as we've always seen/heard from him. Nothing necessarily wrong, but like Jennifer and Randy said, he needs to step it up and not take the safe route. But the audience just went wild whenever he hit the low notes. And when he went for it during the final note, he knew the reaction he would get, so he played it up as he was preparing to go for those notes.
2. James Durbin - Muse's "Uprising"
It looks like Lee Dewyze's bagpiper from last year has brought along his marching band drummers for James. From the outfit to the theatrics and the way he owned the stage (including the way he carried the mike stand), I almost could've mistaken him for Adam Lambert. He owned that part of the performance, but the vocals weren't the best. So I'm not sure if it was one of his best, but regardless, just when we thought his high notes couldn't get any higher, it did. This might be better as an iTunes studio recording.
3. Haley Reinhart - Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"
I was excited to find out she was doing Adele, because Adele has such a beautiful and unique voice, and the style of her songs fit Haley really well. To follow up on what Randy said, it wasn't perfect, but she's recovering from last week. On the plus side, she shone best during the chorus. As an aside, did anyone notice that Casey Abrams was missing from her intro video (where the others are supposed to talk about the singer who's about to perform)? Maybe he didn't want to do it because he thought it would show through his feelings for her (since they are rumored to be dating). But I think that his absence made it even more apparent.
4. Jacob Lusk - Luther Vandross' "Dance with My Father"
If you look at the types of songs he's sung so far, it's not surprising he would go with this one. I'm glad Randy called him out on the vocals and saying they need some constructive comments once in a while (is he listening to us?), because it was just okay. After being thrown off during the first line, I wasn't sure how the rest would go, but he came back with the same warble vibrato he normally gives us. Unfortunately, he may be safe because of why he sang this song (dedicating it to his deceased father).
5. Casey Abrams - Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe"
I can't believe Casey had the nerve to kiss Jennifer on the cheek at the end there (let along get up in her face, closer than even Iggy Pop did to her). I'm not sure if the performance was the most cohesive. Some places such as the chorus just felt like it didn't match up to the original. But he picked it up during the last quarter of the song. And what was it that Steven Tyler said to cause him to be bleeped for the longest time? Randy and Jennifer's jaws were on the floor.
6. Stefano Langone - Ne-Yo's "Closer"
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the style he goes towards post-Idol. But regardless, I wasn't blown away - he didn't match up to the original. On the plus side, though, he improved greatly during the last half when holding out his notes. And he felt more comfortable on stage (dancing, and working the audience). The sex appeal that he obviously purposefully added in will help him with voters, but will it be enough to save him?
7. Lauren Alaina - Sara Evans' "Born To Fly"
It thought it was a pleasant performance. Nothing much more than that. The song didn't allow her to belt it out, so it may have been a safe song choice. I was a little let down when she basically said she's not as confident in what she can do. In order to change that, she needs to take risks, because it could pay off. She needs to believe in herself.
Compilation Album - Top 7 Season 10: Click on this link to see the compilation album in iTunes of all of the above songs.
Favorite Performance: I don't know that I had a favorite performance this week.
My Votes: James Durbin - 60 votes
Some busy signals at the start.
Bottom 3 Prediction: Haley Reinhart / Jacob Lusk / Stefano Langone
Elimination Prediction: Stefano Langone
Below is the latest Idol social media stats (the combination of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace). These stats were compiled on 4/19/11 at 10:30pm.
1. Scotty McCreery - 161,487
2. Casey Abrams - 116,542
3. Lauren Alaina - 98,650
4. James Durbin - 98,221
5. Stefano Langone - 74,549
6. Haley Reinhart - 62,463
7. Jacob Lusk - 47,103
The names in blue haven't changed their positions from last week to this week. Last week, Paul sailed above James. But now that he's out of the equation, I would have expected James to reclaim 3rd place. But Lauren, surprisingly, took that spot, keeping James in 4th. It seems she is slowly but surely gaining a bigger following. This shows that she has a chance at making the Top 2.
Haley, Jacob and Stefano have pretty much always seemed to be at risk. And except for Casey, it's only been those three in the bottom 3, of the remaining contestants. And it seems obvious that it will be those three in the bottom group this time around. I would just love to see Scotty in the bottom, but even though he performed first, I doubt that'll ever happen. And if it does, it will only make his fans make sure he wins. James wasn't at his best, but he knows how to put on a show, and I really hope he's not in danger. I could easily see him making it all the way to the final two without ever being in danger. Even though there was that strange week with Casey almost being eliminated a while ago, I can't figure out where he might stand in terms of the voting. And as I mentioned above with the social media stats, Lauren is continuously gathering a stronger fan base and will be safe.
Now, back to Haley, Jacob and Stefano. Haley is recovering from last week, so I hope she is safe. Jacob should have been gone a long time ago, but I have a feeling that he'll be safe. He will get the sympathy vote for dedicating the song to his deceased father. That leaves Stefano. The only way I can see him staying on is if his fan base voted even more due to the sex appeal factor that Stefano added in.
Tonight, yet another contestant will be eliminated (8-9pm). And season 7 champ David Cook will perform his new single, plus a performance by Katy Perry. See ya then...
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