First of the night was Paul singing "Old Time Rock and Roll," and unlike the judges, I didn't love it. It was a solid performance, fun, but it wasn't spectacular. He moves too awkwardly around the stage and his voice just doesn't have the range needed to win. Here's his performance:
Paul's Grade: C-
Second was Lauren and she sand "The Climb." Instant no. I'm sorry, but I cannot take anyone who even considers singing a Miley Cyrus song seriously. From a competition standpoint, it's not a bad choice as it's a well-known song and she clearly blows the roof off the original. Plus she appeals to any middle-school kid that grew up with Hannah Montana, but I'm not sold that was her intention.. Anyway, I was kind of bored and she didn't change it much. She sounded very good, but as a performance it didn't do much for me. Here she is:
Lauren's Grade: C+
Third was Stefano, a frequent visitor to the bottom three. He sang "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men. I thought it was his best performance yet, and he did a really good job with a really difficult song. Unfortunately for Stefano, the "End of the Road" is looming on him, and he's just being out classed by everyone else right now. I'm as stunned as he was that he got another opportunity to sing on the Idol stage this week, and he made the best of it, but I think it has to be too little too late. Here's Stefano:
Next up was Scotty, singing "I Cross My Heart." I felt like I got hit by a truck after listening to this. Although it wasn't perfect, it showed exactly who he is as an artist (as if there was any doubt) and he really cements every single week that he is going to be right there to the end. Scotty did a good job, I didn't know he could hit those "high" notes, he proved me wrong. It was kind of slow, but as I said it really hit home. Here's his performance:
Scotty's Grade: A-
Fifth up was my boy, Casey. I was really scared when I watched the intro video, they were ripping him. Part of me thought he should have switched from "Nature Boy" to "In The Air Tonight," especially in the beginning of the performance. The end of the intro shocked me with what Jimmy said, basically ripping him for not listening to the advice. To me, Casey was right, and his performance was excellent. It was captivating, and the beginning kept me anticipating what he was going to do next. Vocally, no, he's not the best, but he's hands down the most original and creative as far as arrangements in the competition. He makes me want to just chill listening to some porno-jazz, he's that good. Here's Casey with Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy":
Casey's Grade: A
Sixth was Haley, who had been recently on a two week streak of phenomenal song choices and execution, she was the hottest (in more than one use of the adjective) contestant in the competition going in. She sang "Call Me," and although she got a lot of heat from it, I liked it a lot. She started off kind of shaky, but once she got into the chorus she was excellent. There's something about her voice that I just love. Here's her performance:
Haley's Grade: B+
Following Haley was Jacob, who to nobody's surprise chose a slow ballad. I was extremely bored. Whenever I think of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," I always remember years ago Mike & Mike In The Morning did a parody about Jay's boy "Light's Out" Lidge. "Even with two outs you can still get beat, you think you're throwing hard but your fastball is through. I'll take you yard, oh when my time comes it's your sliders that I'll pound. Like Brad Lidge over troubled water, when he's on the mound. Like Brad Lidge over troubled water, when he's on the mound." That is just too classic right there. Here's the performance that, had it only been the last three notes, it would have been exponentially better:
In the pimp-spot was James, singing Heavy Metal. His voice and his range are just unbelievable, it's incredible. I thought it was interesting how he argued with Jimmy about his song choice too, but he came out of it looking like a hero, as Casey came out to look like a villain. I thought the song itself was dreadful, but James is just so talented and his voice is insane. He's much more personable and likable than Adam Lambert was two years ago, which is probably why I don't mind him, even though Kris Allen still would mop the floor with him. But James did a good job with a horrific song, and he's out of his mind good, so here it is:
James' Grade: A
Rankings:
James
Casey
Scotty
Haley
Stefano
Jacob
Lauren
Paul
Prediction:
Casey, Paul, and Haley are in the Bottom Three. Casey goes home, unfortunately I don't think America "gets him." Also, my birthday's this week and last year my boy Andrew Garcia got voted off on my birthday, so it seems fitting Casey leaves this week too. I hope I'm wrong, I really do, but I've got a bad feeling about it all.
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