- ssorich@ledger-enquirer.com
Maybe this season of "American Idol" will give us a current recording artist after all.
There were no major causalities when the top seven "American Idol" contestants performed songs from the 21st century Wednesday night. In fact, the show was a welcome departure from the recent trend of antiquated ballads.
As an added bonus, the judges acquired a slight mean streak. Even though their praise still seemed a bit inflated at times, they managed to deliver some constructive criticism during the 90-minute show. Weird, right?
There were no major causalities when the top seven "American Idol" contestants performed songs from the 21st century Wednesday night. In fact, the show was a welcome departure from the recent trend of antiquated ballads.
As an added bonus, the judges acquired a slight mean streak. Even though their praise still seemed a bit inflated at times, they managed to deliver some constructive criticism during the 90-minute show. Weird, right?
Here are my rankings; share yours in the comments section.
1. Haley Reinhart, "Rolling in the Deep"
2. Casey Abrams, "Harder to Breathe"
3. James Durbin, "Uprising"
4. Lauren Alaina, "Born to Fly"
5. Scotty McCreery, "Swingin'"
6. Stefano Langone, "Closer"
7. Jacob Lusk, "Dance With My Father"
One contestant will be eliminated on Thursday's results show, which airs 8-9 p.m. on Fox and will feature performances by David Cook and Katy Perry. Here's a full recap of Wednesday's episode:
1. Haley Reinhart, "Rolling in the Deep"
2. Casey Abrams, "Harder to Breathe"
3. James Durbin, "Uprising"
4. Lauren Alaina, "Born to Fly"
5. Scotty McCreery, "Swingin'"
6. Stefano Langone, "Closer"
7. Jacob Lusk, "Dance With My Father"
One contestant will be eliminated on Thursday's results show, which airs 8-9 p.m. on Fox and will feature performances by David Cook and Katy Perry. Here's a full recap of Wednesday's episode:
Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/04/20/1547042/american-idol-top-7-sing-21st.html#ixzz1KsZiL2oq
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Things kick off with a group performance from this season's "Idol" castoffs: Ashthon, Karen, Thia, Naima, Pia and Paul. They sing Pink's "So What." It is random and chaotic and I love it. The best part is Paul, who totally doesn't fit in but tries to hang out anyway. Awesome. Now I REALLY can't wait for the tour -- which I'll be covering, of course.
Now, the main event.
Scotty McCreery, "Swingin'" by LeAnn Rimes
Props to Scotty for choosing a song by a woman this week. He could have gone the easy route and opted for Josh Turner. Post-show note: Sure, Scotty called this a LeAnn Rimes tune, but online discussions taught me it was originally released by John Anderson in 1983. Either way, this is kind of a weird song. It's not slow, but it's not really fast, either. I wish he would have gone for something that wasn't so, um, middle ground. I'm not going crazy. Vocally, Scotty sounds the same. That may be a good thing or a bad thing. He certainly needs a little "oomph."
Steven: "I liked it...Good."
Jennifer: "It's time, like, to pull out the big guns...We were expecting more from Scotty."
Randy: "To me, that was so safe."
James Durbin, "Uprising" by Muse
Jimmy Iovine maintains that James is more than just the heavy metal guy on "Idol." Is he right? James takes the stage with marching band drummers. Somehow, I'm not surprised. Well, the performance is definitely entertaining, especially when James pulls out some of his signature high notes toward the end. Some of the verses sound a little weird, however. James doesn't always boast the strongest vocals in the world, but he has energy. And this performance makes me more inclined to believe he could have a niche in modern rock
Jennifer: "That is going to be theatrically the best performance of the night...That was really amazing."
Randy: "I hope you follow this direction when you make a record after this."
Steven: "That was crazy good, man."
Haley Reinhart, "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
Did you notice Casey wasn't featured in Haley's pre-performance bit? Strange. Anyway, I'm so happy Haley chose this song. I really wanted her to pull out some Adele tonight. She sounds great. Of course, Haley will inevitably get the "no one will ever be as good as Adele" criticism. Which is true. But Haley delivers a darn good performance, proving her potential appeal as a current recording artist. Even better, we don't get the inflated sense of sex appeal that sometimes cuts into Haley's performances.
Randy: "I think that you chose a perfect direction for you...I thought that it was a great performance."
Steven: "I thought that it was a great performance as well."
Jennifer: "You brought a little bit of Haley to it in certain moments."
Jacob Lusk, "Dance With My Father" by Luther Vandross
Jacob tells us his dad died when Jacob was 12. The big question is at what point during this performance Jacob will start crying. It seems like he doesn't take long. It looks like there's a minor sound glitch early on in the performance. Jacob messes with his earpiece. Sound problems or not, this isn't Jacob's strongest performance. In fact, I think it's one of his worst efforts. The vocals are kind of, um, all over the place. Is emotional appeal enough to save Jacob? I'm not sure.
Steven: "This man is so good."
Jennifer: "Emotionally, it was a beautiful performance."
Randy: "Vocally, it was good, but it didn't make me jump up and down."
Wow, Mark Ballas is in the audience! Seacrest interviews him, but Mark doesn't mention Pia.
Casey Abrams, "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5
Great song choice. I was seriously worried that Casey was going to sing John Mayer. This song works really well for Casey, who takes the stage with his guitar and puts a hard rock spin on the tune. It makes me believe he really could find a place in modern music. There's lots of energy and the vocals are pretty solid. My biggest complaint? Casey always seems so angry when he performs current music. Tone the rage down a bit, dude. And kissing Jennifer Lopez at the end? Weird.
Jennifer: "I loved it...It was really great."
Randy: "I enjoyed it...Continue to take chances."
Steven: "You already are a cult hero." While praising Casey, Steven has to be censored. A lot.
Stefano Langone, "Closer" by Ne-Yo
Well, at least he didn't choose a Ne-Yo ballad. Stefano hits some nice big notes tonight, and there aren't any glaring flaws in this performance. Still, the whole thing comes off a bit cheesy. I'll channel Simon Cowell and say it's a copycat performance. I'm just not going crazy, despite Stefano's attempts to woo me with his dance moves. By the way, those dance moves are awkward. Three words: too many gyrations. I'll summarize this one as average.
Randy: "You turned me around...You took your time singing the verses."
Steven: "I was hoping you'd dance and you did."
Jennifer: "I thought it was very, very good."
Lauren Alaina, "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans
Man, I wish Lauren would have pulled out some Taylor Swift or Miranda Lambert this week. I figure that's how the record company would market her if she got a contract post-"Idol." Anyway, this performance is fine. Lauren hits some nice notes, though I agree that she underestimates herself at times. My biggest critique of this performance is that I wish Lauren would have done something a little more fun. While Sara Evans is great, the song doesn't let Lauren show a lot of personality. It should be good enough for her to stick around another week, though.
Steven: "You're so good naturally." Wants her to do some Faith Hill, Shania Twain or Alison Krauss
Jennifer: Wants her to sing bigger notes
Randy: "You can sing anything...You must believe."
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