NEWSAmerican Idol Blog: The Top 13 Perform; Who Should Go Home Tonight?
March 10 2011, Published 6:48 a.m. ET
The Top 10 were chosen last week along with the three wildcard choices to make the Top 13 and now it is time for them to show us what they've got. OK!'s resident American Idol expert Rana Meyer discusses the hits and misses of last night's show!
Lauren Alaina sang "Any Man of Mine" and it was bubbly and bouncy, but this one needed more energy. The judges didn't love it. Randy thought she needed to pick something that "would really let her shine." Jennifer Lopez wants her to kick it into high gear. Lauren looked like she was going to cry.
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Casey Abrams was next with "With A Little Help From My Friends." I liked him for the first time. Have always thought he was bit Taylor Hicks 2.0 and this performance was more restrained and fun to watch. Casey said that Joe Cocker embodied him. Steven said that he is "a rainbow of talent, a plethora of passion."
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Up next was first of the wildcard picks, Ashthon Jones singing "When You Tell Me That You Love Me." And it was boring, very much like what you would find in a performer on a cruise ship. This isn't going to get people to vote for her. Randy Jackson thought it was safe, "but liked it." Steven thinks "there is a lot more in there then you are showing us."
Quirky Paul McDonald came up next with "Come Pick Me Up." What I love about Paul is his unique tone and how much fun he is always having up on that stage. Steven Tyler "loves the raspiness in his voice." And Jennifer said, "you did move the crowd!" Randy just loves who Paul is. Will the viewers feel the same way?
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Then came Pia Toscano, who got a standing ovation last week. She chose to sing "All By Myself" and she was so ridiculously good. Loving her pipes. J.Lo even got emotional. Randy said, "you have such a natural gift. Very hot, dope, cool performance." Pia should sail through to next week.
James Durbin also brought it home this week. By toning down the shrieking, he really showed off his vocals on "Maybe I'm Amazed." Randy said that James "is one of his faves in the whole thing."
But then came Haley Reinhart with "Blue" and it actually made me kind of Blue. It was very pitchy with some bad dance movements. It just didn't work. However, Steven thought she "did such a good job tonight," but Randy disagreed by saying, "it was a little sleepy for me."
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Jacob Lusk was up next with "I Believe I Can Fly." And he, once again, showed off some amazing notes he can hit, but that will get old. He needs to change it up a bit. Steven said, "I can't even judge it, that's how good you are."
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Last week, she was compared to Michael Jackson. This week, Thia Megia sang "Smile." And it just didn't work. It was a very weird, jazzy arrangement that didn't do anything for her. Randy thought she was pitchy in spots and all the judges seems to love the simpler beginning more than the jazzy rest of it. And Jennifer thought "the arrangement was interesting."
After being saved by the wildcard last week, Stefano Langone was there to give it his all. There was some weird emotion at the start of his rendition of "Lately." But he made a good effort and showed great energy. However, this version had a very strange disco remix that was not needed. Stefano needs to just show off his vocals. Steven said "he pulled it off." Jennifer said "you had me dancing there, baby. Wow." Stefano should get some votes to save him again.
But on the flip side, Karen Rodriguez's "I Could Fall In Love" was not so good. She is very pageanty in her performances and many of the notes were really off. And nothing exciting about it. Randy thought it was "kind of sleepy." And Steven said he knows "she can sing so much better."
Scotty McCreery gave a great performance on "The River" and showed that he belongs up on that stage. His voice is so perfect for country music. Randy said "this is exactly where you belong." Steven agreed: "you did Garth justice."
The third wildcard choice Naima Adedapo then closed out the night with "Umbrella." And boy did she bring the house down with her music of singing, rapping and dancing. It kind of worked but she lost some of her notes with all of the energy. Randy said "there was some pitchiness, but he loves the reggae." Jennifer said "she needs to work on the control."
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My bottom 3: Haley, Karen and Ashthon.
My pick to go home: Ashthon.
Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 p.m. for the excitement-filled results show. Don't miss it!
