Friday, April 1, 2011

American Idol: Top 11 Week (#2)

In the first top eleven week, the judges decided to use their save to keep Casey Abrams on the show. For the second top eleven week, two contestants were to be sent home and the theme was Elton John music. It turns out that Elton John's music was all that was there and not only was there no Elton John performances (by the contestants or Sir Elton John himself), but there was no other mention of his take on the night. Nevertheless, the performances were still good.

My favorites pretty much remain my favorites, but I think that this was the week that Lauren Alaina shined with her performance of "Candle In The Wind." Going into the top thirteen, I thought that Lauren was the second best finalist behind Pia Toscano. At this point, Lauren is on Pia's tail to surpass her, because Lauren has shown a wide range and an ability to keep the crowds attention. As for Pia, she needs to pick songs that allow her to move around and show another side to her. Something that's going to keep the viewers peeled to the television screen.

Scotty McCreery did a good job opening up the show with a song called "Country Comfort," which he was fortunate to be able to nab, because it was a really good performance. As for Casey Abrams, he proved that he was worth saving. He showed a different side by singing "Your Song," and it was an unexpected, but really good treat. He stayed true to himself in the way that he hit the notes and gave his beard and hair a trim, while not giving it a shave. He should keep the beard and hair style, because that's what makes Casey who he is. His hair was much better than last week, looking free as opposed to being condensed.

James Durbin came into the week still being the top of the line, and this week is no different. He's proved that he could keep the interest of the stage with what ever he does. He did Judas Priest, Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, and with Elton John, he had an extremely exciting performance with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting." He moved across the stage and set the piano on fire, what more can you do? James may very well be the best rocker that's ever participated on American Idol, and that's very tough considering the rock stars that have participated on the show.

Paul McDonald, Naima Adedapo, and Haley Reinhart were in my mind among the weakest. Even Stefano Langone didn't meet up with the standards. I think that Paul's rendition of "Rocket Man" could've been a whole lot better. Given that this is my Dachshund's namesake and based off of a Ray Bradbury short story, I was looking to see who could do this song well. I like it when Paul moves the stage with his unique dancing. He plays a good guitar, but I think he should go back to just singing. Naima took a risk with a reggae version of "I'm Still Standing," but it didn't really do anything on my end. With Stefano, it was just a typical performance of "Tiny Dancer" that wasn't anything special. Haley, who closed the show with "Bennie And The Jets," was told by Randy Jackson that her performance was the best of the night. I have to totally disagree with that statement. I felt it was more painful than it was pleasure, but that's just me, and I felt she should have been booted a few weeks back.

The results show featured the contestants in smaller groups as opposed to one big group for group performances, Scotty and Lauren's duet of "I Told You So," and James, Paul, Stefano, and Casey's performance of "Band On The Run" were good, as Pia, Thia, and Haley's version of "Teenage Dream" was not. I also felt that Fantasia's performance didn't meet my expectations, and I didn't pay much attention to the Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx performance. It just went over my head.

Paul McDonald was in the bottom three after a not so strong performance, but it was Naima Adedapo and Thia Megia that were sent home. I wasn't shocked, despite the fact I felt that Thia did a decent job singing "Daniel." Haley could've been sent off, but the praise gave her a bit of a boost. Let's see what next week brings.

Speaking of next week, the theme is going to be "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," which could bring a variety of performances if the song selection is strong. If the right songs are chosen, then we are going to have ourselves an exciting week indeed.

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