May 18, 2011 
It is difficult to believe that, a week from today. the Finale for American Idol Season 10 will air on Fox.
Gee – I guess it must be May. Yes it is – no snow. Time to take a break from this blogging and enjoy the outdoors.
It’s been an interesting American Idol season, full of surprises and, at times, disappointing ones at that.
This evening our Top 3 singers, composed of Haley Reinhart, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery will be performing three selections apiece – one selected by the judges, another by the producers and then their personal choice.
Some of their song selections have been confirmed, while others have been subjected to innuendo. It would be nice to receive news about the rumored songs, but I ‘m not holding my breath.
However, if you do receive any news, spoilers, tweets or updates, please add them in the comments section or email me.
Enjoy the show everyone and best of luck to Haley, Lauren and Scotty.
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Awww, I’m really enjoying this show! The moments with the contestants’ parents are priceless. So sweet. 😀
Rosanne, did you catch that head voice ending on Scotty’s last song? I think that was just for you. 😉 Loved it!
The judges are being much more reasonable tonight. I wanted to stand up when Randy used musical terminology. YES! Call the modulation what it is. I am very happy.
Yay for more balanced critiques this week. No knocking Haley down (so far). These contestants are pouring their hearts out!
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J – the song selections were a tad weird I thought. I did not like Jimmy I’s selections at all. Ugh!
But, Scotty poured his heart into that final number didn’t he? Head voice and all! 🙂
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I am in the middle of watching AI and just posting a couple comments …
Lauren … was that a semaphore you were wearing??? And putting together fuschia and red? Seriously?
Kudos to AI for letting Haley’s dad play guitar. Very nice. Haley ROCKED OUT! Glad the judges didn’t helped the audience put the little trip in the past. Does the girl ever sing a bad note? She goes from crystal clear focused soprano to smokey growl – in a beat – literally. Scotty is cutie and talented, but because of my personal music style, I would listen to Haley.
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And thank you Scotty for improving your mike technique and putting consonants on the end of your words!!!! Well done!
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All three did an incredible job tonight! I loved it! I loved Jimmy’s selections for both Lauren and Scotty, but was disappointed with his pick for Haley. At this stage, he needed to give Haley a song that could showcase so much of what she capable of. All three judge’s picks were fantastic. My favorite judge’s pick performance of the night was Lauren’s “I Hope You Dance”. My favorite Jimmy pick performance was Scotty’s. My fav personal pick was absolutely Haley’s. What she did with the Led Zepplin song was stunning. I’ve thought tonight about how this girl has won me over this season, and it brought tears to my eyes. She has grown so much. I do agree with Jennifer that Lauren has the most beautful voice. But Haley is the most gifted singer, with one of the most unique voices I’ve ever heard on the A.I. stage.
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I still believe a James and Haley Finale would have been more exciting than anything that may come up next week. All three did a nice job, but I wanted outstanding. Definitely NOT voting, but a Lauren/Haley Finale would be the best.
Earlier in the season, Siobhan Magnus did a review of the show, and indicated how lucky the contestants were allowed to do more this season. Both her and Katie, along with Casey wished they could have been on this season. I can’t wait to hear what Siobhan thinks about Haley performing with her Dad. Siobhan will be so envious!
I did enjoy Rhiannon, but I couldn’t tell you who is going home. Amy ideas?
When the Top 13 started, I wanted a Pia and James Finale. I voted a lot for Stefano and he got pretty far. So, since none of my favorites were in it to win it, I may not be as excited as some.
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I didn’t love most of the songs last night, but thought everyone did well. I’ve never liked Rhiannon, so I wasn’t especially thrilled about that and thought there could have been a better song choice for Haley. I have absolutely no idea who might be voted off tonight. Too close to call, I think. I still hope it’s Scotty and Haley, but any combination is possible.
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Grammie Kari –
Yes – Siobhan would have been great on this season – timing is SO important in life.
Too bad about the James/Haley finale.
I may be wrong – Haley ROCKS – but it looks like a Scotty/Lauren country event next week.
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I don’t want to rain on anyone’s confetti bath, but…I didn’t like any of the songs for tonight other than the contestants picks, Jimmy’s pick for Scotty and the judges pick for Lauren…other wise they were not so great picks.
So that leaves me with:
Jimmy’s pick for Haley ~ What was you thinkin’?
Judges pick for Haley ~ Really? What were you thinking, couldn’t you have found something a little more lyrically pleasant???
Jimmy’s pick for Lauren ~ I don’t even think you were thinking!!! Why would you ask a sixteen year old to sing this song; I know a younger person sings it now, if she wants to sing then that’s one thing, but don’t make Lauren sing it…horrible!
Judges pick for Scotty ~ What was the name of that bus you ran over this kid with? You’ve got to be kidding me, you only wanted to make him try and sing that chorus? What would have happenend if he had failed on the night he needed to be his best…or was that the plan, so that you could get your all girl finale? Sorry, it backfired on ya, he did pull it off, but you guys didn’t do him any favors by picking a Kenny Rogers song that is a hundred years old!!! BLAH!!! BOO, BOO!!!
It was awesome for Haley to have her dad on stage with her; they rocked that song.
All three of these kids came and did what they needed to do; bad song choices and all…but I think at the end of the night it needs to be Scotty and Haley moving on, Lauren just didn’t quite measure up to these guys!
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Vonnie,
I get where you’re coming from with the lyrics to the song Lauren sang. They’re not what you would picture a 16 year old girl singing. But at the same time to me, there was something beautiful about them, and the melody was wonderful, and Lauren’s voice was gorgeous!
I loved Lauren’s interaction with Ryan. She is an absolute sweetheart!!!
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Anita,
I wished that Jimmy and/or the judges would have picked a song from Kesha or someone like that. Lauren has proved that she is not just a country gal, she can do pop too! I think Kesha’s song would have made her appear more like a sixteen year old.
She is growing on me!!! 🙂
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The New York Times actually reviewed Idol last night . . .
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/american-idol-the-top-3-2/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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WOW, I really miss James…he was the “life of the party” so to speak. I don’t like the voting system! 70 million votes? how do they count it? is it like the election voting system….DEFECTIVE!
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I wanted to listen to the performances again today with my eyes closed. Unfortunately, my recording cut off the last half hour of the show. It was very interesting to just listen to the vocals and see if my reaction was different.
Scotty really surprised me with his performances. He was singing most in his upper range and this is something that he wasn’t able to do at the beginning of the finals. I realized how much he has developed and believe that he has not received nearly enough credit for his progress. He has taken risks in this competition, but the biggest were last night.
My favorite performance was his second song, “Are You Going To Kiss Me Or Not”. I loved seeing Scotty take on this upbeat song and show off his personality and charm. He sang it with attitude! I loved some of the vocal inflections he used in this number. Great stuff.
I agree with Vonnie that the judges just might have been trying to mess with Scotty with the song “She Believes In Me”. While I love the song and think it has so much meaning, I realized last night that this is a power ballad and Kenny Rogers had a bigger voice than Scotty. I do think it challenged Scotty with the chorus and also the power required. However, Scotty is one determined young man. He did a great job with a song that could have been his downfall. You can’t bus Scotty! I loved, loved that high note at the end. Now that took guts! At this stage of the competition, talk about a risk! It came out very soft, so Scotty’s not quite there yet but he still did it. This young man is such a superb story teller and he brought some real depth and feeling to this performance. Great work, Scotty!
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I am giving my critiques for each contestant in separate posts. Otherwise, it would read like a book!
I thought that Lauren’s first song was not a good choice for her. The lyrics weren’t age appropriate and the fast tempo seemed to almost get away from her. I heard some off key notes especially listening to it again today with my eyes closed. I just think it was the wrong song for her and didn’t work.
Lauren’s second song picked by Jimmy, “If I Die Young”, had a lot of emotion. However, Lauren lost her way when she missed the key change and seemed to get caught up in the emotion. I am also hearing some serious breathing issues in her singing that have persisted throughout the competition. She also breathes in the wrong places which messes up the phrasing. I appreciate the feeling she brought to this song, because that has been sorely lacking in many of her performances. I will give her a pass on that because she connected with the song.
Lauren’s last song, “I Hope You Dance” was her best. She seemed so much more comfortable with this song and her the wonderful tone of her voice came through so well. She really came back strong to end the night on a high note.
I am concerned about the continued breathing issues in her singing. The judges have not done her any favors by treading so delicately and not wanting to upset her with some constructive criticism. She needs to address this problem, because being out of breath will compromise the quality of her singing. Three songs in one night is quite challenging and I could hear her voice sounding tired at the end.
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Haley’s first song was her best. Led Zeppelin was a perfect choice for her. I had to overcome my dislike for this band in order to appreciate this performance. Led Zeppelin has never been a band that I liked at all. “Stairway to Heaven” was the only song that I ever liked. However, Haley really gave a brilliantly realized vocal performance with all of the changes in the melody. She got to sing with her father, which was a lovely moment. She showed her vocal chops by singing the guts out of this song.
I think Haley had issues with her next two performances. “Rhiannon” didn’t seem to come together. I felt that something was off with Haley during this performance. She told the judges that she was trying to make sure to remember the words. That may have explained the disconnect I heard. I don’t think that Jimmy really did her any favors with this song choice.
Haley’s last performance was where I heard the real vocal problems. The key was too low in the beginning and she lost the lines of the song. I couldn’t hear her. Then she switched into a higher key and that was better. However, I felt her struggling and almost fighting the song. I thought the judges gave her a stinker with this choice. It’s not an easy song to sing, some of the words had to be changed because of explicit content and that took something away. I heard some off key notes throughout and her voice sounded fatigued. I think she did well to power through and end very strong.
Haley’s first perfomance should have been her last so she could leave the audience remembering her best. She showed off so much of her great voice last night. She had some tough songs to sing and did very well. Well done!
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